Mathematically, there have been worse weeks in the Kraken’s brief franchise history, but when the schedule was released, this week stood out as a prime opportunity to pick up points, with four games against teams expected to be bottom feeders. Last week, I cautioned everyone not to underestimate the Sharks or the Ducks. Earning four out of a possible eight points would have been acceptable, though not ideal. Instead, the Seattle Kraken managed just two points from those four games, with a come-from-behind win against the Ducks on Monday as their only victory.
There were signs all along
One issue I highlighted early in the season is the Kraken’s tendency to allow the first goal. They lead the league in this category, trailing first in 68 percent of their games. They’ve won just five of the 17 games in which they’ve fallen behind early. Over the past week, they allowed the first goal in all three of their losses. It’s not just the goals; from the start of each game this week, the team seemed in trouble, struggling to find its rhythm.
As rough as that performance was, we might excuse giving up the first goal in the game against San Jose on Friday, which started at 12:30pm. However, even before the Sharks scored first again on Saturday night, the Kraken looked disorganized and unprepared. We’ve seen similar sluggish starts in wins against Columbus, Chicago, and Nashville. Both the coach and players are aware of this issue, yet they continue to struggle with starting on time. Hopefully, these somewhat embarrassing losses will serve as a wake-up call for the team to play with the urgency we’ve seen when they’re trailing.
They are (supposed to be) better than this
We know the Kraken made significant upgrades from last season with the signings of Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour, yet so far, the team is on the same pace as last year. The injuries to Vince Dunn and Jordan Eberle have contributed to this underwhelming start, but they faced their share of injuries last season, too. I’ve struggled to pinpoint the root cause this season. Adjustments to a new coach and new players take time, but we’re now more than a quarter of the way through the season, and the Kraken look worse than ever.
Even the best teams go through rough patches, but having already endured two so early in the season is concerning. Although they’re only five points out of a playoff spot, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to believe this team has a realistic chance.
Other musings
- Friday’s game against the Sharks was Philipp Grubauer’s worst performance as a Kraken. However, playing in a 12:30 PM game after a 10-day break didn’t help his cause. Like it or not, the team needs him to play more frequently; otherwise, Joey Daccord will become worn out, which has already started to show in recent games.
- One positive from the past week was the effectiveness of the line combination featuring Shane Wright, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Eeli Tolvanen. Dan Bylsma broke up this line on Saturday due to Chandler Stephenson’s illness, but hopefully they reconnect for more success on this road trip.
- With his two power-play goals on Wednesday night, Shane Wright now has as many goals this season as Matty Beniers.
- The Kraken scored three “response goals” over the two games: two on Friday in San Jose and one on Saturday night, which came just 32 seconds after the Sharks extended their lead to 4-0. While response goals are encouraging to see, they ideally shouldn’t come after giving the opposition a four-goal lead.
- The goalie interference call with seven seconds left in Saturday’s game was incredibly frustrating. I generally avoid complaining about interference reviews, but this season has been wildly inconsistent.
- The review of that goal took three and a half minutes. While it likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game, it killed any excitement the fans were feeling. More importantly, it negated a Filson Final Minute goal just in time for holiday shopping. Thanks for nothing, NHL.
- On a related note, if the league truly wants to eliminate head shots from the game, they should also issue suspensions for players who punch an unengaged opponent in the head. I’ve believed this for a long time, even before Ross Johnston’s punches on Tye Kartye in Wednesday’s game against Anaheim.
- One thing that stood out during the games against the Ducks and Sharks was the youth of those teams compared to the Kraken. Anaheim has 12 players on its roster who were drafted since 2017, while the Sharks have 11. In contrast, the Kraken have just five, which is understandable given they’ve only been drafting since 2021. However, it’s a stark reminder that the Kraken won’t have a fully developed young core for a few more seasons.
- One encouraging sign for the Kraken is their recent increase in shot attempts. Over the last four games, they have averaged 75 shot attempts per game, compared to just 58 in their first 21 games. They even recorded a season-high 84 shot attempts during their home losses to the Sharks and Ducks.
- Kraken prospects Berkly Catton, Carson Rehkopf, and Caden Price have all been named to the World Junior camp roster for Team Canada. Barring any injury, Catton and Rehkopf are locks to make the final team with Price having an outside shot of landing on the roster.
- In case you missed it, the Kelowna Rockets have been named the host for the 2026 Memorial Cup, beating out several other candidates, including Spokane. It would be great to see the Memorial Cup return to a U.S. host city someday.
Goal of the week
Seattle Kraken prospect Berkly Catton scored a nasty goal from a tough angle in the Spokane Chiefs’ win on Sunday.
Berkly Catton seals the deal with an insane angle @spokanechiefs | @SeattleKraken | #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/SIMoyghkTa
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 2, 2024
The Spokane Chiefs have quietly won six games in a row and eight of their last 10. During that span, Berkly Catton has recorded 21 points.
