The Seattle Kraken have decisions to make on their internal free agents

by Curtis Isacke | Jun 6, 2023 | Kraken

The buzzer rang. Streamers cascaded down at American Airlines Center in Dallas. It was May 15, 2023, and the Seattle Kraken’s chase for the Stanley Cup had come to a sudden end upon a 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the second playoff round to the Dallas Stars. The Kraken had exceeded every expectation set for them, but the story of their 2022-23 season was at its end (at least at the NHL level). 

As that book closed, however, a new one opened: the 2023 offseason. Three days later, at the team’s end-of-season press availability, Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis said the front office would soon start meeting to evaluate the team’s internal free agents. “We’ve got some decisions to make there,” said Francis. “We’ll work through those over the next few days here to make sure that we’re all comfortable with the direction we want to go and address it accordingly.”

Then, at the May 31 press conference to announce his own contract extension, Francis followed up to say, “We’re rolling up our sleeves and getting into [discussion on Seattle’s players] now, and hopefully we’ll have a much clearer picture by July 1st.”

What are the key decisions that need to be made on Seattle’s own players? What will inform those decisions? And when is the deadline for actions to be taken? Let’s dive in.

The state of the Seattle Kraken roster

The Kraken enter this offseason with 10 forwards projected to be on the 2023-24 opening night roster already under contract. That number rises to 11 if you include Tye Kartye, whose postseason run made quite the impression on fans and the front office alike. 

Ryan Donato and Joonas Donskoi are unrestricted free agents. Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong are restricted free agents with arbitration rights. (For an explainer on these free agent classifications and the logistics of NHL free agency, see the appendix at the bottom of this post.)

Matty Beniers, Eeli Tolvanen, Alex Wennberg, and Jordan Eberle will be entering into the final years of their existing contracts in 2023-24, which means that those players will be eligible to receive extensions to their current contracts on July 1, 2023.

On the blue line there is a little more uncertainty, but still a number of players under team control; Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, Justin Schultz, and Jaycob Megna are all signed, though Megna is not necessarily a certainty to be on the opening night roster. Vince Dunn, Will Borgen, and Cale Fleury are all restricted free agents with arbitration rights. And Carson Soucy is an unrestricted free agent. Schultz and Megna are entering their final seasons and theoretically could be extended.

In goal, Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger are signed for 2023-24, with Driedger entering his final year and eligible to be extended. Martin Jones is an unrestricted free agent, as is Joey Daccord, who qualifies as a “Group 6” unrestricted free agent. (More on this in the appendix below.)

Assuming Driedger is on the NHL roster, based on the list of signed players above only (i.e., not counting Tye Kartye, for example), the Kraken have $19,193,424 in cap space going into the 2023-24 season to sign additional players.

Finally, here is a look at the offseason contract status of key players on the Calder Cup Final-bound Coachella Valley Firebirds. Kole Lind is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Alex True and Carsen Twarynski are “Group 6” unrestricted free agents, like Daccord. Shane Wright is listed here, but his immediate future remains murky. 

The offseason timeline

For each restricted free agent, the Kraken have until Monday, June 30, at 2 p.m. PT to extend a qualifying offer. If an offer is extended, the player may sign the offer or continue to negotiate a different deal with the team.

Alternatively, the player may negotiate and accept an offer with another team (this is often called an “offer sheet”). The Kraken are afforded the opportunity to match an offer sheet from another team. If the Kraken decline that option, the team would likely receive some draft pick compensation based on the value of the contract signed. Right now, I don’t expect any Kraken restricted free agents to receive an offer sheet.

Since each Kraken restricted free agent this year is arbitration eligible, if Seattle extends a qualifying offer, the player(s) have the option to trigger an arbitration hearing to set their salaries. The hearing serves as a backstop to negotiations. The deadline for a player to invoke arbitration is July 5, at 2 p.m. PT.  The team may itself trigger arbitration if it chooses before or after that date. Club-requested arbitration is far less frequent and can happen if the team is looking to obtain a salary decrease for a player. I don’t expect that with any of the Kraken restricted free agents.

