Things are getting dire, folks. You could sense it from the moment you walked into Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, where a big swath of fans arrived very late after the Seattle Seahawks narrowly defeated Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts. And when they did arrive, they didn’t have much reason to cheer. The Seattle Kraken dropped their eighth game out of their last nine (1-7-1) with a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Of course, we’ve been here in years past, but this free fall does sting, especially given that the Kraken started their season so well and gave hope that they could be a playoff team for just the second time in their five-year history. Instead, the plummet toward the bottom of the standings continued Sunday.
After the game, I asked Chandler Stephenson, who scored Seattle’s only goal in the game, “What is the mood of the team right now?”
Sounding downtrodden, Stephenson gave a long and thoughtful answer to a relatively simple question.
“I mean, it’s tough. Obviously, it’s no fun losing. And yeah, obviously, we got a little bit of energy with the dads being here [for the recent dads and mentors trip], and it’s exciting having them here. I think it’s just… it’s a hard league. It’s hard to stay positive when things are going this way. But, I think that’s kind of the MO right now, is that [winning is] going to come. That’s kind of the hard thing is that you’re just waiting for it [to happen], and it seems like it’s kind of the same thing. The effort’s there, goalies are playing well, giving us a chance to win. Offense isn’t overly there, but the PK has been better, power play has been pretty good too as of late. So yeah, I think it’s just that everything needs to be going for us to win games right now, and we’re just going to go into the next one, and hopefully we can have some energy and have some juice and get something going here before Christmas.”
Worth noting: the next Kraken game is against the 23-2-7 Colorado Avalanche.
Anyway… here are Three Takeaways from a 3-1 Kraken loss to the Sabres.
Takeaway #1: Two bad mistakes
You generally have to score more than one goal in a game to win, but with the way things have gone for the Kraken this month, you also can’t afford to make mistakes. Seattle made two huge ones in this game, and both resulted in rush goals for Buffalo—something we almost never saw in the first (almost) two months of the season.
The first goal, which ended with a pretty give-and-go between Noah Ostman and Josh Norris at 17:09 of the first period, came off a 2-on-1 that started when Alex Tuch escaped a Jamie Oleksiak pinch and made a quick breakout pass to Ostman in the middle.
“Their first goal, our D stands in,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Our protocol is our forward has to back him up, and he doesn’t, so it’s a 2-on-1. Can’t do that. And it’s happening too often, and there’s no excuse for it. These players, the guys have to do the job that’s required.”
Sabres break the ice off a 2-on-1.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 15, 2025
Beautiful passing play between Noah Ostlund and Josh Norris. Norris crashed hard into the end wall. Was able to get up and skate off, though.
1-0. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/Mmm7KekgPN
In this case, Jacob Melanson (more on him in Takeaway #2) was the F1 on the forecheck, and Ben Meyers was the F2. That meant Tye Kartye was the high forward—and the one Lambert was clearly implicating. Kartye got caught flat-footed at the blue line, and Ostman had a ton of speed hitting the neutral zone. Kartye was so stationary, in fact, that Meyers—who was down at the offensive-zone face-off dot when the play started coming back the other way—ended up closer to catching the 2-on-1 rush than Kartye did.
The other non-empty-net goal, scored by Tage Thompson, came off an egregious turnover by Vince Dunn in the second period. Trying to clear the zone up the wall, Dunn had his pass knocked down by Tuch, suddenly turning it into a 3-on-1 that became a 2-on-0 in tight on Joey Daccord. Peyton Krebs slid it across to Thompson, who jammed it under Daccord’s pad for the 2-0 lead.
It's 2-0 Buffalo after…. this. pic.twitter.com/sz8UPfxMm9
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) December 15, 2025
“Obviously, the second one was a costly turnover,” Lambert said. “Right now, we have to play the perfect game to give ourselves a chance to win. And there’s mistakes here and there that are reaching up and biting us.”
I asked Lambert whether these mistakes are happening more frequently than they were earlier in the season.
“That’s a good question. No, I think that it’s just biting us a little more now. It wasn’t like we were mistake free, certainly. But right now, it’s magnified, right? Because you’re not winning, and you’re having trouble scoring goals 5-on-5, so those little mistakes get magnified.”
Takeaway #2: Jacob Melanson was a silver lining
On a night when the veterans didn’t appear to have much juice, Jacob Melanson—who found out around 3 p.m. Sunday that he would be in the lineup for his second career NHL game, replacing a sick Mason Marchment—did exactly what you’d want. He was fast, physical, relentless on the forecheck, and looked like he belonged in a depth NHL role.
On his first shift, he dumped Rasmus Dahlin in the corner, then slammed Thompson into the end wall a few minutes later, doing everything he could to get under the skin of the Sabres throughout the night.
“The way I play, I play physically, bring energy, and the easiest way you get into it is get that first big hit, and I felt much better after that,” Melanson said. “Everyone’s been welcoming and happy to have me, and I thought tonight, I brought my energy, brought my physicality, and I’ll keep bringing that when the team needs it. And I feel like I can be a big part of that.”
The nastiness in Melanson’s game is an element the Kraken don’t really have, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with him moving forward. Though he played just 7:47, he brought a spark to an otherwise lifeless lineup. Could that earn him more time with the big club?
“I did like [his physical game],” Lambert said. “I thought it was exactly what we needed, and [he brought] some youthful energy, and certainly he finished his checks. I thought he played well.”
Takeaway #3: Something has to give
One day after a true blockbuster trade sent Quinn Hughes, one of the best defensemen in the NHL, to the Minnesota Wild, it’s fair to wonder whether the Kraken will make a move of their own to try to salvage the season. Last December, former general manager Ron Francis traded for Kaapo Kakko. That didn’t ultimately rescue the season, but it was a signal that Seattle still wanted to keep trying to compete.