Player performances
Jakub Fibigr (SEA/BRA): The Kraken’s seventh-round selection from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft recorded four assists in a single game for the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL. He is a dark horse to make the Czechia World Junior team this year but will likely have a stronger chance next year.
Oliver Bjorkstrand (SEA): Bjorkstrand enters Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes on a five-game point streak.
Shane Wright (SEA): Since being a healthy scratch for three games, Wright has tallied three goals and two assists in his last four outings. It would be great to see him maintain this momentum for an extended period.
WRIGHT AS RAIN AGAIN! 🚨
TWO power-play goals, both by Shane Wright, and this one comes off a beautiful pass by Stephenson.
4-3 #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/ZSjCbgWys6
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 29, 2024
The week ahead
On paper, this upcoming road trip looks like the most challenging of the season. The Kraken begin with a Tuesday game against the Hurricanes, followed by back-to-back matchups against the Islanders on Thursday and the Devils on Friday. They will close out the trip with a game against the New York Rangers on Sunday.
If there’s any consolation, none of these four teams are currently playing their best hockey. This could be an opportune time for the Kraken to face them, as these teams have a collective record of 18-18-4 over their last 10 games.
Normally, earning 50 percent of the available points during a stretch like this would be acceptable. However, if the Kraken want to avoid settling into the mushy middle of the standings, they need to steal some games they aren’t projected to win. Wouldn’t it be something if they struggled against the Sharks and Ducks, but then managed to beat teams like the Hurricanes and Devils?
This team has definitely been frustrating to watch in the last week or so (since the 5-1-0 stretch). It kind of reminds me of being a Leafs fan (born in the GTA, so there are reasons…) when JVR was their best player. It was still fun in a perverse way because, well, it was The Leafs and you just hoped they could pee in someone else’s Cheerios and win this one game you happened to be watching. On the other hand, I wasn’t paying for season tickets, so the stakes seem higher.
I’m still a little confused about the “it’s a stark reminder that the Kraken won’t have a fully developed young core for a few more seasons” sentiment. What exactly does that get you, other than a crappy team with a bunch of young players? Those teams still aren’t perennial winners, and there’s certainly no guarantee they will be. Vegas is doing just fine with their strategy, and they mostly just use their draft picks as bargaining chips. It doesn’t seem like they give a fig about drafting at all. Being the devil’s advocate here, but just trying to make a point.
You can’t make a good team on good contracts without in house talent. That’s what a young core gets you. Better cost for quality contracts. Vegas strategy doesn’t work for 90% of teams as they rely on the desire to be in the city of Vegas to cut deals. Same goes for both Florida teams. The perrenial winners comment is also naive. The oilers aren’t the oilers if they didn’t start with a good young core. Same with Boston and Pittsburgh. The Ducks, Utah and Philly are teams that are on the upswing after building on young core.
LOL! Oilers had the #1 overall pick for like 5 years in a row and finally won the lottery with McDavid and then again with Draisaitl, and they are still trying to build a good hockey team…by bringing in players they didn’t draft. What teams have a “young core” they drafted who are killing it? Dallas, Carolina and Colorado are the only three teams I can think of, and they have been years in the building with an arguably bumpy road. The only team that has had consistent success in recent times is Vegas, and it isn’t because players were scrambling to move to Nevada. Winnipeg is pretty good this year. Is that because players were dying to live in Manitoba? Is it even because they have the best young core of players…or had at any time?
It’s naive to think the young players you get through the draft are the reason most teams find success in the NHL. It’s only one way to get players. If we are relying on Clark Caswell, Berkly Catton and Nathan Villeneuve to turn the franchise around…that’s a long shot bet.
Read the whole comment. Don’t skip parts. Its funny you ignored the other examples and focused so much on Edmonton (which was indeed built off a young core).
“and it isn’t because players were scrambling to move to Nevada” lol when literally players have noted that’s a primary reason they go there and sign sweetheart deals (as in the other cities I listed).
I get it, you think you’re smart, but smart people listen to other perspectives and aren’t so quick to dismiss.
I think teams need a core number of young players that are either on their ELC or first standard player contract. Seattle has 4 players that have played 5 games or more that have been drafted since 2017. Tied with Edmonton for the lowest in the league. Make sense considering they have only been drafting since 2021. Teams that are “win now mode” tend to trade picks and prospects and by the time their window is closing, they don’t have much in the age demographic. My point was more that they are still stuck with signing and extending players as they wait for the younger core to develop. I like Winterton but he doesn’t look ready.
Vegas has four roster players they acquired through the entry draft. Two forwards and two D. To your point, they are all 23 or older, but I also don’t think it’s what makes them a good team.
