That was about the best-case scenario for Kraken fans. Seattle played a pretty good game against a much better Minnesota Wild team on Tuesday, it was relatively fun to watch, and the Kraken continued to help themselves in the race for the bottom of the standings and the NHL Draft Lottery.
After the loss, the Kraken still have the fifth-worst record in the league, level in points with the New York Rangers, and have two more points than the Calgary Flames. If they continue this incredible tailspin—they’ve now lost five straight and 10 of their last 11 (1-8-2)—there is a very real possibility they’ll move into a top-three position in the Draft Lottery.
As for the game, the Kraken did look better in this one than they have in most of their previous games, but still made some bone-headed mistakes that led to too-easy goals against.
When Piper Shaw asked coach Lane Lambert what is causing the mistakes, whether it be fatigue or skill, Lambert paused briefly and then said, “I’m going to pass on that question.”
As the C+C Music Factory so eloquently sang in 1990, these are, “Things that make you go hmmmm…”
Here are Three Takeaways from a 5-2 Seattle Kraken loss to the Minnesota Wild.
Takeaway 1: A legitimately strong first period
Seattle actually looked quite good in the opening frame and came out of it with a 2-1 lead.
“It’s another loss. And it’s a 5-2 loss, and another empty-net goal against, and I sit here, and I say, ‘I thought we played a pretty good hockey game,’” Lambert said. “And it’s like, ‘Really? You do?’ It’s another loss, but I do actually think we played pretty good tonight. We out-chanced them, and we just can’t get out of our own way.”
It’s well known that the power play has been abysmal lately, and although it still didn’t get credit for Brandon Montour’s goal that made it 1-0 at 10:23 of the first, the PP units looked downright competent. The ice-breaking tally came just one second after Vladimir Tarasenko’s penalty expired.
The play started with Joey Daccord, who recognized that after the Wild had cleared it down the ice and initiated a change, a quick-up pass could put them right back on their heels. Indeed, he found Kaapo Kakko at the far blue line, who ran a little give-and-go play with Jaden Schwartz, then found Montour at the point. Montour ripped it through Jesper Wallstedt’s wickets.
BRANDON BOMBTOUR! 💣🚨
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) April 8, 2026
One second after a downright competent-looking power play from the #SeaKraken, Montour rips home a one-timer.
Joey Daccord won't get a point, but smart play by him to get it back up ice quickly with the Wild changing.
1-0 pic.twitter.com/xbdPX8jEjt
Seattle did make a mistake (we’ll talk more about that in Takeaway 2) to create Matt Boldy’s response goal that tied it 1-1 just 1:34 later, but then the Kraken struck again with another brief flash of creativity. Adam Larsson pinched and got a piece of a clearing attempt to keep the play alive, then he and Chandler Stephenson crossed one another, and Larsson headed for the slot. Stephenson found Larsson for a one-timer, also through Wallstedt’s five-hole.
That goal gave Seattle a 2-1 lead at 13:10, which is where things remained after 20 minutes. But, as always seems to be the case with this team these days, it was pretty much all downhill from there.
Takeaway 2: More mistakes
On all the Wild goals, there’s a very obvious mistake made by the Kraken that leads to each one.
Goal 1: Jaden Schwartz tries to make a blind pass across the offensive blue line to Freddy Gaudreau and misses him by two feet, and Ryker Evans overcommits to the rush, creating a 2-on-1 that Matt Boldy scores on.
Goal 2: Berkly Catton tries to make a similar play at the offensive blue line, but hands it over to Marcus Foligno, who eventually walks right to the net and scores off a 3-on-2.
Goal 3: Vladimir Tarasenko is left completely alone at the side of the net.
Goal 4: Former Seattle Kraken Marcus Johansson is left completely alone at the side of the net.
Heck, even Goal 5, the empty-netter: Vince Dunn makes a terrible pass to Berkly Catton on a controlled breakout, and then Catton gets picked off at the red line by Joel Eriksson Ek when he lunges and tries to poke it past him.
Tie game. Berkly Catton hands it over just inside the offensive blue line, and Marcus Foligno scores at the other end.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) April 8, 2026
2-2, early in the second. pic.twitter.com/zCsxslGPoY
“Same stuff,” Montour said. “Turnover at the blue line, odd-man rush, goal. A guy backdoor by himself, goal. Spin around in the slot to a guy backdoor by himself, goal. Empty net. I guess you could say another easy one for the opposing team. Mental mistakes that obviously have been hurting us for the last little bit.”
Oh, and another successful goalie interference challenge in the second period swung the game from 3-2 Kraken to 3-2 Wild in relatively quick succession, just like in the Utah game last week. Seattle now leads the league in goals overturned by goalie interference challenges.