One year later, the Kraken are right back in the same position. Things are spiraling quickly, and while the playoffs remain attainable, constant injuries and illnesses have exposed just how thin this roster really is.
If the Kraken don’t pull off a trade or two for forwards who can put the puck in the net, that may be a sign that they’re instead beginning the march back toward sell mode.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Ugh!
I agree with Ugh!
First off that was a really really bad pinch by the big rig and I don’t think the forward was at fault. They were almost neck and neck and Oleksiak decided to jump down the boards at a very bad time with no communication. Yes Kartye was flat footed but he had no idea that the rig was going to pinch and turn the puck over.
Now on to coaching… this has to end. Nyman was benched early in the third period after he was one of the more dangerous looking forwards in the game. Why was he benched, because he didn’t dump the puck out of the zone like his idiot coach demands and caused a turnover. This turnover happened trying to break out of the zone to create a scoring opportunity and the team had ALL 4 other skaters behind him…. It created no scoring chance going the other direction.
Let’s back up to our last game where Marchment turned the puck over AS THE LAST MAN back and we were scored on because of it. What happened he just got more ice time and actually ended up having a very good game for Marchment standards.
Why did he get increased ice time after a very very bad turnover and Nyman got benched for a not great but really not that bad turnover?
Now someone please explain why this is the coach that should be leading a team that is trying to develop our young players?
On to your final statement, we should absolutely not allow the current management to try to get out of this by doing the only thing they could possibly do, trade our youth for “something”. Ownership should step in and block any trade they attempt to make and make plans to replace them as soon as possible. Let the new GM see our path not the group that’s gotten us into this mess, it’s very likely it just gets worse if ownership lets them try to fix it.
I didn’t even get into the post game press. Monty was completely right there is no urgency in their game and it’s just a stagnant system that is based on dumping the puck and waiting for mistakes. If those mistakes don’t happen it’s just a very frustrating game. How does LL respond to that… well I thought we played a very good game and our effort was there we just made a few mistakes!!!! WTF is he thinking and why would we even allow him to report back to the team. Just get a taxi and go straight to the airport. I’ll pay for the taxi if it helps.
I’d say the breakdown that resulted in the first buffalo goal started when Melanson went for an unnecessary pressure/hit behind the goal line while the Kraken were still completing their line change. That play could have been a mundane line change and reset. Instead, the pressure pushed Buffalo to break out earlier, before Seattle had everyone into position.
Not only was there the confusion between Oleksiak and Kartye, Melanson (who had already gotten behind the play by over-skating on the hit) fell further behind because he had to pull back coming out of the end to avoid colliding with Meyers doing a standard sweep.
The Kraken and myself had two things in common. We both fell asleep in the first 2 periods and then we woke up in the third but neither of us got anything done. I must say that the third period was nice to watch as the young kids took over for a tired looing bunch of vets.
they also had some good chances. It was like the chains were finally taken off and they could play an offensive. style. May the Swarts be with us soon. I hope LL mixes up all lines . Eli is not a first line player.
You weren’t watching the game, look at the ice time and go back and watch the game again. The third period was mostly vets dumping pucks, the first was more balanced with lines rotating.
I don’t consider a “trade or two for forwards who can put the puck in the net” a solution in our setting.
What difference will one or two players of the caliber of Kakko, Toivanen, and Marchment make instead of the current Kakko, Toivanen, and Marchment?
Can they trade on Marner/Hughes level – no. On Peterka/Ehlers – no. Everything lower is irrelevant here.
Now, as five years ago, the team critically needs a competitive first line (at least). These are players capable of scoring a point per game or more.
a. they can be drafted – to do this, you need time + to be able to find diamonds in the rough, develop them, and surround them with high-caliber support for greater synergy. We don’t have such players in our current lineup, there are no reasonable arguments that they exist among the youth. In five years, there has been no evidence that management is capable of strong drafting and development.
b. they can be acquired if you already have good support, but here no comments.
The team’s strategic problem lies in management (probably owners), not the players. Until this changes – I think its better to let this team to rot naturally with its management, and perhaps something more meaningful will grow out of it.
You don’t even know enough to recognize they’re icing an AHL team so why would anybody take you seriously?… especially when you offer nothing. Yes, plenty of folks will buy what you’re selling. The same folks whose crutch is “knowing better”.
I’m fairly confident you, Denis, don’t actually know anything about evaluating and developing prospects, but I’m sure you read plenty of pundits and know all about telling professionals they’re no good at their jobs… from your couch.
Whatever dude.
Calm down, you’re pushing too personal. Are you feeling powerless?
What difference does it make whether they put an AHL team on the ice or not? The key questions are (1) how we ended up in a situation where we need to put an AHL team on the ice after five years of existence, (2) what we are going to do differently now?
I’m not selling anything to anyone, I’m just a fan who want better output from my time, money and energy investments.
If they serve you crap in the fifth year of the restaurant’s operation and you continue to eat it, saying that everything is going according to plan, then bon appétit.
“…how we ended up in a situation where we need to put an AHL team on the ice after five years of existence?”
Injuries and illness… and they’re in the process of building a team. Believe it or not, it takes more than a few seasons removed from the playoffs to build a team. Fire the management and start over? If you can’t handle this short runway, how are you possibly going to be patient enough to endure a teardown. Tell me what prospect you’re drooling over going into World Juniors?
I agree with you on one point however… calm down. You’re right. I try to be a bit more farsighted on the team and I also try not to simply dismiss the criticisms. I fully recognize I’m considered by many as an apologist for the franchise and I don’t completely discount those views even though I disagree. It’s not personal and I need to dial it back. Also, I definitely don’t feel powerless. I still have faith in the process and I’m convinced the direction of the franchise is positive. I do, however, get frustrated with having to dread every loss not just for the agony of defeat, but also for the banal clamoring from the peanut gallery.
