Forward Karson Kuhlman claimed off waivers by Seattle Kraken

Forward Karson Kuhlman is no longer a member of the Boston Bruins organization.

The 26-year-old forward was claimed by the Seattle Kraken on Monday after the Bruins put him on a layoff on Sunday.

It marks the end of a career in Boston that spanned four seasons for Kuhlman. He finishes his Bruins career with 75 games played, in which he recorded seven goals and eight assists.

While the former University of Minnesota-Duluth Boston captain did whatever he was asked to do, there have been other players like Anton Blidh and Oskar Steen who have played their way into the roles of Kuhlman. As a result, the Bruins were ready to roll the dice with Kuhlman by putting him on waivers.

Kuhlman will have better chances in Seattle than in Boston

As I said, Kuhlman didn’t necessarily do anything wrong in Boston. He would never become a goalscorer or perform much on offense. His strength lies in the defensive zone.

The Bruins needed someone to go with Nick Foligno, who appeared ready to come back from injury. Kuhlman/Steen/Blidh were able to stay in Boston for a while as injury/COVID protocols meant players were out, but someone had to go.

With the development of Blidh and Steen this season, Kuhlman became expendable. While Steen was previously an easy choice to be sent back to the AHL as he is exempt from waivers, the Sweden forward has five points in 11 games. He was so effective that Bruce Cassidy wanted to keep him and not send him back to the AHL.

As a result, the Boston Brass were willing to take the risk of the fast forward being claimed. Ultimately he was claimed, which is a shame to lose a player for nothing, but the Bruins can save $351,625 in cap space.

The Esko, Minnesota native will be given a bigger role in Seattle as a Kraken team struggles in its inaugural season. I doubt we’ll see him take more than one role in the bottom six, maybe a little more PK time than he received in Boston. But he is a good player with his speed and ability to defend. There were just too many chefs in the Boston kitchen, and Kuhlman never really took the next step forward to stand out.

Good luck to Kuhlman with Seattle.