The Kraken may never score three goals in a game again…
Takeaway 3: Losing now is good for business but bad for the soul
At this stage in another lost season, dropping games will do more good for the organization in the long run than wins will. But there are some players who care in that dressing room (no, I don’t think they all care at this point), and I have to wonder about the psyche of these players.
Take the younger guys, for example. You know they’re giving it their all, but mistakes keep happening that lead directly to goals, and the veterans aren’t exactly scoring the lights out to pick these guys up and cover up for those mishaps. What’s the long-term damage of that?
So, it’s good to keep losing and marching toward a potential top-three pick. And I especially liked this brand of loss, in which I was genuinely entertained for most of the evening and thought the guys put forth a solid effort, mistakes and continued lack of scoring be damned.
But it might also be nice to mix in one or two more wins this season, just to give the players who care a reason to smile.
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.
The team should find a way to rid itself of the players who don’t care.
Want to name any? I can identify precisely zero who aren’t out there trying every night.
Troll keep trolling
Again, feel free to reply to the topic of the comment. You’re better than this. Ironically you’re the one trolling here. Be better
Darren was the guy who stated that he thinks some of the players don’t care. See Takeaway 3.
Even I would refuse to play for this piece of crap for 14 million dollars.
Points via the defense!
I should have said, goals via the defense.
Cleaning out the stables of the compiled dreck is good for your soles. Ain’t pretty, but necessary….
I love hockey but I hate losing hockey even more. Since the Olympic break, this team cannot play 3 periods of winning hockey against teams with records better than theirs. I did not watch this game. I know McMann will not resign with this team and we are stuck with a group of players with waning skills . LL cannot get this team to play as a unit. Kraken have not won a game since Wright was injured and even with his low minutes shows me he is better than the aging forwards that get more minutes but get paid more money and I fear this is the last time I see wright in a Kraken uniform. My crystal balls are tingling that that tells me there will be more of the same next year.
You should probably get that checked out…
Too hard to resist a setup like that LOL. I would’ve thought less of you had you let it slide 😉
Tingling crystal balls? That must make walking painful.
Your take on Wright is an odd one. They weren’t exactly winning before he was injured either. Nothing that’s happening in the game says “aging forwards bad”. There’s just a lot of mental lapses all around. Shane is no stranger to costly mistakes himself which is partially why he doesn’t take defensive draws.
i miss the team that was competing every night in january. the soft plays through the middle and just the weirdest bounces have murdered this teams season. there is plenty to point to, early injuries, slow start to the season, special teams woes but i swear the hinge of every losing game this season FEELS like its been a soft entry/exit play, soft passes through the middle leading to breakaways and goalie interference BS. if i were lane lambert id beat the wheels off of the next coach that challenged a goal of ours, not because its right and not because the other coach isnt doing exactly their job but just because hes sick of it going against him.
other teams dont need to interfere with our goalies becuase we let them stand directly next to the post unmolested.
like….. i really love this team, i like the guys for the most part, im in a mid place with lambert but i cant stomach another coaching change unless john cooper or rod brindamour suddenly became available which they wont, but its time to shed a grip of guys and pray we can keep mcmann. schwartz, tolvi, and at least 1 D (fluery or oleksiak) need to just go.
gru has had a great year and that made me happy. i feel good watching catton, i think hes going to figure it out over the summer. he wasnt ready but he needed to not be in the whl again so ill take it, even if he ends up in coachella a bit or all of next year just to get his confidence in scoring back. nyman was a huge disappointment if only because it seemed like he was alergic to anything involving defense. wright had a statistically bad year but i feel like i noticed him a lot and it felt like his board battle wins/forechecking wins were becoming more and more common, i hope he stays.
i was worried about the break for 2 reasons, them coming out soft after being so connected was a confirmed worry and so was teams starting to show up and playing harder because the playoffs were imminent and the kraken not being able to compete with teams who were actually battling/playing hard.
i want more than theyre giving right now, im sick of watching gru and joey get hung out to dry (although it is not nearly as bad as last year) im sick of passes in skates, im sick of goalie interference, im sick of soft passes through the middle (ooo my favorite is when the opposing teams top line is on the ice and we pass it right in front of their leading scorer so they can have a breakaway).
we need a top 3 pick and to go snag someone who can put up 35-40 goals for at least 5 seasons and at this point i dont care who we trade to get them.
they had a chance to make some noise if only they could have kept it humming after the break. kakko has been so much better since the break, mcmann has been a reason to watch too but what a whimper of a seasons end.