If my memory serves me… during their playoff season the Kraken handed the Bruins their first home regulation loss in January. Let’s see em hand Colorado their first on Tuesday.
Go Kraken!!!
Go to bed, Ron, we recognized you.
Ha!
Denis, I over reacted with my response last night. Bordering on personal and very abrasive. My sincere apologies.
They are not building a team. The very issue with this team is that it does not have a meaningful core, even less so a meaningful core of young players that will contend for the Cup in the near future! Five years in and they are spinning on empty!
You can’t just say they are building a team – when there are no building blocks and no plan to add building blocks, just some kind of weird sitting about and see if a building block or two somehow arrives miraculously. There literally is no meaningful plan. They say they have the GOAL of making the playoffs. But… they have not built a playoff worthy team, DOH.
What the hell is going on. Is anybody awake here? Yuhuu? Are the lights on in the FO?
There might as well be an AI bot FO. We all know what their fix is already; next summer they’ll sign someone like Nick Schmaltz to some overpaid UFA contract with too many years and pat themselves on the back for a job well done and babble about “making the playoffs”.
The AHL players are looking better than most of our vets….
It’s funny to see people mention development being the path and yet fail to realize that’s exactly what management has been doing from day 1. We are just now STARTING to see our draft picks be NHL ready. It’s fascinating seeing people with this cognitive disconnect
You don’t develop players with lane lambert, you hire him to squeeze out a few more wins at the expense of your development.
A horde of bottom 6/4 talent and long shots… like most every NHL team has in their pool.
What is missing, again, is the CORE talent, the stars, nvm the superstar talent. Our very own #4 pick, Shane Wright, is withering on the vine. O’Brien and Catton may one day be top 6 players, or not. Nyman looks good most nights, but he can’t get minutes even as the vets beloved by our dino coach slide about in clown shoes.
I like Winterton, OFM, Miettinen etc. But again, they are unlikely to be top 6 players. And so on going through the pool. This team does not need any more Wennbergs, decent enough player that he is. This team needs top end quality.
Denis G,
You are exactly right. Just like every poster who can see the reality of what six years of Ron Francis has done to make this franchise mediocre and irrelevant, you are attacked by Daryl W and his alter ego Seattle Garbage. It makes what used to be a civil website, rare on the Internet these days, into one that is so unpleasant I don’t stop by anymore.
They claim to have a long-term vision of the franchise. Six years is a long-time to only come up with mediocrity. So they keep re-setting the clock. You should go back and read some of their posts from years ago claiming the Kraken would be a perennial playoff team by year 5. If people don’t stay consistent in their views over time, then they are not credible. Daryl at least used to be credible but he refuses to admit what is right in front of him. Francis and his protegees, including their pro and amateur scouts and their development guy, need to be fired immediately. Then a new GM needs to start trading like a banshee and setting a new path for this franchise, as we have just lost five years and none of the prospects, not a single one, looks like a top line F or a top pairing D. Just more of the same, bottom six F and bottom pairing D.
Being a hockey fan first and a Kraken fan second, I watch all the main moves by GMs around the league. From this, it is obvious who the really bright guys doing good work are. It shows in their rosters. Even GMs like Dubas and Rutherford/Allvin, who are consistently in my questionable GM category, have recently pulled off significantly good transactions. Heck, I would even give the soon to be fired Kevyn Adams credit on his last couple of trades that did not look like winners at first but seem to be working out. Most all the GMs in the league are either top tier, emerging, or questionable but sometimes good. That is why the Kraken GMs stand out so starkly in creating this mediocrity, as they are consistently bad.
The Athletic just published an article on the worst GMs who survived 5 years in the job. Although he technically only made if 4, they included Francis for his Seattle work. I have posted numerous links to other commentators across the league who essentially rate the Kraken’s management as poor but these are rejected by the Francis fan boys here. Doesn’t matter, as no matter what happens this season, the result with be boring. This is the entertainment business and no one in Kraken management seems to get that. They just trot out dull and inspiring rosters year after year. Winning boringly is still boring. The regular season is not the playoffs and should not be so dull. Entertain the Kraken fans first and foremost.
I really feel sorry for the writers on this site or Geoff Baker who have to keep pumping up the team to maintain viewership when their hearts seem not be in it. This is clear from reading between the lines. Who could stay excited when there is nothing to be excited about and nothing coming down the road? Some of us waited decades for a NHL team to show up in our hometown and this is what we get? Boring management and boring hockey. What’s to like, Buoy? Maybe Jerry Bruckheimer needs to bring in with something more fun. How about after they fire Francis and hire instead Meghan Turner and Johnny Depp to run the team? Well, she would the team and Captain Jack would make it all just more interesting.
And yet here you are!
I’m pretty sure there is a way to be at least less toxic. It actuality makes you more credible.
This is what ChatGPT had to say about the Kraken. Interesting, where does it get its information from?
The Kraken are built to be competent everywhere and special nowhere. That’s the real issue.
At the top, management has spread the salary cap across a lot of middle-tier players. None of them are bad, but together they eat the cap and leave no room for elite talent. That creates a roster that can survive nights but rarely dictate them.
On the ice, the team is coached to limit damage first, which reinforces that roster choice. Players are rewarded for being safe, not for being dangerous. That style fits veterans trying to protect leads — it does not fit a team that needs to find out how good its young core actually is.
Because of that, Matty Beniers has been turned into a responsibility sponge instead of an attack driver, and Shane Wright hasn’t been given a clear runway. When your best young players are asked to manage games instead of push them, offense never fully develops.
The defense is built to hold lines and block shots, not to move pucks fast and fuel offense. Breakouts are cautious, transitions are slow, and scoring chances have to be earned the hard way every night.
The power play reflects the same thinking: conservative setups, predictable movement, and too little urgency. That alone costs the team a meaningful number of wins each season.
Put together, the Kraken don’t lack effort, intelligence, or depth. They lack a threat. No opponent changes their game plan because of Seattle.