I’m not being glib here, I’m seriously asking because when I ask myself this question I can’t answer it… what does Seattle being like Vegas look like? By that I mean give me some actual examples of what moves they should be making or should have made. Certainly I would think you’d have to go back to the expansion draft… but maybe not. I’m honestly curious what this idea looks like.
Daryl, you have raised this same question a number of times but you cannot really expect fans to have the answers. Imagine yourself there at the start of the McPhee/McCrimmon masterclass in Vegas. Could anyone have possibly predicted how they would fleece other GMs, not just at the expansion draft but for years afterwards?
Only an savvy evaluator of NHL talent, along with the skills to out-negotiate their GM brethren, could pull this off. As I postulated to you previously, if the McP/McC roles were switched with Ron Francis, do think the outcomes would be the same as they are today? The circumstances would still remain the same. The only difference would be what cooks would be in which kitchen.
Part of the problem with the Kraken setup is there is no president of hockey operations separate from the GM. This is important to get a second voice on ideas. It is still very vague who pulls the strings above Francis but they are not at all visible and apparently let him run the ship entirely. That is a real management failure. For all the great things the Kraken ownership did to start up the franchise, they failed at business 101 by not setting up the proper management structure.
Until they remedy that, which may mean bumping Francis upstairs as they seem afraid to fire him, I do not see this team ever getting right. Yes, you need hockey people in hockey ops, but you also need business people who know how to run an organization and set expectations and deliverables. That to me is what has been missing since day 1. To demonstrate my point, can anyone quickly name RF’s boss?
My point is just there are many ways to build a team, and there aren’t two teams that get there the same way. For some reason, some people think your salvation lies with your entry draft prospects, when that is just ONE way for a team to get players. Most players you draft will never even wear the sweater. I don’t subscribe to this concept of “rebuild” and “the young core.” I think you should identify your needs, and you try to get those players now. For that, and those needs might include having some seasoned players (like Monty and Stephenson) to help bring your younger players along…but if those younger players aren’t panning out, you may be poaching a 26-30 player to fulfill a need to make your team better. I’m in the camp where you should always be trying to win now, and you are bringing along your promising young players in the process.
To answer your question more directly, I would identify the real weak links on the team and try to fix them. It seems obvious Burakovsky, Grubauer and Larsson aren’t helping this team, even if they might be great in the locker room. I think it was a mistake to resign Larsson based on what he brings to the team. You might as well have just planned to play Ottovainen next season. I would do whatever I could to get rid of Burakovsky. He’s had enough chances and he’s just…bad. That’s a bet that didn’t pay off. I was actually excited when we first signed Grubauer. In retrospect, he’s ALWAYS been a backup goalie. For three years we tried to make him a starter. Who are the right players and how do you get them on your team and in the right roles?
At least Grubauer seems to now be in the role he should be in, despite his recent performance in SJ. I don’t think we have many options with him, and there were several games where it would seem he kept us in it and we just couldn’t score, so there’s that. But that also could mean the team doesn’t feel they can be very aggressive offensively when he plays, so you either get the low offensive production of last seasons team or you risk opening things up offensively and you lose the game 8-5.
comparing Seattle to Vegas is not realistic. For the Seattle draft, teams were better prepared to not be forced to do any trades. Vegas accumulated high picks in the expansion draft and then flipped a lot of their assets to become contenders right away. There are certainly a few better picks RF could have made but not big misses in the expansion draft for Seattle so their starting positions were totally different.
Yeah, I’m not one of those people that compares us to Vegas in the expansion draft. Completely agree on that front. The context of my initial comments related to the statement quoted…that our young prospects haven’t had time to develop into a “solid young core,” which seemed to imply that this is the route that would make Seattle better. I was just using Vegas as an example of a team that seems to do consistently well despite not having a solid young core of prospects they drafted. They clearly have a different approach. And yes, they are perennially in “win now” mode. That seems to be the philosophy they have adopted. They seem almost completely disinterested in the “young core” approach, instead acquiring players they need at trade deadlines.
Also, I think it’s important to keep in mind that at least in the first year, Vegas wasn’t supposed to be good. Their own GM said so before the season started, that their hope is not be one of the bottom 5 teams in the league. And then they made the Stanley cup finals because whether we like it or not, this game is like 40% luck.
This reminds me of this classic, hilarious article:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-expansion-vegas-golden-knights-are-stanley-cup-favorites-and-make-absolutely-no-sense/
Vegas was not some uniquely genius team that fleeced 31 dumb GMs. There was a little of fleecing, but also some dumb moves by Vegas too. The bottom line was Vegas was INCREDIBLY lucky. It was a once-in-a-millennium lightning bolt of luck we will never see again. My point is I agree with John, but even more strongly. It is not even remotely Seattle’s fault they could not get that lightning bolt to strike again. Other teams’ refusal to make deals was kinda besides the point. I do think, though, that Seattle could use a *bit* more of Vegas’s ruthless willingness to improve and let declining players go.