If Seattle declines to extend a qualifying offer by the June 30 deadline, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent eligible to sign with any other club immediately. 

All other unrestricted free agents become eligible to negotiate and sign a deal with a new club on July 1, at 9 a.m. PT. If an unrestricted free agent signs with another club there is no compensation to Seattle or required opportunity for Seattle to match the contract. 

The decisions on Kraken free agents

How the Kraken elect to proceed with their free agents is informed by a number of variables, including the player’s market value, and, for restricted free agents with arbitration rights, the player’s likely award at an arbitration hearing. Let’s take a look at some projected numbers and then make some early predictions on what happens with these Kraken free agents.

First, a methodology note regarding my “Deep Sea Hockey” projections below: I used CapFriendly’s contract comparable tool to produce a list of comparable contracts for each Kraken free agent based on the following variables: position, age, points, and games played. This doesn’t capture the entirety of a player’s value, of course, but points tend to be predictive of free agent value. I then made minor manual adjustments to sync the values to the Kraken free agent’s statistical profile on a point-per-game basis. I then prorated the value of the contracts to the current salary cap environment, projected at $83.5 million for 2023-24. I then also used the sample of comparable contracts to predict a contract length.

Vince Dunn | LD | RFA (UFA in 2024) | 26 years old | 201 points in 421 NHL games 

Vince Dunn is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He is one year from unrestricted free agency and coming off a year in which he was second in points for Seattle and 10th in points among all defenseman in the NHL. He is in line to ask for a very large contract, which makes him one of the important questions facing the front office this offseason.

• Qualifying offer amount: one-year, one-way contract worth $4 million
• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 8 years, $8.15 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 7 years, $8.35 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey projected arbitration ruling: 1 year, $8 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: Qualified. Negotiated deal at 7 years, $7.5 million AAV with Seattle. This will be a lengthy negotiation and both sides will need to give if they are going to reach this outcome. I suspect the Kraken aren’t comfortable with the full market projection contract for Dunn given his up-and-down production with the team. The highs have been No. 1 worthy but the lows remain troubling. $8 million (Dunn’s likely target) would put him t-15th in AAV in the league among defensemen. The Kraken would likely prefer the number to be lower. If they can’t see eye-to-eye, I don’t think anything is off the table. Dunn’s agent is notorious for driving a hard bargain. Still, I tentatively think both parties bend at the end of the day to get this contract signed.

Daniel Sprong | RW | RFA (UFA in 2024) | 26 years old | 116 points in 268 NHL games

Daniel Sprong is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He is one year from unrestricted free agency and coming off a year in which he was tied for third in goals for Seattle with 21. On a per-minute basis, he was one of Seattle’s most productive offensive players, though critiques of his 200-foot game remain.

• Qualifying offer amount: one-year, one-way contract worth $787,500
• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection:  3 years, $3.2 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 2 years, $3 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey projected arbitration ruling: 1 year, $3 million
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: Not qualified or traded to a team interested in Sprong in a top-nine role, Sprong ultimately signs a 1 year, $2.25 million with another team. It won’t be easy to replace Sprong’s goal production, particularly on the power play, but I keep bumping against the fact that he was not able to crack a top-nine role with Seattle with any regularity. That is where his skill would deliver the most value and Seattle never did it, which suggests to me that they still don’t see an elevated future for him, given the current depth chart. At the number he’s likely to command this offseason, it’s just too difficult to fit him in the salary structure and still improve the team.

Morgan Geekie | C | RFA (UFA in 2026) | 24 years old | 116 points in 268 NHL games

Morgan Geekie is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He is three years from unrestricted free agency and coming off a year in which he played a fourth-line center role for much of the season, though he elevated to a top-nine right wing role late in the season and in the playoffs with Andre Burakovsky injured. He was one of Seattle’s better players in the face-off circle and their only reliable righty in that role. He remains one of the younger players on the roster.

