As we’ve sought reasons for optimism heading into the sixth edition of Seattle Kraken hockey, we’ve continuously found ourselves circling back to scoring winger Bobby McMann.

Acquired from Toronto at the NHL Trade Deadline last season, the 30-year-old burst onto the scene and filled up the net 10 times in just 18 games in Deep Sea Blue, despite the team spiraling out of the playoff picture around him. Keeping him in the organization quickly became a priority for the Kraken this offseason.

Now, armed with the first big contract of his career—he’ll make $5.75 million over each of the next six seasons with Seattle—McMann is ready to hit the ground running with more familiarity with the organization, the team, and the city.

“It’s definitely a fresh start for everybody,” McMann said. “It’s a new season, a new approach, definitely excited about the season. I think the guys are excited. The guys are really optimistic and feeling good about our game.”

The trade that brought McMann to Seattle was a down-to-the-wire deal, with the transaction going through moments before the deadline. General manager Jason Botterill was cautious at the time about indicating whether he could see extending McMann past last season or if it would be a proper “rental” situation.

Botterill joked on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast two weeks ago that seeing McMann play one game—he had two goals and an assist in his debut in a 5-2 win at Vancouver on March 14—was all it took to convince the front office that they wanted to keep him around. (Watch the full interview in Ep. 398 of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.)

“In all honesty, it was a great fit for our group,” Botterill said. “Bobby coming in and— first of all, you look at the acquisition of Bobby, it was a scenario where you look at [Research and Development], you look at our pro scouts, that combination [of departments] both agreeing this player would be a good fit.

“Also, [head coach Lane Lambert] having a relationship with Bobby from his Toronto days, he came in, and I think you saw, when a player comes in with speed, the way Lane wants to play, that assertiveness, that aggressiveness, Bobby certainly did. I think we have some players with some very good hockey sense, but we needed more of a shoot-first mentality. Bobby brought that, got to the net, and so it was a great fit from there.”

Kraken captain Jordan Eberle immediately saw the fit, too, and looks forward to (likely) skating on a line with McMann when the season opens Thursday in Calgary.

“Things that stick out are his shot, his speed, his size,” Eberle said of McMann. “He plays hard, plays fast. He came in, made an impact, scored goals right off the bat. And just as a guy, I think he’s a pro. He takes care of himself, he’s always got things going on just to fine-tune his body and be ready for the next game. I think that’s an important thing, and you bring that to our culture of just being professional.”

Why McMann stayed in Seattle

At his end-of-season press conference, McMann indicated that winning was high on his list of priorities. It was up to Botterill and the Kraken to prove they shared that priority, so they went to work wooing McMann and his agent to convince them this was the best place for Bobby.

At the beginning of the offseason, McMann spent more time with his Kraken teammates and returned to Seattle for an extended stay to get even more of a feel for the city than he got during the season.

“I went on a bit of a golf trip [with the guys], spent some time here, checking out the city, checking out different areas: Bellevue, Kirkland, Seattle, the west sides of Seattle too,” McMann recalled. “I wanted to really get a good feel of the city, first off, and then the hockey was the main focus. ‘What does this team look like in the future here, and where do I fit into that?’

“And then it was extensive conversations with Botts and Lane too. I went over to his house, had discussions about it, and kind of went back and forth about ‘How can I contribute, and how can I be a piece that adds to this group? And do we have the pieces in this group to continue to grow and continue to push to be a competitive and contending team every year?’”

Lambert, who was an associate coach for the Maple Leafs in 2024-25 when McMann finally became a full-time NHLer and scored 20 goals in 74 games, confirmed he was in on the pitch.

“I was very involved with Bobby,” Lambert said. “I had him in Toronto, and he came in here, and he liked what was going on. Obviously, we didn’t have the successes that we wanted to have, but certainly with the plan and the plans that are in place in the development area, and he’s a guy who continuously wants to develop his game… I think there were things that we were doing here that he hadn’t seen before, and it’s probably a good portion of why he wanted to remain here.”

Indeed, McMann was sold on Botterill’s vision for the future of the Kraken, the depth of their prospect pool, and the tightness of the group currently in the dressing room.

“I like the group here, and I like what they’ve established so far,” McMann said. “And I think that there’s a lot to be built and a lot of potential out of guys in here to grow their games and be really elite players in this league. And that’s what you need to be a winning team, and I think that this team has potential… The prospects and the amount of picks that they have coming up here, I think those are all things that you can utilize to make this team better. And I think there are guys coming up in this organization that can be real players.”

The Kraken crumbled down the stretch following the Olympic break last season, despite McMann adding a needed offensive boost. Now, with him in the fold as a more permanent member of the team, there is a glimmer of hope that he can bring that punch from the beginning and help Seattle roll all the way through the end of the season.

“Throughout the discussions [with Botterill and Lambert], I felt comfortable enough that I could be a good piece in [the team’s future success],” McMann said. “[I believe] we have the pieces surrounding too to continue to grow this new program to new heights.”

Other Kraken notes

Curtis Douglas and Ville Ottavainen were perhaps the most surprising holdovers when the Kraken reduced their roster to 23 in advance of the NHL’s Monday deadline. Based on what we saw in practice this week, we expect them to begin the season as healthy scratches, along with Josh Mahura.

Here’s how they looked in line rushes on Monday.

Mackie Samoskevich, listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, is not expected to play Thursday in Calgary. He has not been ruled out for Saturday in Edmonton or the home opener on Sunday, but he did not participate in the team’s most recent skate on Monday.

Jake O’Brien is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury, but while Samoskevich is noted as “IR” and still present on the official roster, O’Brien is nowhere to be found. We confirmed he has been designated as non-roster injured reserve. We suspect that whenever he is healthy enough to do so, O’Brien will report to Coachella Valley to take advantage of the new rules allowing 19-year-old first-round draft picks to play in the AHL.

With the shortened Training Camp, the team is not doing a “bonding trip” of sorts this season, but they did have a team golf outing on Monday.