They also took advantage of dumb GMs. Stop using Vegas as an indicator of anything. They are an outlier. You keep showing how little you understand what made them them/
Uh…apparently you are a “Profesor” who doesn’t know how to read…or spell. I’m not comparing Vegas and Seattle expansion drafts. Completely unrelated to what I am saying.
I agree there are many ways to build a team. I also think teams have a lot more restrictions than they do opportunities.
As John mentioned, the Vegas model just doesn’t apply. It’s been said over and over that folks shouldn’t expect what happened for Vegas to happen for anyone else. I don’t know enough about management structures and “masterclasses” so I can’t really respond to the idea that the Kraken need a “president” or a “maestro”. I also think folks sometimes confuse No.1 picks with building through the draft. Furthermore, the three teams you mentioned certainly apply, but I feel like you left out Tampa Bay… and you forgot to lump in San Jose with Vegas… they made lots of “high-profile” moves and were competitive for years… they were Vegas before Vegas was Vegas… and never won a Cup.
I think Francis is trying to build a program of prospects while also remaining competitive enough to grow the sport among fans… a very dicey proposition. I honestly think season two was magical… and also set back the process. I think – and that’s not worth much – you can build a dozen different ways, but that doesn’t mean all those ways are available to you. I think what John was saying earlier… it takes time to build up a young core… I think folks don’t get that. I mentioned it before, the Ducks have been bottom three in the West for six years. Imagine a season one Kraken team for SIX SEASONS. That’s what the “tear it down” folks are talking about.
I don’t think Vegas is unique in that. I think most teams – Tampa, San Jose, Pittsburgh – are in “win-now” mode when their core gets there. In the case of Vegas, that happened to be season one, but as far as “win-now”, I don’t think they’re some unicorn.
All I have said is Vegas seems to have forsaken the “build the young core” through the draft model. Pretty sure that’s just fact. They recently got their potentially best young player (arguably), Holtz, from New Jersey. That said, their 3rd round 79th overall pick Dorofeyev actually seems to be pretty good, and Nicolas Hague at 34th overall (6’6” 240 D) seems like a regular.
How this affects them in the future remains to be seen, but it all seems to be working for them in the present.
Note: I’m not even advocating for Seattle to follow this example.
There should be some combination of being opportunistic in the present to get what you need to make your team better, and obviously draft and develop the best prospects you can. This to me is what Francis has been doing and I agree with it. My main issue with the Kraken so far (and I have mostly been happy) is the team sitting on “problems” without taking action. Like Hakstol stubbornly playing Grubauer every single game when he had Dreidger there to create some competition, and Bylsma now stubbornly playing Burakovsky when the guy obviously has to sit a few out and contemplate his awfulness. Same goes for Larsson based on his recent play. I would like to have seen Oleksiak benched 10-15 times the last few seasons for literally handing the puck over to an opposing player in the slot. A lot of NHL teams wouldn’t have put up with it.
Yes, I agree Seattle G, Vegas has forsaken the “build through the young core” model.
Ad hominems won’t get you very far bud. YOU keep bringing up Vegas and refuse to acknowledge that they’re the anomaly and not the norm due to their exploitation of GMs fearing for their teams.
They seem to be an anomaly in the sense they clearly don’t give a shit about getting players in the NHL entry draft. That’s my whole point. They literally don’t seem to care about this widely accepted strategy of drafting and developing “a core of young players”, as apparently your Oilers have done with three guys. Nothing to do with the expansion draft. I know…it’s hard to understand.
I’ve actually been wondering if Larsson has been sick lately. He seems to be off in a way that is a bit slow.
I kind of think like the problem of Shane Wright and season two for the Kraken… sometimes circumstance limits the options. If Seattle had been terrible in season two, maybe Wright stays with the club and gets some experience. As it turned out, Seattle was fighting for a playoff spot all season and really couldn’t afford to give him playing time. Likewise, as frustrating as Grubauer has been, what’s the alternative. A lot of teams face this with goaltending. I’d like to see more benching and motivation too, but I’m beginning to wonder… can this group of veterans be reached? In season two they were flying to the puck and winning board battles and one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch… and now it seems like they can’t even pass the puck. It kind of feels like they realized they were part of a “rebuild” and so why bother. Bjorkstrand said Saturday was going to be a statement game… well maybe it was.
I think you and I have some of the same frustrations.
I think we do agree on many things. I don’t think we have many options with Grubauer. It would have been a huge mistake to play Wright in season 2 with the playoff run, but I don’t think that affected his development. Season 2 was a crazy occurrence that no one understands to this day, including Dave Hakstol, as it turns out. It became obvious he was throwing darts wearing a blindfold in season 3.