It was nice seeing some strong play in the first, but man they really seem to want to hand the games to the other team at this point…which I think we should kind of appreciate at this point given the draft odds are improving. I have gone from a big fan Dunn and his contract to desperately hoping they trade him this summer. At this point it seems like he can be directly counted on for a primary assist to the other team at least once a game – he seems over being here. Catton also has a bad habit of making terrible passes/decisions, but he is young and learning so it is easier to forgive him for that. I have not been a big Stephenson defender but also have not maligned him as much as most…however he seems to have completely mailed it in lately with very little effort. His drop in minutes seem to indicate LL may be noticing the same.
OFM continues to impress with his limited minutes, he may lack the raw skill of Catton but his positioning, reads/anticipation, and discipline (not taking lots of stupid hooking/holding penalties) definitely seem to be at a higher level. At this point they should call up Jugnauth and sit Oleksiak since they better not resign him anyways.
After the fools gold this year – hopefully next ownership accepts we need to change the approach to the roster and lean heavily into the youth movement if we are ever going to get truly better. I would rather write off next year if it can develop a team that can truly be consistently competitive in 3 years and not a fringe bubble team in perpetuity. It would be more fun cheering on and accepting mistakes from a bunch of 20-25 year olds who have represent a future than be let down by a bunch of 30+ year olds chasing results that never come.
There seems to be sentiment that the Kraken can find talent on the UFA market or via trades but none of that will happen. Old news.
The only way to significantly improve is via the draft and this team has been rather woeful at identifying and developing prospect talent.
I know, Scott Wheeler and being ranked #7 but if you read it, it was a coin flip w the Habs and Flyers, so let’s call it #9. Given that has been the only thing the franchise has been pointing to for five season, they should be #1 or #2.
The net out is the NHL roster is woeful, no help is coming in the near or intermediate term, and the owner seems checked out. What to do now?
Your source? Gonna guess your ass. The Kraken have a ton of assets and have added and improved the roster the last two seasons including nabbing one of the best available UFAs at the deadline this year.
It’s also interesting that is your takeaway from Wheeler’s rankings. It WAY over prioritizes recent drafts and ignores prospects arbitrarily. He arbitrarily excludes Shane (or ranks him laughably low) despite him being in the same draft class as Firkus. It just goes to show how people (you) pull the data they want to see without actually thinking about the data being presented.
It’s easy to be down after a brutal 1.5 months of hockey, but at least be honest with your assessment
Darren, this poster is abusive to every other poster. Are there no rules of conduct for this website? If you do not have rules and then enforce them, no one of any quality will bother to post here. I suggest you start by banning this poster for a week or two.
I asked for a source in an arguably not nice way but nothing in this post is abusive. I welcome your reply on the merits of my comment. Do you have anything to refute what was written?
Koist you need to just go away you just continue to troll people and have nothing of value to offer.
Mommy!
Daddy!
Stop fighting!!!
Scott Wheeler’s criteria for inclusion:
“To be considered a prospect, a skater must be under 23 and not fully established with his NHL club. The latter qualifier is arbitrary. There, I trust my judgment for whether a player should be considered fully graduated more than any predetermined games-played cutoff.”
Shane Wright wasn’t ranked “laughably low”; he wasn’t ranked at all. Having played 70+ NHL games in two consecutive seasons, Wheeler surely considers SW “fully established.” Including players under 23 doesn’t “WAY over prioritize recent drafts” Wheeler’s evaluations includes players going back to the 2021 draft – the year Matty Beniers and Ryker Evans were selected – almost ancient history at this point.
Wheeler consistently ranked the Kraken’s farm system favorably in the past, citing the sheer quantity of prospects he considered (25 in total this year). All good, but worth noting that he ranked five Western Conference teams farm systems higher – Utah, Nashville, San Jose, Calgary and Chicago – all of whom could be the Kraken’s immediate competition for playoff spots going forward.
Wheeler also pointed out the main reason he included Catton even though he played the entire season in the NHL is because of the soon to change NHL/CHL agreement. If the 19 year old exemption currently existed it was opinion he would actually be playing in the AHL. Beckett Sennecke and Ben Kindel, on the other hand, he considered to be established NHLers.
What a terrible response Koist. You are either exceptionally ignorant or intentionally trolling. Bad look either way.
I challenge you to address the points made. The irony here is you’re being way more abusive than I was in the comment you’re replying to. Do you have anything to refute what I said instead of throwing stones?
First off, Koist, be nice.
Second, I don’t particularly care about prospect pool rankings. It’s nice they’re in the top 10, but there are so many factors at play, it just doesn’t really mean anything to me.