• Qualifying offer amount: one-year, one-way contract worth $1.4 million
• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 2 year, $1.69 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 2 years, $2.1 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey projected arbitration ruling: 1 year, $1.8 million
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: 1 year, $1.8 million with Seattle. This is a tricky one too, as Geekie likely believes he has earned a raise over his previous salary, and he serves in a five-on-five role (right handed center) for which the Kraken don’t have another ready made alternative (except for perhaps Andrew Poturalski). He also has talent. That is clear. On the other hand, the production hasn’t taken a leap forward, and he hasn’t found a regular special teams role. Still only 24 years old, I don’t think the Kraken would prefer to move on, but it really depends on Geekie’s demands. If I were Seattle I’d go to him early and offer something along the lines of 2 years, $1.45 million AAV, or 1 year, $1.6 million AAV, with the implication that he may not be qualified otherwise due to arbitration risk. The production may not justify it, but it’s one more bet on his upside. That said, if push comes to shove, I think the team ultimately would qualify him to keep him for at least one more year.

Will Borgen | RD | RFA (UFA in 2024) | 26 years old | 28 points in 132 NHL games

Will Borgen is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He is one year from unrestricted free agency and coming off a year in which he moved up the lineup from a third-pair role to a second-pair role midway through the season. He does not reliably create offense but is a sound defender with flashes of puckhandling skill.

• Qualifying offer amount: one-year, two-way contract worth $945,000
• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 2 year, $1.66 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 2 years, $1.5 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey projected arbitration ruling: 1 year, $1.8 million
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: Qualified. Signs 2 year, $1.8 million AAV deal with Seattle. (Author’s note: I edited this AAV upward after additional reflection.) GM Ron Francis already indicated to Ian Furness on JKR that Borgen will be qualified. That is an easy decision. Borgen’s metrics plateaued in the second half of last season, and I think he might be best deployed as the more physical, defensive-minded half of a third pair moving forward (perhaps with Ryker Evans?), but he also won’t break the bank. A two-year deal would give Borgen some stability and financial security. It would also allow him to hit the market again at 28 years old, an age at which defensemen are still at or near the prime of their defensive abilities and can be well compensated on the open market (see Soucy, Carson). One thing to keep an eye on: these projected financial values could be underselling Borgen’s market. Daily Faceoff has him projected at $2.5 – 3 million AAV, for example. I remember thinking Dunn’s last deal would be more like 2 years, $2.5 million AAV, and it came in much higher. Could history repeat?

Cale Fleury | RD | RFA (UFA in 2026) | 24 years old | 2 points in 62 NHL games

Cale Fleury is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He remains buried on the depth chart, seeing only 12 games worth of ice time this entire season. His ongoing value is as depth at position, right defense, where the organization does not have any other ready answers in the event of an injury.

• Qualifying offer amount: one-year, two-way contract worth $787,500
• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 1 year, $778,500 (below the qualifying amount)
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 1 year, $787,500 (qualifying amount)
• Deep Sea Hockey projected arbitration ruling: 1 year, $787,500 (qualifying amount)
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: Qualified. 1 year, $787,500 with Seattle. I suspect that the Kraken still like this player given his presence on the roster all season. When he has been in the lineup, he has looked like an “extra defenseman” level player out there, which is not a bad piece to have but also one that can be replaced. Still, he’s useful depth and a potentially a necessary piece for next season if (a) the team does not retain Carson Soucy, (b) the team does not sign a free agent defenseman, or (c) at camp it becomes clear Ryker Evans needs one more year in Coachella Valley.