To fix this, the organization has to change how it defines success. That means:
• prioritizing upside over safety
• accepting mistakes from young players
• clearing cap space from redundant middle-tier contracts
• aligning coaching, roster, and development around offense
• and eventually acquiring at least one true difference-maker
Until all of that moves in the same direction, the Kraken will keep hovering in the middle — not because they’re unlucky, but because that’s exactly how they’re built.
Wow this is spot on!
Yeah it’s obvious that it can definitely find data. This was what it said when I asked how it would do it. I don’t agree with everything but it seems to have a better understanding than RF….
Okay — here is exactly how I would do it, step by step, across management, coaching, roster, cap, and on-ice usage. This is not abstract and not repeating slogans.
⸻
1) START AT THE TOP: CHANGE HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE
A) Redefine the goal internally
Right now the organization’s implicit goal is:
“Be competitive every night and don’t make mistakes.”
I would explicitly change that to:
“Maximize top-end impact by year 3, even if year 1–2 are uneven.”
That single shift changes every downstream decision.
⸻
B) New internal roster rules (this is critical)
I would implement hard rules for player acquisition:
1. No forward making $4M+ unless they:
• Drive offense, or
• Are elite on special teams
2. No term longer than 4 years for non-core players
3. Every contract must identify who it blocks in 1–2 years
4. If a player’s value is “they do a bit of everything,” they are replaceable
This immediately stops the cap bleed into mediocrity.
⸻
2) COACHING: ALIGN THE BENCH WITH THE ROSTER
A) Replace Lane Lambert
Not because he’s incompetent — because his philosophy is wrong for this team.
Seattle needs:
• Offensive experimentation
• Player growth
• Faster transitions
• Permission to fail
Lambert’s entire history is control-first hockey. That conflicts with development.
So I fire him and hire:
• An offense-first coach
• Someone with a top-10 PP background
• Someone comfortable with young players making mistakes
This is non-negotiable if you want to know what Beniers really is.
⸻
B) Power play overhaul on day one
The PP would be rebuilt around:
• Constant motion
• Beniers touching the puck every possession
• Quick shots, not perfect looks
• One elite shooter added or acquired
The PP isn’t a side issue — it’s how contenders separate.
⸻
3) ROSTER: CLEAR THE LOGJAMS (THIS IS WHERE IT HURTS)
A) Trade Chandler Stephenson
Even if it costs retention or a “loss” on paper.
Why:
• Redundant center
• Wrong cap slot
• Blocks Shane Wright
• Declining asset
Goal:
• Cap space first
• Assets second
You cannot build forward without removing this piece.
⸻
B) Pick a lane with Jared McCann
McCann is valuable — which means he’s tradeable.
I would:
• Shop him aggressively
• Only move him for:
• A 1st-round pick
• A high-end winger prospect
• Or as part of a star trade
Good teams trade good players before they have to.
⸻
C) Commit fully to Beniers and Wright
No more hedging.
• Beniers = 1C, offensive driver
• Wright = 2C, full responsibility
• Mistakes allowed
• Ice time earned through aggression, not caution
If Wright struggles, that’s development — not failure.
⸻
4) CAP STRATEGY: USE IT AS A WEAPON
Right now cap space is used to make the team “solid.”
I would instead:
A) Absorb a bad short-term contract
• Take a 1–2 year bad deal
• Demand a 1st-round pick or top prospect
This replaces signing another average UFA.
⸻
B) Save real assets for one big swing
Seattle does not need five upgrades.
It needs one player who:
• Forces matchups
• Drives a power play
• Creates offense without help
I would package:
• A 1st
• A top prospect
• One roster player
For a top-line winger under contract.
No rentals. No half-measures.
⸻
5) DEFENSE: SMALL BUT CRITICAL CHANGE
I would trade for one defenseman who:
• Breaks the puck out fast
• Skates well
• Makes quick first passes
Not a shutdown guy.
Not a “veteran presence.”
This speeds the entire team up and directly boosts offense.
⸻
6) ON-ICE USAGE: WHAT CHANGES NIGHT TO NIGHT
Even strength
• Beniers gets offensive-zone starts
• No automatic shutdown assignments
• Encouraged to stay high and attack
Power play
• Beniers is the hub
• Shots within 5–6 seconds
• No stationary setups
• Net-front stays net-front
Bottom six
• Cheap
• Fast
• Replaceable
• No leadership premiums
⸻
7) WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN 2 YEARS
• You know for sure what Beniers is
• Wright is either a real 2C or you know he’s not
• The cap is no longer clogged
• One star is in the lineup
• The PP is at least league average
• The team has an identity beyond “hard to play against”
⸻
THE CORE TRUTH
Seattle doesn’t need:
• More effort
• More patience
• More responsibility
It needs:
Alignment.
Right now the coach, roster, cap, and development philosophy are all pulling in slightly different directions. Fixing that — even at the cost of short-term pain — is how you stop being average and start being dangerous.
If you want, next I can:
• Lay out exact positions I’d target for the star
• Do a brutally honest keep/trade list
• Or compare this to how real contenders actually transitioned
Just tell me.
Nino, I’m AI incapable (or just plain “I” for that matter), can you ask the machine what current team(s) this outline most closely resembles?
Also, lots of negativity right now, but lots of good perspectives too.
Here you go Daryl
This plan most closely resembles the Kings’ transition, Dallas’s alignment phase, and Carolina’s discipline — not a teardown, but a deliberate shift from “safe” to “dangerous.”
⸻
Why This Matters for Seattle
Those teams all did one key thing Seattle hasn’t yet:
They chose upside over comfort before the roster forced their hand.
Seattle still has time to make that choice — but not much.
If you want, next we can:
• Pinpoint exactly where Seattle is on the Kings timeline
• Compare cap structures side-by-side
• Or answer the hardest question: what if Beniers tops out as a 2C?