I too do not believe there’s much help coming through free agency or immediate improvement from within, but one thing this team has done well is set itself up with lots of trade currency. Extra draft picks (including first-rounders), oodles of young players that could be moved, and even some veterans that I think could be expendable and bring back value. So, there’s a path to improving the team rapidly over the offseason, but what concerns me about this front office is they haven’t shown the ability to be particularly creative in their move making. It’s always “a pick for a player” or “two picks for a player,” etc., with only a couple exceptions that I can think of.
I do believe they can pry real talent away from other teams, but they need to be willing to actually cash in some of the bigger chips they’ve accumulated. The fact they reportedly took a big swing at Artemi Panarin tells me they’re willing to do that, but they haven’t shown much of a propensity for wheeling and dealing.
And I do not agree with your premise that ownership is “checked out.” I think it’s quite the opposite, actually.
I challenge you with this: who was actually available and willing to come here that you saw someone else be creative on and we missed out? I’d argue there is no one and I’d also argue that moving Wright for Panarin is the type of move you’d want to make. I’d also argue the picks for McMann show creativity in looking for help where most people weren’t.
Besides the Panarin offer the only other “big deal” I’ve heard of them being in on was Kyrou. There may have never been a deal there because that seems to be the way Armstrong operates and there also could have been others that we just haven’t heard about. This organization is notoriously tight lipped.
The speculation from Friedman – and he said it was just speculation and not sourced – was that would have involved the O’Brien pick. I think that would have been a mistake. Personally I’d love to see them convince Robertson to sign $15m x 7 or do a “player, pick, prospect” deal for someone of substance, but I don’t know that prior to this offseason they’ve really had the resources to chance a “big swing”. For me, Beniers, Catton and O’Brien are off the table; otherwise, I think everyone else should be on offer in the right deal… and other than this next first, all the picks too.
Daryl I’m honestly not sure that taking a big swing is the right decision at the moment. I don’t feel our foundation is set well enough to move on to the next step.
Darren, thank you for the quick reply.
What I meant about the owner being checked was not in the overall sense, where i think she is fine, just merely in the hockey ops sense. She does not seem overly decisive in that one area. Already, three teams have opened up their GM searches and the Kraken have done nothing. It seems obvious as soon as the Kraken failed to make the playoffs, she should have cleared out the front office.
The Isle fire their coach with four game to go. Vegas fires theirs with a few more games to go. The Devils fire the GM with a handful of games to go. The Leafs fire their GM a short while ago. What all of these actions have in common is that they show decisive leadership from the top. Succeed, or be on a path to success, or you are out. It is that simple. Seattle is the only team not in one of those categories, excepting the ‘Nucks.
So we can despair that Holloway will ever take an action like that. Instead, she is probably trying to find out how she can send Francis a flower bouquet, a padded rocking chair, and a puppy before she begs him to step down. Hockey is a hard game and the owner must demand constant accountability from its leadership or there is no excellence in an organization. That is what I mean.
Chuck, I think you should consider the idea that ownership and management see things differently than you and their strategic vision, while at odds with yours, should not be taken as indecisive. You can certainly disagree with it, but it seems like you’re not even considering the idea of an alternative to the way you see things.
Fans are always emotional and rarely take a step back to do a rational analysis of the situation. So I can’t blame Chuck here for doing that. It’s been clear from the messaging at the beginning of the season they were hoping to make the playoffs and they almost did. I’m sure there’s disappointment if falling short but the team has done everything but put a billboard on I5 saying “This is a transition year”. And yet, loud fans on the internet have their pitchforks out and are screaming for blood. I sincerely hope ownership is smart enough to make the right decision for the team and not to quite the vocal minority. Everything I’ve ever seen of Samantha indicates she’s pretty level headed so there’s hope.
Why would you fire a year one GM that has made the right moves? He’s been smart with his addition, made some good pivots (moving on from Marchment for example), and found a hidden gem in McMann. The examples you’re giving are also not apples to apples. Both coaches had been with their teams for years and one of them is on Vegas who is chaotic in their decision making. On top of that Islanders have publicly stated they only made the call now because they specifically wanted Cassidy: Lane made this team better than last year. The results may not show it but this was a much more competitive team overall from the mess Bylsma left and that’s with a team that had $15 million + of starting lineup played out of the lineup though Dec.
There’s accountability and there’s actually being honest in your assessment of the team. Nothing we’re seeing screams flush the FO or coaching staff. That’s not to say it won’t happen, but there was zero reason for us to knee jerk already or even at all.
I anxiously await your response.
The Leaf’s approach to front office and coaching hasn’t worked out for them, this is an absurd comparison and not a model any team, let alone the Kraken, should follow.
