Kraken’s Jaden Schwartz out indefinitely with upper-body injury
The Seattle Kraken have provided some less-than-positive news regarding one of their veteran leaders.
On Monday, the team announced that forward Jaden Schwartz will be out indefinintely with an upper-body injury.
#SeaKraken forward Jaden Schwartz is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
Schwartz, 33, suffered the injury late in the first period of Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators, when Senators forward Nick Cousins got tangled up with Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen and inadvertently kicked Schwartz in the face.
Wow. Scary one there. Eeli Tolvanen laid a huge hit on Nick Cousins, and Cousins' skate came up and clipped Jaden Schwartz in the face. Schwartz was down for a while, bleeding on the ice, but he went down the tunnel on his own power. #SeaKraken
The Wilcox, Saskatchewan native has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 42 games for Seattle this season.
Schwartz is now in his fifth year with the Kraken after having signed with them as an unrestricted free agent ahead of the franchise’s inaugural 2021-22 season. He is Seattle’s fifth-highest scorer in franchise history, with 78 goals and 85 assists for 163 points over 293 total games.
Originally selected 14th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Schwartz made his NHL debut at 19 in the 2011-12 season. He spent 10 seasons with the Blues’ organization, including a career-best campaign in 2014-15 of 28 goals and 35 assists for 63 points in 75 games. He was also a key member of St. Louis’ Stanley Cup winning team in 2019, when he contributed 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points over 26 playoff games.
With 67 points in 62 games, the Kraken currently occupy the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, but are just one point up on the San Jose Sharks. Seattle is in a battle to make the playoffs for the second time in the franchise’s five-year history, after missing the postseason in each of the last two seasons.
The Kraken will host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, before welcoming the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday to wrap up a six-game homestand.