I’m not sure how you tell veteran hockey players to “just play better.” That’s a real problem. The only thing I can think of is to deny them the opportunity to play, make them come into the locker room in their street clothes to watch their buddies putting their equipment on, and make them watch someone else, preferably perceived as worse than them, play in “their” spot.
I have thought Larsson is playing like he’s ill, but I can’t imagine he is, because why would they let him continue to play? It just seems like there are no consequences for certain players on the team if they play poorly, and there should be consequences.
I don’t think they are an anomaly they way you think they are. Plenty of teams who are contenders trade away their draft picks because they already have a “core”. Tampa, Pittsburgh… even St. Louis. What’s unique is how they got to be contenders… through the expansion draft. It has everything to do with the expansion draft. How long was it after the expansion draft they were in the final? When you’re “born a contender” it makes sense you would “build” through the draft… you’re already there.
I think they are marching to a different drum despite the expansion draft. Any team could adopt some of their practices. For example, there was no reason for The Pens to re-sign Malkin and Letang. They could have let them hit the market, and used that cap room to entice some younger, promising players who may have jumped at a chance to play with Sydney Crosby, even if just for one season. That’s probably what Vegas management would have done.
I feel like if Vegas was in Pittsburgh they would’ve let Malkin and Letang walk, resigned Guentzel, and traded picks for Hanifin and Hertl. I do agree they are more aggressive than even other contenders.
I do wonder how long they can keep all the plates spinning. Folks love to say flags fly forever, but those same folks forget – fittingly – that people have short memories.
The Kraken have not beaten a single playoff team (based on current playoff position) in regulation all year. So if they get a regulation win against CAR, NYR or NJD, that will be a first.
John, you say they need to start Grubauer to give Joey rest. I understand getting Joey rest, but why must Grubauer be the backup? Other than blind loyalty to a nice guy, or stubborn refusal to admit a mistake, is there any conceivable justification for not sending Grubauer to the AHL and calling up whomever, or just signing someone off the scrap heap? Grubauer is one of the absolute worst goalies in the league by any objective measure. His save percentage is .862. .862!!!! If they need to spell Joey more often, and yes they probably do, they should do so with a passable NHL backup goalie.
Because Gru is still better than our AHL goalies. As much as you dislike him and quote save % (a terrible stat out of context), he will still give you more wins ban the AHL goalies. Gru is a passable backup AT WORST. Our fanbase has a lot of people that have a weird hate boner for this player,
Ah the “fanbase”. This is the same fanbase that has a lot to learn about hockey because they don’t realize how bad Joey really is? Judging by the number of Grubauer jerseys I see at the games, I’d say the “fanbase” mostly still supports Gru. I think there are a number of folks who question his abilities given just about every metric you can measure – not just save percentage- and a three year “eye test”.
Joey isn’t bad he’s just shown he’s at best a 1B (he also had an atrocious game this week). We should be far more worried about our goal scoring and inability to keep the puck out of our zone than our goaltending. If your eye test is telling you he’s a bad goalie, you made need to see an optometrist.
Grubauer’s mom is here! Say hi everybody!
IMHO Stezka looked very shaky in preseason to a point where he did not look like an NHL goalie. You want Kokko playing games, not backing anyone up, even in the NHL.
You want Kokko playing games… problem is he’s the No.2 in Coachella and has less starts than Grubauer. I also think you want Grubauer getting starts… which he could certainly do down in the AHL.
I don’t like the idea of Kokko getting shelled in the NHL, but if you think you have a better chance with Grubauer… better than what? 1-7? Look at his numbers… as much as folks keep telling a story, his numbers are not an illusion. He’s terrible.
Good to know. All I saw was a Sv% that starts with a 9, a feat Grubauer has achieved once (barely) in his 4 years here.
Incorrect. Grubauer has NEVER achieved a .900 save pct in Seattle. His best is .899.
I’m not sure what was expected of this team when almost every player is at the age when you start to see a decline in performance (27 to 29 years old) and some are where you really start to see decline (30+). They should have been taking their lumps, making short term moves to transition to a younger group but instead went longer term with multiple players 30+ and this is a predictable result.
On other news….
Just saw the invites to the Team Canada WJC camp. Of course, Catton and Rehkopf but surprisingly, Caden Price gets an invite. I had to check to be sure that Lukas Dragicevic was Canadian. Now I am wondering the right interpretation. Is Price playing above his 3R pick status or is Dragicevic playing below his 2R pick status?
I am hoping one of these guys (if not both) eventual play NHL games, so this early indicator is of interest.
I think Canada went with players that were a little more defensively responsible, which likely gave Price the nod.
Unfortunately, as you know, the reply function is hobbled on this platform… so.
Shout out to you for mentioning last Monday that this Sharks team is no pushover any longer. In addition to what they did to Seattle they also crushed LA 7-2.