Vegas has had sustained success, and notably have had a very stable front office and coaching relative to other orgs. This likely reflects clear internal expectations and thoughtfulness before decision making. New Jersey has been a crapshoot.
It’s very likely that the Kraken’s decisions to keep or not keep staff has much more to do with their own internal expectations for what is reasonable for this roster and coach, and not making the playoffs should not be a game breaker especially given pre-season expectations.
The clamoring for “decisiveness” instead of thoughtfulness is what gets you into situations like the Leafs – supremely top heavy with an extremely bleak outlook for the next decade plus.
Well said Darren.
I can understand the feeling that ownership may seem checked out. Not a lot coming from them but Im also not sure they need to say anything at this point. Soon they will need to step up and address the direction of this franchise and I’d assume they are making plans for that as we speak.
How are they checked out? Since last season, they replaced the majority of the coaching staff and GM. The front office has also signed multiple FAs and made multiple trades. I get the frustration but I’ll challenge you yet again to back up that statement with actual evidence of what you speak.
Like all expansions teams, the Kraken started out at a disadvantage. Fans were excited when it was announced the expansion draft would use “Las Vegas rules”; surely the Kraken could replicate LVs “draft day magic” (i.e. fleecing teams for draft picks and undervalued players). Unfortunately – this time – other teams were unwilling to deal; the expansion draft compounded the problem as almost every team protected 7 forwards. While RF did an admirable job selecting multi-year players in Eberle, McCann and Schwartz, the forward group has struggled to score goals from day one.
Changing any struggling team’s fortunes often requires a bold move. Prior to the 2025 draft, the Kraken had a chance to acquire Jordan Kyrou – coming of three consecutive 30-goal seasons – for the 8th overall pick. They passed on the trade and chose another center. I suggested at the time that the FO were “slaves to convention” and simply afraid to make bold moves.
This team desperately needs a top flight goal scorer. Imagine a scenario with Kyrou playing on the top line. More goals. Matty B’s production would increase. With an improved forward group, maybe the Kraken make the playoffs. Seeing Kyrou’s success and the team’s improvement, other top player(s) could be more willing (this offseason) to waive their NTC with the FO argument “if you join the Kraken, we can be a perennial playoff team going forward”.
As it stands now, the Kraken are more than one top-flight player away; it’s perfectly understandable if player(s) are reluctant waive their NTC and be the “first” to join the team – knowing that without further roster upgrades they may be trapped in “hockey purgatory” with no escape for the duration of their contract.
The Kraken have an aging, deficient roster and no prospect(s) capable of changing the team’s fortune in the near term. Given the team’s current state, fans will be forgiving of a big swing – even if it misses. By doing nothing, the FO risks losing the fan base for a long time.
Every now and then you have to take a shot.
I agree almost entirely. The thought of Jake O’Brien in St. Louis gives me real pause though. We definitely need a scorer, but McMann has been around a 90 point and 50 goal pace since he arrived and it hasn’t made any difference. Like you said TFL, they’re more than one player away and they definitely need to do something this offseason.
I really see them as being two players away from being a steady playoff team.
Unfortunately those two players are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Yes. McMann isn’t the real difference-maker they need, but from an optics standpoint seems like a must sign.
From there, let’s hope for the best
A Toronto fan asked me what I thought of the McMann trade right after it happened. I told them I liked it but if it didn’t work out why would he stay and if it did work out – if he put up numbers – why wouldn’t he go to free agency. Given how thin the UFA market is and how much cap teams have, I can’t imagine McMann won’t wade in. Is Botterill really gonna overpay and go long on a 30 year old winger right on the heels of Francis being cut loose? Maybe. If he does will it be a bold move or more of the same?
Well there ya go Chuck… Francis is gone!
Wow
Definitely the right move, and the statement from ownership.
Tough night on people who made being a Francis bootlicker their identity …
It’ll be fun to see who people match onto as the next Boogeyman now that their current favorite is gone. Seems people are quick to pitchfork, slow to think.
Well it’s going to take a few years minimum to undo the damage so we can keep blaming Francis for a while.
LOL. All these geniuses in here make me happy and warm inside. It honestly brings things into focus regarding the situation we find ourselves in globally, but f*ck that. I digress. On to some real business…
So…The Kraken have not been statistically eliminated from the playoffs, yet may end up being in position 31 for the draft. This is literally a wet dream for 90% of the “hockey fans” on SoH.
I can’t see 31. Chicago finishes with four tough draws, but maybe 30th. Unfortunately, it feels to me like they’re gonna end up outside the top three ultimately.
You are correct.
Sorry position 30, I think. My bad.