The Seattle Kraken can learn some major lessons from the Carolina Hurricanes, who completed a historic run through the playoffs and lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup as the NHL’s best team on Sunday.

Led by a forward-thinking scientist/blogger/stathlete-turned-general manager, Eric Tulsky has pulled several rabbits out of his hat over the last two seasons while molding his roster into the perfect blend of players to fit the unique, high-pressure style of hockey that head coach Rod Brind’Amour demands.

What’s interesting about Tulsky’s approach is that every personnel move seems to be made with an eye toward how a player fits into that high-pressure, high-shot-volume system. That clear-eyed vision for a specific—and truly unique—style of play helps Carolina identify the types of talent to target for secondary and tertiary roles. At the same time, Tulsky has done a masterful job of acquiring big-time players who help drive the bus.

Heck, even after taking a massive swing to land Mikko Rantanen last season and seeing negotiations to retain him go belly-up, Tulsky made the best of the situation and somehow came out ahead. Remember, he acquired Taylor Hall as a throw-in as part of that deal, and Hall ended up being a point-per-game player in these playoffs.

Then, recognizing the risk of losing Rantanen for nothing, Tulsky cut his losses and flipped him to Dallas for Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks, and two third-round picks. At 23 years old, Stankoven’s 11 goals in the postseason led the Hurricanes. It’s safe to say Stankoven fit the vision.

The Kraken may never play a style like what we saw from the Hurricanes, but what can general manager Jason Botterill and the rest of the front office take away from Carolina’s run? A lot.

Establish an identity and never waiver from it

What is Kraken hockey? Five years in, we still don’t definitively know the answer to that question. For a brief flash during the team’s second season, Seattle’s style was defined by staunch defense mixed with a balanced, four-line attack that came at opponents in waves and generated scoring from throughout the lineup.

But the organization quickly moved away from that balanced approach, effectively letting the entire high-scoring fourth line go after that season. Morgan Geekie—who scored 39 goals this season for the Boston Bruins—and Ryan Donato—who scored 31 goals in 2024-25 in Chicago were both allowed to leave via free agency, with Seattle even declining to extend a qualifying offer to Geekie. Daniel Sprong also departed before returning for a failed second stint last season.

The point is, it felt like the Kraken were starting to figure out what kind of roster could succeed, as long as they got scoring from all four lines. But after reaching the second round of the playoffs, then-GM Ron Francis quickly changed course, reverting to a more traditional makeup that featured a grinding fourth line rather than one capable of producing offense. The problem is that successful teams with classic grinding fourth lines also tend to have a true first line—something Seattle has never really had.

The good news is the Kraken don’t need to do an about-face to replicate what the Hurricanes built. Based on two of their three coaching hires, there’s no question this organization values tight defensive structure, not the shoot-from-anywhere mentality that defines Carolina’s game. If that’s the long-term vision, winning through defense and a balanced attack, that’s fine. But Seattle needs to commit to that identity with every fiber of its being.

Playing a Carolina-style, high-pressure, high-volume game is not the lesson here. Instead, the lesson is to understand who you are, who you want to be, and ensure that every personnel decision supports that vision. Does a player on your roster help at both ends of the ice? If not, he may not be a fit. Can a potential acquisition contribute in all three zones? If so, pull the trigger. If not, don’t make the deal.

Depth plus top-end talent

As we saw with that second-year Kraken team—and again with this Carolina group—depth matters. Seattle can lean into that defensive identity (if that is truly what it decides to be) by continuing to build a foundation of players who do the right things in all three zones.

But if it commits to that approach, it will also need a small collection of game-breaking forwards—the types of players who, when given even a small window, can capitalize on chances and change a game in an instant.

The Kraken haven’t really had those players to date, save for perhaps Jared McCann, who once scored 40 goals but is coming off a lackluster, injury-marred season. Adding a true high-end scorer or two this summer, while continuing to supplement the rest of the roster with reliable two-way players, could move the needle back toward playoff contention.

Players like Dylan Larkin (we don’t believe he would want to come to Seattle) and Robert Thomas would help in both ways, as might—to a lesser extent—a middle-tier player like Jake DeBrusk, guys who can score and also play responsibly in all three zones. The Kraken could also go in a different direction and add a forward who is more offensively minded like Jason Robertson or Jordan Kyrou, but then they may want to supplement such an acquisition with a purely defensive move to balance it.

Regardless of what route they take, there is an obvious need for an injection of high-end talent, and finding such players who still fit the vision (whatever that may be) is a serious challenge for the front office. Even if they land a big fish, will the Kraken become a Stanley Cup contender by next season? Of course not. But with several big names rumored to be available this offseason, there is an opportunity to get meaningfully better.

Enjoy the fruits of draft-and-develop labor

It was fascinating to see two teams with such different roster-building philosophies—Vegas essentially saying “to hell with the draft,” and Carolina building its core through homegrown talent—meet in the Stanley Cup Final.

Seattle has quietly built a strong pipeline of prospects and young players. Matty Beniers is growing into a true leader, Shane Wright is close to establishing himself as a full-time NHL contributor (though he could perhaps benefit from a change of scenery), Berkly Catton and Oscar Fisker Mølgaard appear ahead of schedule, and Jake O’Brien is on the way, along with several others. That pipeline will only deepen at the 2026 NHL Draft in a couple of weeks.

Considering how many players on Seattle’s roster last season were either drafted by the organization or developed within its system, this has been an area of real progress. Those young players will continue to improve as they enter their prime years, meaning this approach should pay increasingly larger dividends.

Drafting and development are long-term plays, and we’re only beginning to see the early returns. But as Carolina has shown, a core of homegrown players can serve as the bedrock of a contender with a sustained window for success.

That window is built through drafting and development, but trades can accelerate it. As a result, it may behoove the Kraken to begin dealing from this position of strength—though only with that identity question firmly in mind. Does a young player fit what this team wants to be? If not, he could be used to acquire someone who does.

No more philosophical resets

Part of the narrative over the past couple of seasons is that the Kraken’s unexpected success in Year 2 threw a wrench into Ron Francis’s long-term plan. Suddenly, the timeline was accelerated, and the organization drifted away from its original slow-build approach.

More recently, much has been made of the team’s ongoing “audit” this offseason—something we at Sound Of Hockey don’t believe was ever intended to draw as much attention as it did. What that process should ultimately deliver, however, is clarity around the question of what this team wants to be.

Seattle has leaned toward a structurally sound identity, and if that’s the path it chooses, it can absolutely work. But then Jason Botterill and his front office must fully commit to that vision—through every draft pick, every personnel decision, and every hire.

The Kraken don’t need to replicate Carolina’s style of play; doing so would essentially mean starting over. Instead, they should learn from the principles that helped the Hurricanes reach the top of the mountain—and apply them in a way that makes sense for Seattle.