I wanted to point out, prior to being the GM in Carolina, Ron Francis was the President… when they drafted Elias Lindholm (flipped for Dougie Hamilton) and Bret Pesce. As GM they drafted Sebastian Aho, Nick Roy, Noah Hanifin, Morgan Geekie and Martin Necas. After he left Waddell made the “shrewd” move of taking Svechnikov at No.2 overall. The “core” of that team was mostly assembled by Ron Francis.
Caveat: I know nothing about hockey.. I’ve never seen a game live.. I live in Australia and have only been watching hockey/kraken for 2.5 years…
Agree the Gru hate is stupid and he will be better than our AHL goalies… but a better long term solution is needed.
Offensively… matty is not a 1st line centre at least not yet and shouldn’t be there.. he needs to sit and when he comes back not be on the first line. He is great, but he doesn’t have the body to play the man and doesn’t have the skill (yet) to be creating opportunities for our wingers.
Kartye despite his defensive holes, tanev and gourde and Schwartz are working hard and playing hard its great to see and I wish the rest of our team would play with this passion.
I think a fire needs to be lit under a few people, and our top lines just don’t work, they are not creating the opportunities they should be.
We have some slips and holes in our D but doesn’t everyone? it’s the grit that’s missing.. without knowing anything I feel we tend to play more zone on D and let every team get setup and have their way, we only have a few players that pressure the puck carriers.. we let them bring it in over the blue line and then we struggle to get it out and look for stretch passes.. on the flipside we get pressured centre ice and just turn the puck over… he has had a few big errors but Evans has been doing more work than Larson and oleksiak..
I like Larson and oleksiak, they are very experienced players with good sticks but they really need to step up more… they seem to just coast. I understand everyone has their own style but as a D guy surely if the situation calls for it they can get a little more physical.
Good to see Dunn back but he seems flat.. is he struggling with montour being the new guy on the block? Hopefully he gets rolling..
I wouldn’t say you know “nothing” about hockey. Your comment seems pretty well informed.
I don’t know how anyone could be that confident that Gru is better than our AHL goalies (Stesla specifically). Jack Campbell went through the same thing and was sent down after being this bad, despite having signed a similar contract. Foist’s point is that sure, the AHL goalies might be worse, but we know for a fact based on MULTIPLE objective measures (not just save%) that Grubauer is one of if not the worst goalie in the league this year, which includes backups of other teams. Then again, if playoffs are not in the card maybe we should start Grubauer most games…
Also, I don’t really agree with John’s suggestion that Daccord’s two subpar games this week indicate a trend of getting tired. Two games does not a trend make. Time will tell, of course.
The real problem is that the team doesn’t have enough talent, PLUS they are playing like crap. They have individual players each game who put in max effort, but it’s never the entire team. This sharply contrasts with the first 2 seasons.
Plus, I completely agree with you re:their passive defensive zone style. It’s the same problem with their PK. They just stand around instead of pressuring the puck carrier. They didn’t use to just stand around, so I have no idea if this is a new coaching thing or what. Whatever it is, it’s not working, and it’s infuriating to watch, especially as the teams we play seem to constantly pressure our players who then turn the puck over.
Re: John’s take on Joey – his last two games are very much in line with the steep drop off we saw last year after being ridden hard. While I don’t think we have enough data to know that this is a true trend, we also have more than two subpar games to suggest this should be a concern.
Maybe. I’d like to see more than 2 games to make that conclusion. There are too many confounding factors in a sample that small, including the team in general playing like crap and getting out-chanced by even the bottom feeders. Plus, even with that “steep” drop off, he overall was a top 6ish goaltender in the league last year. Also, his “drop off” was way better than Grubauer’s first half in 2023-24, and better than Grubauer’s overall numbers for the season! That is somehow usually absent on these pages when comparing these two goalies, especially last year.
But again, I don’t think this team is playoff-bound so I’m all for starting Grubauer. I don’t think anyone would disagree with the fact that he gives us a better chance to lose most nights.
I didn’t say anything about Grubauer, I simply pointed out that we have reason to believe that Joey will regress and that the sample size for thinking so isn’t confined to the last two games as you are claiming. I don’t care if we start Grubauer or bring up an AHLer at this point, but there’s more than just the last two games to suggest that continuing to ride Joey hard may not be a great idea.
Look Joey’s mom is here. Is that what we say when we disagree with someone now? Why has our fanbase turned so toxic?
Too much toxicity… I agree… I’m guilty of it too, I’m classic passive aggressive – Seattle born and raised. We should all recognize pretty much everyone on here is a fan… a fan of hockey and a fan of the Kraken.
We can all hate losing without being hateful.
The honest truth is… we all root for the home team in different ways.
Go Kraken!!!
