Welcome to the new Sound Of Hockey Kraken Roundtable series. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’re planning to produce several collaborative discussions that reflect on the Kraken’s regular season and look ahead to the upcoming offseason. This first installment, featuring Blaiz Grubic, John Barr, Cameron Riggers, and Darren Brown, serves as our immediate reaction to the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
What was your highlight of the season?
Blaiz – The Winter Classic was my highlight of the season. I actually had low expectations for the Winter Classic going into it, but I really enjoyed seeing 47K fans come out and support the team. Watching Joey Daccord’s glove save with Jack Eichel looking up in frustration has been ingrained in my memory. The first ever Winter Classic shutout was a nice touch, as well, and was a bit of an NHL “I’ve arrived” party for Daccord.
John – The Winter Classic was an unforgettable experience, but since Blaiz already mentioned it, I’ll share my memories of the Colorado-Kraken game in Denver back in November. I was lucky enough to be in attendance that night for my first game at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon had three points in the game, but Oliver Bjorkstrand managed to hammer one home with 30 seconds left that won it for the Kraken. At the time, it felt like a turning point for the season, a huge win that injected some hope.
Darren – I was also in the building for that one, John, and that was also the night Ryan Winterton made his NHL debut. I recall asking him after the game about his no-bucket warm-up, and he told us he got to his stall before the game, and there was no helmet there, so that’s when he decided he wouldn’t wear it. You’re right, that was an awesome night.
But, yeah, there’s simply no denying that the Winter Classic was the moment of the season. I’ll never forget the beginning of that game with fish flying over the players’ heads as they walked in to a live performance from Sir Mix-A-Lot, helicopters flying over with guys dangling below them, fireworks… the whole bit was incredible, and the game was even better. I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it.
Cameron – Agreed, the Winter Classic was undoubtedly the high point of the season. It wasn’t just the immaculate atmosphere of the day celebrating the game of hockey in Seattle, but the team itself put everything together on that day, and it felt like that gave the Kraken another boost to continue on their nine-game win streak.
Everything about that day was pristine, and I think it will be the fondest memory of this season for Seattle fans for years to come. My only regret is not getting to be there in person.
And come on, Heart doing Barracuda? Live? There’s no beating that.
What was the lowlight of the season?
Blaiz – I’ll say Andre Burakovsky getting hurt six minutes after coming back from missing 20 games. The Kraken had a rough start to the season and were sitting with an 8-12-6 record. Coming into the Dec. 7 game against New Jersey, the Kraken were on a five-game skid and desperately needed Burakovsky to help generate some offense. He was injured again, and the skid continued to eight games.
John – Unfortunately, this season was filled with lowlights, but one that stands out to me is the team’s icy start. With just five wins in their first 17 games, they struggled to find their rhythm. Expectations were perhaps unfairly lofty after last season’s impressive 100-point effort, and the early slump meant an uphill battle for the rest of the season. Despite briefly holding a wild card spot on a couple of occasions, they couldn’t maintain momentum, and as injuries piled up, the gap became too vast to bridge.
Cameron – Like John mentioned, it’s hard to pick just one moment in a season where it felt like, at points, things couldn’t get any lower and still somehow got lower. But if I had to pick one, the 2-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 30 was about the lowest you could have gotten at that point in the season.
They lost to not only the worst team in the NHL this season, but quite frankly one of the worst in NHL history (which they would wind up doing twice, by the way), and they did it at a critical point in the season where it was so important to be stringing together wins against teams they were supposed to be beating. For them being two points out of a playoff spot at the time, it was the most deflating way they could’ve gone into the All-Star break.
Darren – I’m surprised nobody picked this one, but I guess there were quite a few lowlights, now that you all remind me of these terrible instances (thanks for ruining my beautiful Friday). The 5-4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 12 was the straw that broke the camel’s back for this club and sent it spiraling out of contention. Seattle had a two-goal lead that night, before Vegas fought back and got the tying goal from Jonathan Marchessault with 17 seconds left. Jack Eichel won it in overtime, and from that night on, we just didn’t see the same effort from the Kraken. They knew they were cooked at that point.
What was your favorite moment of the season?
Blaiz – Saturday, Jan. 13, was the day the Kraken set franchise records with a nine-game win streak and 13-game unbeaten streak. The Kraken had a 19-14-9 record and looked poised to make a run at the playoffs. Everything was looking up, and it was a great feeling.
John – The Winter Classic was truly extraordinary. I’ve mentioned it before, but on the NHL to Seattle journey, we used to dream about hosting a Winter Classic in Seattle long before the team even existed here. It was a day that couldn’t have been more perfect, a monumental celebration of hockey in the Pacific Northwest. Even now, just thinking about it gives me chills.
Cameron – It’s hard to go with anything other than the Winter Classic, but for me personally, my favorite moment was my first game at Climate Pledge Arena on Nov. 25. It’s every hockey kid’s dream to make it to the NHL, and I felt like I got to live out that dream that night as a media member. There were so many moments and memories from that day I’ll never forget, and I owe a lot to the people that have helped me to get to this point.
For the team specifically, I’ll pick Feb. 15 at Boston, as it was so cool watching Joey Daccord and Matty Beniers light up the arena they both essentially grew up in. Daccord had 36 saves, and Beniers had three points, and it was the best the team looked after the break.
Darren – Again, this is obviously the Winter Classic, but since we’ve hit that one hard at this point, I’ll go with Seattle’s 4-3 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 18. I made the trip for that one, along with Curtis Isacke and a couple other folks, and we had an absolute blast. It was my first time ever attending a game as a fan (not as media), so I let loose with a few college sodas, we had great seats, and it was just an awesome game. I started an extremely loud “Let’s go Kraken!” chant on my way out of Rogers Arena and was convinced I was going to get jumped. Thankfully, Canadians are friendly foes.