Kole Lind | RW | RFA (UFA in 2026) | 24 years old | 8 points in 30 NHL games

Kole Lind has 37 goals (and counting) across 91 total AHL games this season. He leads the entire AHL in scoring in the Calder Cup playoffs with 23 points. He is potentially under team control for three more seasons, but if he doesn’t get regular NHL playing time next season (50+ games), he will qualify as a Group 6 unrestricted free agent next offseason.

• Qualifying offer amount: one-year, two-way contract worth $892,500
• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: N/A
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: N/A
• Deep Sea Hockey projected arbitration ruling: 1 year, $892,500
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: Qualified. 2 year, $875,000 AAV with Seattle. Kole Lind was productive in the AHL this year and showed that he has the tools to be useful at the NHL level if he can consistently keep up with NHL pace (and if he keeps his agitator tendencies under control). At the least, I think he is worthy of a shot in a 12th or 13th forward role at the NHL level. A two-year deal rewards Lind for his season and could protect Seattle from losing him as a Group 6 free agent next offseason if he continues to be a borderliner NHL/AHL player.

Ryan Donato | LW | UFA | 27 years old | 135 points in 325 NHL games

Ryan Donato is an unrestricted free agent. He was part of a productive “fourth line” for the Kraken, tallying 14 goals in 71 games. Across his two-year stint with the team, he has 30 goals.

• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 2 year, $2.03 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 2 year, $2.35 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: 1 year, $1.5 million deal with another team. Unfortunately, Ryan Donato continues to find himself right on the margins of NHL status since he is not a conventional fourth line player but his skill level is just barely below what teams would want in their top-nine for a playoff push. If his market again does not materialize, I can imagine him coming back, but I suspect a “rebuilding” team will give him a contract to fill out their roster as a bridge to younger players. I don’t think he’ll actually get a contract at the level projected by me or Evolving Hockey.

Carson Soucy | LD | UFA | 28 years old | 68 points in 250 NHL games

Carson Soucy is an unrestricted free agent. He was Seattle’s third-pair left defenseman, a stalwart on the penalty kill, and the third defenseman in line to take a role on the power play. 

• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 3 years, $2.59 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: 2 year, $2.4 million AAV
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: 4 year, $4 million AAV deal with another team. If his market is actually more in line with the projections, particularly mine, I think Seattle should be interested to bring Soucy back. But I think Soucy is a prime candidate to be “overpaid” on the free agent market. Soucy generated significant buzz at two consecutive trade deadlines, so it appears there is legitimate interest in the player around the league. Ultimately, I think he gets an offer that prices him out of Seattle’s desired range.

Joey Daccord | G | UFA | 26 years old | .884 save percentage in 19 NHL games

Joey Daccord is a “Group 6” unrestricted free agent. (For more on that status, check out the appendix below.) Daccord has not been able to generate strong results at the NHL level yet, but he is having a great season in the AHL. He was fifth in that league with .918 save percentage across 38 regular-season games. And he has been even better in the playoffs, recording a .924 save percentage in 19 playoff games. This run should help him in free agency. 

• Evolving Hockey free agent contract projection: 1 year, $775,000
• Deep Sea Hockey negotiated contract projection: N/A
• Deep Sea Hockey gut prediction: 2 year, $1,150,000 AAV one-way deal with Seattle. This projection is a bit out there, but here is my thought process: Joey Daccord has shown that, at the least, he can be a very good player and leader at the AHL level. Heading into free agency, the Kraken don’t have a clearly defined third goaltender on the depth chart. Signing Daccord to this deal gives the Kraken necessary depth in goal in the short term. If, ultimately, Daccord is sent back to Coachella Valley next year at cutdown time, the size of the commitment would make other teams more hesitant to claim him. And if he is sent down his salary can be completely “buried” and will not count on the NHL salary cap. On the other hand, if Daccord beats out Chris Driedger for the backup job in camp, Driedger could be sent through waivers; if unclaimed, the salary cap implications would be neutral since $1,150,000 of Driedger’s deal can be “buried” at the AHL level. On Daccord’s side of the equation, he gets significant security even if he has to wait one more year for a clear shot at a backup role.