No, that’s what I say to someone when it’s not worth my time or energy to actually engage. I’m happy to disagree with people or admit I’m wrong, but you gotta do more than make declarative statements despite the preponderance of evidence to the contrary, like “Gru is a passable backup at worst”, “Daccord is a 1B at best,” or make some rude comment about someone needing an optometrist, or Seattle fans not knowing anything about hockey. I actually don’t disagree with his other points, that our goalscoring and team defense are the biggest issues. But yeah, some people are super dug-in on Grubauer being more than a backup, just like they’re confident that all this team needs is 3 Ryan Reaves. I just don’t bother with those comments, and happened to make a silly comment in passing. It wasn’t meant to be mean-spirited.
Right so you’re toxic. Saying it wasn’t meant to be mean spirited is just you trying to cover your ass now that you’re called out.
The optometrist quote was specifically in reference to the “eye test”. If your eye test is that bad, than indeed a visit to the optometrist is in order. You can’t even admit he’s an NHL goaltender and that is indeed a problem. Anyone advocating for goons also need to check themselves. If you don’t like what’s being said, counter it.
Coming from the guy who just wrote above: “I get it, you think you’re smart, but smart people listen to other perspectives and aren’t so quick to dismiss.” Yes, I’m the toxic one.
And just to clarify, me saying Grubauer’s mom is a toxic joke, but someone suggesting an optometrist for the “eye test” is to be taken literally, when the “eye test” is being used colloquially? Yup, that makes sense.
Also, Grubauer IS an NHL goalie, in the sense that he is a goalie who plays in the NHL. He was a passable backup last year. He has not been passable this year. Maybe that will change! It’d be hard for it to get worse.
Mommy! Daddy!… Stop Fighting! 🥺
G’day mate. Pretty good analysis for a hockey newbie. You rugby union or league? Assume you are watching games on the NHL Network. Getting any blackouts of the Kraken games down under?
Dunn hasn’t played hockey in 6 weeks and had only been skating for 10-11 days, not to mention the injury in preseason and the recovery from last year’s hit and missing a lot of hockey as a result. I think it would have been a miracle if he immediately came back as the same guy he was at the beginning of 23-24 or even 22-23. Which is all to say I don’t think it has anything to do with Montour and it’ll take a few games (hopefully less rather than more) to shake the rust off but he’ll get back to himself eventually.
The team sits with less than a 10% shot at the playoffs. That’s a very steep hill to climb. Let’s just count them out and put off the hoping for a while.
I tried looking ahead to next year, but that didn’t help. The Athletic did a ranking of teams’ cap situation. Kraken are 30th. Here was the blurb for them, tough to argue with any of it:
30. Seattle Kraken
2025-26 salaries: $79 million
RFAs estimate: $4.5 million
Dead money: None
Notable UFAs: Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, Daniel Sprong, Will Borgen
Projected cap space: $10 million (28th)
Biggest decision: Is it time to stop chasing the overpriced UFA class?
The Kraken have been a bit of a strangely built club from their inception. How they handled the expansion draft was odd. A lot of their more recent signings have felt overpriced and misguided. Their prospect pool is middling. And their cap sheet is now cluttered to the point they really don’t have a lot of flexibility.
Meanwhile, they’re off to another below-average start, and the playoffs feel like a pretty steep long shot. It’s hard to get a read on what the plan is in the Pacific Northwest right now.
Joey Daccord and Vince Dunn have been nice wins for the organization, but they’ve both now been paid and are overshadowed by contracts given to Chandler Stephenson, Philipp Grubauer, Andre Burakovsky and Brandon Montour.
The good news? They probably don’t have enough cap room this summer to do any more damage on July 1.
Handled the expansion draft odd? This has been covered ad nauseum, they did just about the best they could without having Vegas advantages. People can quibble on couple selections but…
Middling prospect pool? This one’s laughable, they’re top ten in most of these rankings! In fact here is what was recently written about the Krakens prospect pool:
“After making four drafts’ worth of picks (28 selections) in their first three drafts, the Kraken, despite having graduated the highest of those picks (Matty Beniers), have quickly built a pool that is deep in quality and quantity. I considered more prospects for their top 15 than for any team before them in the countdown and more than multiple teams ranked in front of them.”
Guess who wrote that? The Athletic.
And if I’m reading that right they are now saying that Montour is a bad signing. I’m sorry but the Athletic didn’t even try here.
Yes… to all of it!
I assume nobody at the Athletic can get a read on what the plan is because nobody there actually follows the team.
With the $10m+ in cap space they only need to fill two bottom six forward spots (Gourde and Tanev) and one third pair defensemen spot (Borgen).
I would assume at least one of the forwards will come from their middling (No.9) prospect pool. That leaves over $9m for a forward and a third pair defensemen and fills out four lines, three pairs, and a goalie tandem. I think a Grubauer buyout is becoming an inevitably… that clears another $4m and covers the three extra skaters and his replacement.
