A piece of Seattle Kraken history is heading to Finland.
The Kraken’s first-ever signing is leaving stateside hockey to play overseas.
That’s center Luke Henman. The Kraken signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in 2021. He had been originally drafted by the Hurricanes in 2018, but never signed, making him an unrestricted free agent at the same time the Kraken were beginning to build their roster.
But now, Henman has signed a one-year deal with Ilves in Finland, that team announced.
Henman, 25, has never made it into an NHL game.
For the past four seasons, he has played 229 AHL games, split between Charlotte and Coachella Valley. In those games, Henman has put up 26 goals and 33 assists.
Henman’s initial contract expired last summer, but the Kraken liked him enough to bring him back on a one-year deal.
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This offseason, though, Seattle opted not to bring back Henman.
He’s a native of Nova Scotia, so it’ll be a new experience to go play hockey in Finland.
Ilves has placed second in Finland’s Liiga in three consecutive years, but they haven’t won a league championship since 1985.
In the end, it’s not a massive loss for the Kraken on the ice. The fact that Henman hadn’t gotten up to the NHL, and that no one had signed him yet this offseason, suggests where he exists in the NHL hierarcy.
But it’s a departure with a big of nostalgia to it. Kraken fans would’ve enjoyed the fact that they had a player, any player, when Henman signed to make Seattle history.
Now he heads to Finland, never having quite made it. He could come back in the future given that he’s just 25 years old right now. But at least for this season, Henman is heading overseas, a long way from Seattle.
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