Appendix: Free agency in the NHL

As discussed above, not all NHL “free agents” are the same. A player may be “unrestricted” or “restricted” and there are certain nuances to the player’s rights or eligibility under either status. Need a primer? Let’s get into those rules here.

Unrestricted free agency

An “unrestricted free agent” (UFA) is free to sign with any team without any compensation or right of first refusal held by the player’s former club. A player becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if the player’s current contract has expired *and* the player qualifies under any one of three other criteria:

1. 27 years old. The player is 27 years old as of the last day of the expiring contract (i.e., June 30).

OR

2. Seven accrued seasons. The player has seven “accrued” seasons of NHL experience as of the expiration of the contract. An “accrued” season is defined as a season in which the player was on an NHL club’s active roster for 40 regular season games (or 30 regular-season games for a goaltender). Time lost on injured reserve to injury incurred at the NHL level counts toward this “active roster” requirement for games during the season of the injury and the season thereafter.

OR

3. “Group 6” status. The player (i) is 25 years old as of the last day of the expiring contract (i.e., June 30), (ii) has completed three or more “professional seasons,” with “professional seasons” being defined as 11 games played or more games played if 18 or 19 years old and one or more games played if 20 years old or older in the NHL, AHL, or on loan in another European professional league, and (iii) the player, if a skater, has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or, if a goaltender, has played fewer than 28 games of 30-or-more minutes TOI. Players in this category are referred to as “Group 6” unrestricted free agents.

Additionally, a player may qualify as a UFA if the player is a restricted free agent, but the current NHL club does not tender that player a qualifying offer. Let’s get into what that means now.

Restricted free agency

If the player’s contract expires but the player does not meet one of the three numbered criteria set forth above to qualify for unrestricted free agency, the player is a “restricted free agent” (RFA).

The first decision point on a RFA is made by the NHL club, which must decide whether to extend the player a “qualifying offer.” A qualifying offer is an offer of a one-year contract, which remains open for 30 days, with the following minimum values at the NHL level:

• If base salary in last year of expiring contract is less than or equal to $660,000: 110% of the last year base salary
• If base salary in the last year of an expiring contract is greater than $660,000 or less than $1,000,000: 105% of the last year base salary, but not greater than $1,000,000.
• If the base salary in the last year of an expiring contract is greater than $1,000,000: 100% of the last year base salary

The only potential exception to the rules above is, if the contract was signed on or after July 10, 2020, the qualifying offer may not exceed 120% of the *average* annual value of the expiring contract. This rule only becomes relevant for back-loaded contracts and is presumably designed to disincentivize contracts structured like Timo Meier’s deal moving forward.

The qualifying offer must be a “one-way” contract, meaning the player is paid the same salary whether at the NHL or AHL level if the player has played 180 NHL games within the last three years, 60 NHL games within the last year, or was claimed on waivers within the past year. Otherwise, the qualifying offer may be a “two-way” contract providing for a lower salary if the player plays at the AHL level.

If the current NHL club does not make the player a qualifying offer by June 25 at 2 p.m. PT, or the first Monday after the NHL Entry Draft at 2 p.m. PT, whichever is later, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent immediately. This year, the deadline is Monday, June 30, at 2 p.m. PT.

The consequence of the qualifying offer depends on the experience level of the player receiving the offer. There are three scenarios. 

1. 10.2(c) Player. If the player has minimal professional experience, a qualifying offer renders the player ineligible to negotiate or sign with any other clubs. This is so-called “10.2(c)” status. The 10.2(c) player may sign the qualifying offer or negotiate a different deal with his current club only. What is the experience threshold? A player falls under 10.2(c) if he (a) signed his first contract at ages 18-21 and has played two or fewer seasons of “professional experience,” (b) signed his first contract between ages 22-23 and played one or fewer seasons of “professional experience,” or (c) signed his first contract at age 24 or older and has no seasons of “professional experience.” “Professional experience” is defined as 10 or more NHL games for 18-19-year-olds or 10 or more games in any professional league for players 20 years old or older.