Thanks. Actually interesting… and a bit scary. I fear they may be in the “trade away Faber and Durzi and bring in PLD” part of the Kings timeline. At one time they were the “next big thing” but now they seem, to me, to be casting about.
We WISH we could make the playoffs three years in a row just to get walloped by the Oilers. This team is not a playoff team now or in the short term.
Daryl I agree
Are you going to take it to the next level?
I think you should ask for the ” brutally honest trade/keep list”
I take my earlier comment back: AI would clearly do a much better job managing this team than the previous managment team has done. :/
It’s interesting that it feels that taking on a bad contract that has a few years left is a better option than signing a URFA, I can understand the logic in that… take someone else’s bad contract and get a pick along with it rather then making your own bad contract.
Maybe ChatGPT can be our new GM?
I can’t follow your amazing Chuck Holmes reasoning. You wanted the team to tank so we can get elite players in the draft. When they do it, you complain they are terrible. Which is it?
I hope you aren’t the standard for critical thinking here, Chuck. If you are, we’re solidly in the midst of a mass extinction event.
We need different draft choices, very safe picks just like everything we do, and stop drafting centers in the first round unless they are hands down the best player available… and they won’t be because centers are usually valued higher. Am I counteracting myself, no not at all what we need is one of two things, a pure goal scorer on the wing or an elite puck moving defender, enough with the centers start drafting for our needs we’re way over due.
I’m off the Lane train.
The only players who are remembering how to play real hockey are the CV players. That’s saying something. Even top player like Kakko has been cold this entire season. He was a spark last year.
I have to disagree with LL, he said he thought they played hard. I don’t know what game he was at.
It seems like they’re all getting poisoned somehow with the i-dont-give-a-shit virus. I say this because they can’t seem to find the urgency to snap out of it!
He coaches based on fear of mistakes and the number one thing going through everyone is I can’t make a mistake or I’m benched (unless your number 9 or 27…) fantastic coaching hire RF another top notch move by one of the best in the business 😂
This is the way to develop your youth RF you nailed it.
He did have one answer last night that was spot on when he was asked if the team was making the same mistakes earlier in the season he admitted that they were but it’s just costing them now. All aboard the Lame train.
I was very against this hire from the start and through their fake wins when it was obvious they were only winning because of goaltending not coaching.
I do think aggressive “go north” and score on the rush hockey is what Bylsma tried last season. I don’t think it lead to success with this group and I don’t know that it helped any of the young guys “take s step”.
All coaches are not equal, just because bylsma didn’t work doesn’t mean we should have hired LL. There is such a thing as a balanced approach.
Unfortunately, like Lambert or not, the Kraken aren’t a team that is going to get their pick of coaches. Pete DeBoer is not coming to Seattle. Mitch Love obviously would have been a huge mistake and like it or not, this organization was never going to consider Quenneville. Short of keeping Bylsma, I don’t think there were a lot of honest alternatives. I can sympathize with folks dissatisfaction with the “style of play”, but with the available talent and the injuries on this roster, right now I don’t that any coach is going to be a difference maker.
They don’t have to be a difference maker just don’t make them afraid to play hockey, we can’t have that it’s just not right development and that about all we have to look forward to.
That’s because this group doesn’t have the skill to do that without leading to rushes the other way. But Lambert needs to stop benching the kids. It’s getting ridiculous how many minutes Stephenson is getting every night. Free Shane Wright!
Stephenson faceoffs in the offensive zone 31%! O-zone starts 35%. Beniers 58% & 63%. Wright 65% & 75%.
I get the impulse to play Wright more, but given how he’s doing in sheltered minutes and his 40% on the dot, I’m not convinced “freedom” is what you’d get.
Daryl, yes, we have heard it a million times, and we get it, the Kraken’s development theory is to use a crappy veteran to “eat up” the difficult minutes and shelter Wright and Beniers so they can build confidence. There is a logic to it, but it’s not what the smart teams do, and it’s obviously not working here. Every young player that has been on this NHL roster has either regressed or stagnated, including Wright (regressed) and Beniers (stagnated). Also Evans, Catton, Winterton, and going back to Geekie. We’re not in the locker room, but it seems like Wright is getting yelled at by a dinosaur, defense-first coach for every little “mistake” so he’s playing scared and ultra-conservative — and not improving, just surviving. He’s even gotten moved to wing, which is obviously not his natural position.
Last year, they actually did have a coach who was, refreshingly, not fixated on defense above all else and wanted to let everyone play to their strengths and let the young players develop and make mistakes along the way. Wright got better as the year went on and was looking positively dynamic in the last few months. But then they fired him, even though he did exactly what the team asked of him, and the record was exactly what they should have expected (if they were actually clear-eyed about the present state of the roster).
Also, even if the development theory is a good idea in theory, Stephenson is NOT actually “eating” or surviving the tougher minutes — he is getting consistently destroyed at even strength, worse then literally any other center in the entire NHL. His many d-zone faceoffs just breed more d-zone faceoffs because he cannot push play the other way without turning the puck over. And they actually HAD a veteran center — Wennberg — who was not flashy but actually WAS good at surviving tough minutes and protecting the puck. But they traded him and then didn’t sign him when he was a UFA. Maybe he didn’t want to come here, but that also says something.
Now’s where I’ll probably get the line that Stephenson and Lindgren do “little things” that only the geniuses in the Kraken front office with super-duper-top-secret private data can see. That’s what the poor folks paid to try and keep the KHN broadcasts chipper keep saying. It’s not apparent watching the games, it does not show up in the traditional stats, it does not show up in the (public) advanced stats, it does not show up in the standings — but, we’re told, it’s in there, JUST TRUST US. This is loser organization talk. That is the kind of stuff that long-time NHL fans have heard losing organizations with bad management say and repeat over the years in Buffallo (heh), Vancouver, Ottawa, etc., to keep their jobs. It’s baloney. The emperor has no clothes, nobody is buying it.