The plan very much seems to be building a team through developing a core of young players as you replace aging veterans while accumulating a pool along the way. It also recognizes that a newly established hockey community of fans is not going to flourish if you give them a non-competitiv team for half-a-decade plus.
After next season the Kraken can say goodbye to: Schwartz, Bjorkstrand, Eberle and Oleksiak. Wright will still be on his ELC and Tolvanen (who is tradeable) will be expiring. Elliotte Friedman reported the cap could be as high as $110m after next season, but even if we’re conservative and go with $105m, the Kraken will have $50m in cap space, a hopefully soild one-two down the middle, and maybe a couple of young forwards breaking through like Rehkopf or Catton. Also, Stephenson’s “horrible” contract will be at about the same percentage as Yanni’s is at the same age.
I think folks can not like it all they want. I think wanting the team to be worse is an understandable approach I just happen to disagree with. I don’t think, however, it’s all that hard to see what the plan is. Build a team in a market where you can’t suck right now.
Yeah, good points. I think my main concern is RF re-signing the likes of Tanev and Gourde after this season (if RF still has a job with the team). They need to play some of their prospects, and they need to get younger. We have enough players on multi-million $ deals in their 30s.
I’d like to see some of the prospects too, but I get why that’s not gonna happen until they’re eliminated from playoff contention. As bad as last week was, that hasn’t happened yet.
Just to further dogpile on the Athletic, here are their yearly grades of the Krakens draft classes:
2021: B-, the lowest grade, mainly because they didn’t think the Ryker Evans would be a full time NHLer (hahahahaha)
2022: A
2023: B+
2024: B+
It’s hard to expect the Athletic to follow the team when they can’t even follow their own writing.
As I mentioned elsewhere, Pronman recently had Evans in a “Prospects I Was Wrong About” article starting his take with “I was stunned when Seattle took Ryker Evans No. 35 in 2021″… yet still had Seattle with a B-.
Middling… whatever.
This team is not seriously competitive this season. Why do you believe that replacing three depth players is going to change that?
I don’t think replacing three depth players is going to change much. I assume “seriously competitive” means something along the lines of being a likely playoff team.
I was responding to the notion that this team is somehow paralyzed by their cap situation… they’re not. Next season I believe they have enough room to fill out a “competitive” roster. Not necessarily a lock for the playoffs, but one that can continue to develop a core of young players while still being worth watching and rooting for. It’s after next season, when a bunch of aging veterans can come off the books just as a slew of promising ELCs mature… and they have a thick wallet of cash AND prospects to work with… that’s when I think you see the “change”.
“ It would be great to see the Memorial Cup return to a U.S. host city someday”
It was in Saginaw Michigan in 2024
I meant a WHL US team.
Wish we still had Magnus Hellberg. I’d feel great about giving Gru an AHL stint to get his head right if we had the Brick Wall of Hell himself to hold down the backup spot.
Just saw the Panthers called up Driedger to fill in while Bobrovsky is off for the birth of a child.
He’ll be back on waivers soon!
Was it an emergency call up?
I don’t think so. PuckPedia didn’t have it listed as such, but I think Capfriendly was better at indicating that.
Dear god Francis claim the man
He cleared waivers on October 9 and hasn’t been called up before now. He would need to play 10 games or spend 30 days on the roster since he last cleared to require waivers again.
So much for that…
The team is about what I expected. If Dunn hadn’t been hurt they would probably have an extra W or two.
Their main issue wasn’t fixed this week off-season. To me that main issue is elite scoring talent. That is much of why I hated the big long term contract to Stephenson.
1. It will affect our ability to sign mega contracts for years to come.
2. During hours s peak years where value is OK the team wasn’t set to contend
3. His strength isn’t scoring goals, that’s what was needed
4. By time our young talent coming up can plug holes and give the Kraken a chance at being great he will be a net negative.
His + – is really, really bad. -10, second worse on the team. Not many in team worse than -5. The first couple years of his contract will be when we get OK value. He has been OK, but not what the team needs most and not a difference maker for a team that needed a couple of them to be a contender.
I hope this is Francis’s last year. That signing made me believe he might be great at checkers, but not chess. The team and his results have proved my expectations and fears correct so far. I honestly felt we were likely to sneak in to playoffs but be overmatched there by other teams.
I was in for the slow build strategy they seemed to have adopted, but the Stephenson move was completely counterproductive to it. Mediocre might help for some fans, but all I care about is strategies to win championships.
Hey John, great write up! I remember John Forslund or JT bringing up how often we allow the first goal earlier in the season, however I can’t seem to find anywhere that tracks this stat. Just wanted to ask where you found the data for the % of games trailing first chart.
I don’t know where John got it but you can find it on the NHL site > Stats > Teams > Scoring First/Trailing First report.
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