Seattle Cleken logo Lake Evans extended for 2 years – Hockey writer – Seattle Cleken
On August 11, Seattle Cleken announced that they had signed a two-year contract with defenseman Ryker Evans. The average annual value (AAV) of his contract is $2.05 million. After the 2024-25 season, Evans is a restricted free agent (RFA) and received a qualifying offer from Seattle on July 1.
When Evans first came to Kraken, he played with their AHL team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. He played 71 AHL games and recorded 44 points with 6 goals and 38 assists. He also played 26 playoff games and recorded 26 points with five goals and 21 assists.
Evans met NHL ICE for the first time in the 2023-24 season, played 36 games with Seattle and recorded nine points with one goal and eight assists. He played with Firebirds for the rest of the season. He played 25 games with Coachella Valley and recorded 15 points with 2 goals and 13 assists.
In the 2024-25 season, Evans played his first full season in the NHL. He played 73 games for Kraken and recorded 25 points with five goals and 20 assists. The 23-year-old has made progress, but he can still use some conditioning. Playing with Josh Mahura, Evans began to grow into a player.
With Evans’ re-signing, Seattle has now signed all restricted and unrestricted free agents. With Evans signing, Kraken now also has seven NHL ready defensemen signings. Since this season is about the same distance from two months, it’s interesting to see who is right for Kraken. Kraken has also just signed Ryan Lindgren, who may be a great veteran of Evans. Training camp may be the deciding factor for who is the final lineup on October 9.