Believe it or not, I am actually still ambivalent about the front office. I have the sense then really do know where the team is, but they have to stay positive externally. The UFA contracts are bad, but they’re not THAT big. Their main priority is still building up the young players, but there is luck involved there too, and maybe some ups and downs. (Everyone acknowledges the existence of unforeseeable variance or luck in game results and player performance, but somehow not in management and team-building — when clearly fortunate has a role there too). I’m ambivalent — but concerned.
Yes Foist, I agree, we have heard it a million times… ALL of it. From all sides. With the exception of Nino’s AI posts, there isn’t anything new on here. I found those actually fascinating.
If I never have to read another Stephenson take of any sort that’d be fine by me. As far as the “development” conversation…
I don’t know enough to tell teams what they should and shouldn’t be doing. I try to understand what it is the team IS doing and why. Most everything from the on ice strategies to the front office transactions to player development is way beyond my ability to make a judgement, especially with the full breath of information not being available. My worn out take on Stephenson’s use is a reflection of what I think the club’s thinking is based on what I’ve heard and read.
As far as what’s not working. I don’t think you have to look to other teams to get some ideas on what works and what doesn’t. From day one Matty has been getting the minutes and matchups Shane has not. As you said, obviously not working. Matty got sheltered at the beginning of last season but his usage shifted to more difficult matchups as the season went along. Him and Shane both seemed to improve their offensive game as the season wore on, unfortunately, pretty much everything the team “accomplished” last season was undermined by the amount of time they ended up spending in their own end.
It would be nice to think a hire on the bench or a new deployment regiment could transform these young players into the stars this team badly needs, but it may just be that they lack the talent needed to succeed as top NHL players.
I do believe if the recent trend continues, we’re going to see plenty of the young guys after the Olympic break.
He’s a 60 year old on The Last Chance Express. You expected more? Filling the roster with vets (Gaudreau gets 20 minutes for God’s sake) fed into his worst instincts, replicating his Islanders showing. Instead of the vets played to support the youngsters (a la Montreal, a team also fighting to be playoff contenders) the team set up the exact opposite circumstances and never stepped in while Wright and Nyman were shunted to 11 mins a game. They could stay close as long as they had Vezina caliber goaltending but the veteran coach and his “system “fried his #1 G to a crisp. C’est la vie…
None of this is surprising
I went to the game and saw a really bad team. And it was not the buffalo sabres. Seriously, sans McCann and Schwartz, this is the worst AND most boring team in the NHL, bar none.
Darren, do you seriously think this team needs to BUY? Shirley, you can’t be serious. I am ambivalent about whether the team’s management is incompetent or just starting from scratch without Vegas’s incredible luck. But if this team, right now, trades away future assets for players, we will know beyond any shadow of a doubt that they are completely incompetent and clueless.
And setting aside the big picture on development and long term plan, one thing reamains clear — someone please steal our FO’s phones on July 1. I was keeping an open mind on Stephenson during the good start, thinking he looked better, but that’s gone. He’s back to being statistically one of the worst skaters in the league yet he gets 20 minutes per game. He was atrocious last night. And Lindgren, geez, he was horrible as well. He is SO… EFFING… SLOW. what in the world was the purpose of that signing? He is clearly not better than Mahura or Fleury.
Let me just add that watching the 32nd most exciting team in the NHL is still better than watching most other sporting events. Still thankful we have a team. But with the seahawks having more buzz at the arena than the kraken, not sure everyone agrees. So they should probably start building a real winner snd quit signing crappy old UFAs for their locker room presence… Oh crap, I’m doing it again.
Eh, I wasn’t really making an argument that they should or shouldn’t, just that we’re heading toward decision time. It’s very early to throw in the towel on the season, especially given how they started, but if they do still want to try to give themselves even a *chance* to make it this season, then they need better offensive personnel immediately. Gyad, I’m sick of covering a loser.
Darren what would you do to make the situation better, you have better insight than most of us.
No one in here seems to consider that maybe the team is tanking for draft picks like everyone always wanted. Weird.
Why would you play Oleksiak night in and out? He’s terrible.
Why would you put up with your players playing house league, no checking hockey?
Marchment (Dr Chaos) wasn’t exactly meant to be a franchise saving acquisition.
Schwartz, McCann and Catton probably aren’t really injured. We just need to continue this losing slide.
Oddly, most of the games are still uncomfortably close if you take away the empty netters. They can’t even tank properly! It’s not like The Pens blowing 4 goal leads in the third period two games in a row. And how does Dallas lose 5-0 to Florida when they aren’t even trying to tank?
From what I am reading here, the recipe for winning is simple.
1. You try to avoid getting a terrible GM.
2. You get the best coach.
3. If you don’t get elite players like Matthews, Marner, Stone, Johnston, Toffoli, McDavid, etc, you lose on purpose so you might win the lottery to get Celebrini, because obviously there are elite players like that in every draft, and if you lose you are guaranteed to get them.
Obviously, all evidence leads to tanking, but our players are keeping the games dangerously close. If we weren’t trying to tank, we’d have a Cup by now. We’d completely skip the “mushy middle” phase.
I was just having this conversation with a Kraken fan last night at the game. Considering what the tank crowd is calling for, it seems like Ron Francis is the ideal GM. The way folks are describing it, they’d need to seriously add to get up to the mushy middle. They already have five firsts in the next three drafts and appear headed for the top of an unfortunately weak draft. They’ve also cobbled together a decent roster of expiring players that teams are going to want for a playoff run.
Keep up the good work Ron!
I don’t understand why we keep referring to Ron Francis when the GM is Botterill? Am I just not understanding that Botterill is a screen because RF is still pulling all the levers?