Who was your favorite player to watch this season?
Blaiz – Alex Wennberg was my favorite player to watch this season, even though he was traded to the New York Rangers at the Trade Deadline. Wennberg was the first Kraken jersey in my collection of 10 jerseys (my wife thinks I have a problem, and she probably is right). Wennberg’s play on the boards has always been a treat to watch.
John – I love watching Oliver Bjorkstrand play. He ended the season with 20 goals and was second on the team with 59 points. He comes up with some big goals when the team really needs them and was one of the few consistent producers season over season.
Cameron – As a Spokane native that grew up going to Spokane Chiefs games, getting to watch Kailer Yamamoto as a pro in Seattle has been one of my favorite full-circle moments of the season. Seeing what he meant to that community firsthand, and knowing the people there got to watch one of their own shine on the biggest stage was amazing. Not many players get to do that in their home state. Yamamoto was also the first Kraken player I got to ask a question to, which added to the lore.
Darren – I’m biased toward goalies, but Joey Daccord was my favorite player to watch and talk to this season. He is just the best dude, and seeing his meteoric rise to stardom this season was incredible. From his scorpion save in Washington, which caused Chris Driedger to do this…
…to his Winter Classic heroics, there were a lot of bright spots for Daccord. But let’s not forget, this team wouldn’t have even sniffed the playoffs if he didn’t put it on his back and carry the group through that nine-game win streak. Plus, how fun is his puck handling? What if he had gotten the goalie goal on Thursday?
Let us know in the comments what your best and worst memories from the season were.
My favorite was the Day they brought Shane Wright up and he lit up the goal light. That gave a feeling of joy to know that the fute is in the hands of youth for years to come. I am glad they left Shane in the AHL, he learned to be a man playing in a man’s game. He and Bernier will be a nice 1,2 punch for the team.
I thought the Sharks and Golden Knights loses tie as twin lowlights.
A shutout and a “give it away” and each seemed like a real statement on just how flawed this years team was… for whatever reason. One loss against the worst team in the league, one loss against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.
Ugh…
Better days are just around the corner though.
Great seasons guys!
Go Kraken!!!
Love the highlights you already pointed out, but would add the late season play by Tye Kartye – both in terms of desperately needed physical play vs. heavy teams AND his growing feel for the NHL-level game… not trying to do too much / staying in his lane / taking a hit to make a play / timely scoring / etc etc… Really looking for more from him next season.
Low-light to add to your list would be the inconsistency of Hakstol’s ‘team game’ tactics/strategy/execution and how heavy teams knew well enough to target McCann / Beniers / others to the point of intimidation. With the notable exception of Kartye and maybe Yanni, add to that the seemingly lack of desire to retaliate/send a message on other players’ behalf when opponents’ intimidation tactics were encountered.
My best moments was watching Kailer Yamamoto with Seattle Kraken. Now, I’m still an Oilers fan and we were sad to see him go and now we switch back and forth to watch him play. Unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity to play many games. He put in 7 goals by the end of December, can you imagine how many more he could have gotten in if he was able to play more games, bond more with the guys? Oilers were cap spaced and had to let him go, the plan was to bring him back from Detroit at a lesser pay (yes, he was injured during 2022-2023 season, couple of times which set him back), but Ken Holland’s plan was to bring him back. He may not be tall, but he was one of the faster skaters of the Oilers, of course other than Connor McDavid. Ask him how fast Kailer can skate.
My favorite moment this year has not come yet but it will be when Hackstol is fired
New lowlight… lowest of lowlights…
Just heard the rumor John Fordlund may be moving to the Bruins.
Ugh!
My favorite highlight was that winning streak they had. Wasn’t it around then they handled Boston too?
I think as team is structured, Burakovsky (sp?) was meant to be an important cog in the offense. Going without him for long stretches was very hurtful. I think the season was lost by his injuries, Beniers not taking a step forward, and our newly signed players not playing as well as the players we lost.
This year Beniers is going into the off season healthy, hopefully that allows him to focus on putting on some good weight. My other hope is that if Ryker and Shane make the roster, that will allow the team to spend more on the remaining pieces to fill out the roster. That should improve two of this years issues.
I would love to see a piece talking about all our young players not on the team. How did last years draft picks look? Were they bad selections or good selections based on current results? What players are on track to play in 2025-2026? Firkus maybe? We need more offensive punch, is it just Firkus in the near future that could bring that?
I really appreciate all this site does, thank you for all the hard work this year!
Looking at the roster for next year based on who is signed to a contract it looks like the Kraken are projected to have about 22M to fill out their roster, barring trades of anyone under contract they would need 5 forwards and a defenseman. I think they resign Beneirs and Tolvanen and I think Wright is a lock. That leaves 2 forward spaces and I don’t think the Kraken have spent much of the available cap yet to get Beneirs and Tolvanen under contract. If one of those two spaces comes from the Firebirds you are looking at another player probably on a ELC so not a lot of cap space being taken there. Fleury is signed for next year, is he one of the 6 defensemen with Dumoulin being the 7th guy rotaiting in? If so that still isn’t much off the cap. So you are looking at having about 19M to sign Beniers, Tolvanen and top 6 wing that can score. I’d love if they could put together a deal for Reinhart or Guentzel.
Best – Winter Classic shutout under bluebird skies! And sweeping the Bruins!
Worst – All the OT losses after leading by multiple goals in the 3rd. Imagine where we’d be if we had (should’ve) won those!