Seattle Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz will miss the next four-to-six weeks because of an upcoming hand surgery, the team announced Thursday. Schwartz was injured in Seattle's Dec. 29 game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The 29-year-old ranks second on the team in scoring with 20 points in 29 games. Last offseason, the Kraken signed Schwartz to a five-year, $27.5 million contract.
The Kraken are 10-19-4 and rank 29th in the NHL with a .364 points percentage.
(Photo: Christopher Mast / NHLI via Getty Images)
How does this hurt the Kraken?
Ryan Clark, Kraken reporter: Losing Schwartz just adds to what was an already difficult situation. The Kraken have lost five in a row, eight of their last nine and they now lose one of their most prolific players. Actually, more like two when accounting for the fact Brandon Tanev is out for the year after having ACL surgery.
Schwartz and Tanev were part of a six-player group that has scored more than 60 percent of their goals. It just adds to the need to get more secondary scoring.