The Seattle Kraken and right winger Eeli Tolvanen reached an agreement this offseason to bring the 25-year-old back to the depths on a two-year deal worth an average annual value of $3.475 million. Is he poised to have a breakout season in 2024-25?
Can Tolvanen be a Breakout Star in 2024-25?
Entering his eighth NHL season, Tolvanen looks to finally be a breakout star. Last season, the last year of his three-year deal with the Nashville Predators, he appeared in 81 games with the Kraken. In those games, he scored 16 goals and added a career-high 25 assists which gave him another career-high in points with 41.
But, the Finnish forward was held to a -15, the worst of his career, as well as having a career-high in penalty minutes with 24. You may not think 24 PIM is a lot, but his next most amount for time spent in the "sin-bin" is only 16. Both of those seriously hurt the Kraken's chances at success. He definitely was not a part of the three best Kraken skaters from last season.
Finishing fifth in team scoring last season, Tolvanen now has some improved aid with Chandler Stephenson coming over to Seattle from Vegas. The duo will be fun to watch on that second-line next season, and I'm sure both will find their way on to the second power-play unit as well.
To answer the above question of whether Tolvanan will be a breakout star in 2024-25, I would have to answer that he has to be. Going into his eighth season in the NHL, as a 25-year-old now entering his prime years, it's now or never for him. With a career-high of just 18 goals, which he achieved with both Nashville and Seattle in 2022-23, it's not a hard number to eclipse next season. Especially for a former first-round draft pick with some saying he had a real knack for getting the puck on the net and getting it past goaltenders with ease.
Will Eeli Tolvanen have a breakout season in 2024-25?