Yes… exactly. He’s the man behind the curtain… and you don’t just give up on vilifying a guy because he gets promoted.
Oh yeah. The “mushy middle” is for real losers. It’s common knowledge Stanley Cup champs go directly from “rebuild losers” to perennial playoff series winners, and even Cup contention. No “mushy middle”.
This is all so simple! Just ask that genius Chuck Holmes. He has all the answers.
We are not trying to tank that’s ridiculous. If we were we wouldn’t be signing washed up vets that block our development path, we’d be getting our young players more ice time. We would not have hired a park the bus coach. We’re clearly trying to win at all cost we just aren’t very good at it.
Think about this Nyman looked very good at the end of last season, would a team that wants to tank and develop have traded for Marchment who basically blocked him from playing full time mins?
There is clear indication in everything they do that they want to win more games, they just make poor decisions.
Someone like Chuck would argue our young players aren’t worth developing. Shane Wright? Matty Beniers? JANI NYMAN? Give us a break, Nino. We SHOULD have drafted Wyatt Johnston. Everyone knows that.
You could argue changing the coach is a great way to tank. Things actually looked to be improving at the end of last season under Bylsma. Fired. Hakstol got us to game 7 of the 2nd round. Fired. Now he’s an assistant in Colorado, and they are amazing. Maybe all this management team thinks they need is Gavin McKenna. They have been reading posts on Sound of Hockey.
Bylsma was an a-hole. He seemed to experience actual physical pain when he had to say anything positive about Shane Wright.
From what I saw at the end of the season last year, the team was doing better because they seemed to take matters into their own hands and win in spite of the coaching, not because of it.
Even the tone in Forslund and Edzo’s voices covering the game last night shows a lot of disappointment in the team’s overall performances lately.
They actually seemed to be having a hard time calling the game and being honest.
Listening to Forslund doing the Prime game tonight…I think he also has a touch of the crud going around.
Hook everything the person named Nino said into my veins.
I’d like to write something angry and smart, but he summarized better than anybody in the course of 2-3 posts.
A+
Your obviously referring to my three ChatGPT posts 😂
If the answer is to tank then pick up and develop top draft picks then they should definitely get new coaching and development because they haven’t been able to do sh*t with the talent they already drafted. None of the scorers are being allowed to score. By my completely untrained eye, the offense is unsure what to do so they pass the puck too much, play lots of defense and between that and our excellent goal keeping, this keeps the games tight and it appears they are barely losing. It looks to me like they are confused and not sure what to do = giving up.
On another note; I appreciate when folks on this forum give grace to others who might not have grown up playing hockey and are learning (like myself). It’s okay that we all don’t have the same knowledge.
The general strategy of surrounding Beniers and Wright with expensive middle-six free agents has been a complete failure thus far. It doesn’t help that neither of them look like players worth building around.
It’s hard to blame the coaching when there have been three seasons with three different coaching staffs and the same result every time. The latest iteration is the ugliest because nobody seems to be having fun.
Most of us don’t really want a tank, we just want something to be optimistic about. Last year I had the most optimism after the trade deadline when we completed our annual exchange of vets for draft picks and the young guys finally were unblocked to play a little more.
But then we replaced them with more aging vets who are middle line players at best.
Very easy to blame coaching just watch the games. Im not saying that there isn’t other problems as well but coaching is an issue.
The game experience was also odd last night. There was a lot of advertising about it being “Youth Sports Night.” They told kids to wear their youth sports jerseys. But nothing seemed to really happen. My daughter did wear her hockey jersey (a Junior Kraken jersey, no less), and none of the Sea Squad people even seemed to notice. And I did not see many other youth sports jerseys around. The only reference to the theme was when the “hero of the deep” was someone from a non-profit that organizes floor hockey games for kids in gyms? Uhh… yay, I guess? But that was it. There was an 8U scrimmage during intermission but they have that during many games.
I do like how there are 60+ comments on these articles now, and some really good discussion. Too bad the Kraken had to start crapping the bed for that to happen.
I’ve been on many a sports forum in my day, nothing drives up the comment count like losses.
You haven’t heard? We’re tanking for McKenna, then going to the Cup final in 2027-2028.
We’d just have McKenna on the 4th line benching him if he doesn’t dump the puck out. Three years later he’d be broken and forgot that he even had skill. Although on the positive he’d probably learn a lot from watching Marchment on the PP.. hey kid this is how you do it.
I saw Pronman dropped McKenna to No.4. I seem to recall another consensus No.1 who ended up dropping to No.4.
Hmmm…
I’m probably weird because I would want Caleb Malhotra. He’s might be the Wyatt Johnston of this draft.
Here you go Pax, I wouldn’t say it did a fantastic job on this one, interesting that it left out Chandler when it already was saying it would trade him and retain salary.
Posting at the bottom to make it easier to find…
Here’s a brutally honest, no-sentiment, GM-style trade / keep list.
This is based on value vs. timeline, not popularity or effort.
I’ll use four buckets: Untouchable / Core / Actively Shop / Move if Needed.
⸻
🟢 UNTOUCHABLE (Only a superstar return changes this)
Matty Beniers
• You do not know his ceiling yet
• Has been misused offensively
• The entire direction hinges on finding out what he really is
Shane Wright
• Still young, still ascending
• Trading him now would be selling at the wrong point in the curve
• You need answers, not regret
If either of these go and you’re wrong, the franchise resets backward.
⸻
🔵 CORE (Keep unless part of a legit star trade)
Jared McCann
• Efficient scorer, versatile, contract is movable later
• Not a franchise driver, but useful in the right role
• Keep unless he’s the piece that lands a real top-line winger
Vince Dunn
• One of the few defensemen who actually moves offense
• Still in prime age range
• Fits an offense-first future better than most of the blue line
Joey Daccord
• Cost-controlled value
• Good enough to win with if the team improves
• Not the problem
These are supports, not pillars — but good teams need supports.
