Just when we thought it could not get any worse, it did. The Kraken are now 0-6-2 in their last eight games and have the second-longest losing streak in their brief history. They currently have 23 points on the season, which is the exact same number of points they had in their inaugural season after the same number of games (29). I can’t say it won’t get any worse, but this losing streak will end… eventually.
Since the shootout was introduced in 2005-06, nine teams had 23 points at their respective 29-game mark, and only one of those teams has made the playoffs, the 2007-08 Capitals. Barring a minor miracle, this team will not be making the playoffs, although I guess an 11 percent chance of making it is better than no chance at all.
How did we get here?
The number of goals scored against Kraken goalies last season is identical to the goals scored against Kraken goalies this season, 91 goals against after 29 games. Goaltending has not been great this season, but it is consistent with last season.
The average goals scored per game at this point last season was 3.4 compared to 2.5 this season. The .9 drop in goal scoring is the second-biggest drop in the league. Only Buffalo with their 1.1 drop is worse.
It would be easy to point to the departures of Daniel Sprong, Morgan Geekie, Ryan Donato, Karson Kuhlman, and Carson Soucy as the main contributors to the change in goal scoring this season. They had a collective 18 goals at this point last season.
However, when comparing against the players that are currently on the Kraken that were not with the club at this point (Eeli Tolvanen, Tye Kartye, Kailer Yamamoto, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Brian Dumoulin), those players also have a collective 18 goals at the 29-game mark.
If we isolate just the players that were on the team for the first 29 games last season, the narrative changes quite a bit.
As most of you know, Andre Burakovsky has had multiple injuries this season and has yet to register a goal in the seven games for which he has suited up. Matty Beniers struggled early in the season and appears to be slumping again without a goal in his last six games. Jordan Eberle is struggling a bit, but I do feel he has looked a bit better as of late.
Where do we go from here?
I mentioned it on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast last week, that the organization should not make a trade to improve its chance to make the playoffs. The odds are long, and there is little chance the team would be able to improve enough without giving up a significant asset. Barring that miracle I discussed at the beginning of this article, they will be sellers at the trade deadline.
The easy decisions on who to move at the trade deadline will be around the players on expiring contracts. Alex Wennberg, Justin Schultz, and Jordan Eberle could all be moved. The tougher decision will be the players with term remaining on their contracts that might appeal to a playoff team looking to make a run.
Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev are the ones that jump off the roster as appealing players to playoff teams. The thought of trading Yanni makes me sick to my stomach, but if the right offer comes along, general manager Ron Francis would have to consider it. Yanni seems to mean so much to this organization and brings energy on the ice that is infectious, which might mean the price to move him might be too high for teams to consider.
Assuming the Kraken are open for business, do not expect a trade anytime soon. December is one of the slowest months of the season for transactions. There were three trades last December, and there is a good chance you don’t recognize any of the players that were involved.
Reader question: You’re the general manager of the Seattle Kraken. What would it take for you to trade Yanni Gourde?
Other musings
- Over the last three games, I think Wennberg has been one of the best Kraken players on the ice. I would love him signed to an extension, but with Shane Wright waiting in the wings, I can’t see it happening. Wright will be centering the second or third line next season… if not sooner.
- The Kraken had two losing streaks of seven or more games in their inaugural season; one that lasted seven games and another that lasted nine.
- I like what I am seeing out of Ryker Evans so far. It seems that he is getting more and more confident with the pace of the NHL with each game played. Unless things go sideways, I imagine we will see him with the big club and in the lineup for much of the remainder of the season.
- I must be a glutton for punishment because on Sunday morning I re-watched the first power play for both the Lightning and Kraken from the first period of Saturday night’s game. The Lightning had the puck in the offensive zone for 1:55 of the two-minute power play. The Kraken had the puck in the zone for 48 seconds of their first two-minute power play.
- In the Kraken’s first power play in the Sunday game against the Minnesota Wild, they kept the puck in the offensive zone the entire two minutes of the power play. I don’t recall that ever happening before.
- The Kraken won just two of nine (22.2%) face-offs on the power play in the game against Tampa Bay on Saturday, but on Sunday, they won nine of 11 (81.8%) of power-play face-offs.
- The San Jose Sharks are now 5-2-2 since losing to the Kraken 7-1 on Nov. 22. The Kraken are 0-6-2 in the same time span.
- With Philipp Grubauer out with a lower-body, not-good-looking injury, we should see Chris Driedger tend the net for a few games. Driedger’s last regular-season NHL game was May 1, 2022.
- I always love watching the World Junior Championship, but this year will be something special. Up to seven different Kraken prospects could be playing in the U20 tournament at the end of the month. 13 of the 19 preliminary-round games could feature at least one Kraken prospect.
- One of those prospects that has a shot at making Team Canada is Carson Rehkopf. On Friday night, he had three assists and the game-winning goal in overtime to cap a four-goal deficit comeback win for the Kitchener Rangers. He is likely a couple years away from suiting up for the Kraken, but in the meantime, he is such a fun player to track and watch.
- My money is on Sweden to win this tournament.
Player performances
Jared McCann (SEA) – McCann is the only Kraken player with more than one goal over the last four games. (He has two.) McCann is having a heck of a season. He has 13 goals in 29 games and is on pace for another 30-plus-goal campaign.
Matt Boldy (MIN) – Boldy has six points in his last four games for the Wild including the game-winning goal on Sunday against the Kraken. When he is not playing the Kraken, he is fun to watch. He was drafted in the 2019 NHL Draft and had his breakout season in 2022-23. He is a subtle reminder to be patient with Kraken prospects like Beniers and Wright.
Carter Hart (PHI) – Has won his last three starts with a collective .958 save percentage. The former Everett Silvertip goaltender has nine wins on the season and is one of the reasons the Philadelphia Flyers are sitting in a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Chart of the week
The Kraken have not scored the first goal in a game since the San Jose game before Thanksgiving and up until the Tampa Bay game, had not led in any game since that San Jose game. Here is a look at the elapsed time they have been leading, trailing or tied for each game.
You want to avoid being in the red, and there is a lot of red in this chart for the most recent games.
Goal of the week
Who doesn’t love a good Carson Rehkopf goal?
The week ahead
The Kraken have three tough games to close out the homestand. The Florida Panthers come to town on Tuesday, Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, and then they take on the LA Kings on Sunday. I think the Kraken have played well over the last three games, so they are due for a win or two. In classic NHL shoulder shrug fashion, I wouldn’t be surprised if they won two out of three of those games. Other than being part of an eight-game losing streak, I’ve enjoyed going to the games lately, and I continue to look forward to rooting on this team at CPA.
Go Kraken.