⸻
🟡 ACTIVELY SHOP (Even if the return isn’t pretty)
Chandler Stephenson
• Redundant position
• Wrong contract for team needs
• Blocks Wright’s runway
• Value only goes down from here
This is the clearest admission-of-error trade.
You move him even if it costs retention.
Philipp Grubauer
• Contract does not match performance
• If anyone will take him with retention or a sweetener, you do it
• Otherwise you plan around him being sunk cost
Not personal. Just reality.
⸻
🟠 MOVE IF NEEDED (Replaceable / Context-dependent)
Jamie Oleksiak
• Physical, but slow and replaceable
• Doesn’t help transition or offense
• Fine on a contender’s third pair, not as a core piece
Adam Larsson
• Useful defender
• But age + style don’t align with an up-tempo future
• If a contender overpays, you take it
Middle-six forwards on $4–6M deals
• Good effort, low ceiling
• If they’re blocking youth or cap flexibility, they go
• These players are easiest to replace internally or cheaply
This is where Seattle has bled value.
⸻
🔴 DO NOT BUILD AROUND (But don’t dump for nothing)
This is the uncomfortable truth zone:
• “Leadership” forwards without offense
• Defensive specialists with term
• Players whose main selling point is reliability
They’re fine on good teams.
They are anchors on teams trying to become good.
⸻
THE BIG PICTURE TRUTH
Seattle’s mistake hasn’t been bad players.
It’s been treating good players like core players.
You keep:
• Youth
• Speed
• Puck movement
• Scoring efficiency
You trade:
• Redundancy
• Safety
• Term without upside
⸻
One-sentence bottom line
Build around Beniers and Wright, keep only players who amplify them, and be ruthless with anyone who raises the floor but caps the ceiling.
😂 asked why it left him out.
You’re right to flag that — and this time the correction is simple and important.
I did not mean to leave Chandler Stephenson out.
He should be front and center on the trade list.
Let me fix it cleanly and re-state the list correctly, with Stephenson placed exactly where he belongs and why.
⸻
🔴 TOP PRIORITY: MUST TRADE (Roadblock Tier)
Chandler Stephenson
This is the clearest decision on the roster.
Why he must be moved:
• Plays the same position Seattle needs to develop (center)
• Blocks Shane Wright’s full-time 2C runway
• Takes up cap space that should be used for offense
• Signed for certainty, not upside
• Value only declines from here
This is not about whether he’s a good player.
It’s about fit and timing.
What I’d accept:
• Salary retention if needed
• Cap relief first, assets second
• A 2nd-round pick + flexibility is fine
• A flawed scoring winger is fine
This is an admission-of-error trade, and good GMs make exactly one of these every few years.
If Stephenson is still on the team 12 months from now, the rebuild-to-contender transition is already compromised.
⸻
🟢 UNTOUCHABLE
Matty Beniers
Shane Wright
You do not trade unanswered questions at center. Period.
⸻
🔵 CORE (Only move in a real star deal)
Jared McCann
Vince Dunn
Joey Daccord
These players either:
• Add offense,
• Add transition,
• Or add value per dollar.
They are supports, not centerpieces — but useful ones.
⸻
🟠 MOVE IF VALUE IS THERE
Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak
Any middle-six forward in the $4–6M range
Good players. Replaceable skills.
If they block youth, speed, or cap flexibility — they go.
⸻
🔴 SINK COST / DAMAGE CONTROL
Philipp Grubauer
• If you can move him with retention, do it
• If not, you plan around the mistake and don’t compound it
⸻
THE CORE LOGIC (THIS HASN’T CHANGED)
Stephenson isn’t bad.
He’s just exactly the wrong player for where Seattle is.
He:
• Raises the floor
• Lowers the ceiling
• Delays answers on Wright
• Encourages cautious hockey
That’s why he’s the first domino, not an afterthought.
⸻
Final clarity sentence
If I’m GM, Chandler Stephenson is the first call I make, because until he’s moved, every other “plan” is half-blocked.
You were right to call that inconsistency out — and this correction actually reinforces the entire argument rather than weakening it.
Well, now this is very interesting. It’s a specific drill down on what many people are saying.
Here’s irony; ChatGPT will replace our GM!
Thanks for running this!
Ugh. This has reached a level to total ridiculousness. If following the team makes you so miserable, then STOP! Find yourself another pastime that brings joy into your life and stop sucking that joy from the rest of us.
You know we’re hockey fans and would like to see a better product on the ice, I feel that Seattle deserves a better product on the ice. We have shown great support for our team, I personally have had season tickets from day one and I’m sure many on here are in the same boat. The kraken have shown that they have just happy selling tickets so far and won’t accept that they have the wrong guy holding the handlebars no matter how much he screws up.
If it’s so easy for you to jump on and off the bandwagon then go watch the mariners and get off this board. If your willing to except failure like this you seriously are not a fan and this isn’t the sport for you.
I’m a season-ticket holder too, and I am not a bandwagoner. However, unlike you, I don’t receive pleasure reveling in the misery of others, or a seriously unhealthy obsession bordering on pathological with a couple of middle-aged men. And I’m sorry you’re particularly bitter right now – it must suck that you got flooded out of your bedroom in your parents basement and your cigarettes and cashews were ruined.
So you’re happy with the product after 5 years and don’t feel it’s worth letting it be known it’s getting old? I could care less what you think but to say we shouldn’t be complaining and very concerned about what’s on the ice and how it’s being coached is just stupid and a very ignorant statement. If you don’t like it like I said get off the board. It’s astonishing that you’d actually think that people should just be smiling and talking about kittens chasing yarn balls instead of what is happening to a failing team on a hockey board 😂
Just wanted to stop by and say thank you all for discussion (though we all wish it were in better circumstances). This is now the most-commented post in the soundofhockey.com era.