2. RFA without arbitration rights. If the player has more experience than the 10.2(c) threshold, but less experience than is necessary to qualify for salary arbitration (see below), the player is an RFA without arbitration rights. The player may sign the qualifying offer, negotiate a different deal with his own club, or negotiate with other clubs. If the player accepts an offer of a contract from another club, the player’s current club is afforded the opportunity to match the contract and retain the player. If the current club declines to do so, it receives compensation from the signing team in the form of draft picks. The draft picks received (if any) are based on the value of the contract signed.

3. RFA with arbitration rights. If the player has significant professional experience, he may qualify for salary arbitration. Arbitration may then be elected either by the team or the player.  Arbitration is a process by which a third party neutral will receive information from the team and the player and decide the contract that the player should receive. In most instances it is a one-year deal.  A player qualifies for arbitration if he: (a) signed his first contract at ages 18-20 and has four or more seasons of “professional experience” (as that term is defined above), (b) signed his first contract at age 21 and has three or more seasons of “professional experience,” (c) signed his first contract at ages 22-23 and has two or more seasons of “professional experience,” or (d) signed his first contract at ages 24 or older and has one or more seasons of “professional experience.” An arbitration eligible player in receipt of a qualifying offer has until July 5 at 2 p.m. PT to notify the team he is electing arbitration. (There are different deadlines for the clubs to elect arbitration.) In the meantime, the player has all of the same rights to negotiate with his own team or other teams as described above, and if he should sign with another team, again, his team would have the opportunity to match or receive draft pick compensation for the player. This negotiation process is cut off only when the arbitrator makes a ruling. The arbitrator’s ruling becomes the value for the contract between the team and the player, except in certain high contract value scenarios in which the team may opt to disclaim the ruling and allow the player to become an unrestricted free agent.

What are the offseason priorities for Ron Francis and the Kraken?

by Darren Brown | May 22, 2023 | Kraken

The dust has settled, the lockers have been cleared out, and the second offseason in the history of the Seattle Kraken is officially underway. 

After a magical run to Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, expectations have surely shifted for what the core of the team’s existing roster can do. It has now proven it can not only make the postseason, but the depth of the group can actually bring playoff success. 

While a foundation for winning has now been built, the organization will not rest on its laurels. General manager Ron Francis and his staff will continue to tinker, seeking higher finishes in the regular season and deeper postseason runs in 2023-24 and beyond. But knowing what we know about the team, how can it actually get better? What changes will the summer months bring? 

We try to answer those questions and more as we consider the offseason to-do list for the Seattle Kraken.

Vince Dunn’s contract situation 

Vince Dunn emerged as a cornerstone player for the Kraken this season, racking up big minutes on the top defense pairing with Adam Larsson, quarterbacking the power play, and smashing his previous career high with 64 points. He even garnered some whispers of Norris Trophy consideration, though he was not a finalist. 

Dunn signed a two-year, $8 million contract before Seattle’s inaugural season, so that deal is up. He is now a restricted free agent, meaning as long as the Kraken tender him a qualifying offer, they will keep him for next season. However, the Kraken will want to negotiate something longer term with their top offensive defenseman, and Dunn seems to want to stay. Last week he said he was “all in” on the organization and didn’t seem terribly worried about the upcoming negotiation, saying it will work itself out. 

The feeling is mutual from Francis, who said the team is “hopeful” it can sign Dunn to an extension. “We haven’t started [contract talks] yet,” said Francis. “But usually if you get to a deal where the team is not happy and the player’s not happy, that’s probably a fair deal. So we’ll see if we can start to get to that point.”  

With Dunn’s breakout coming at exactly the right time, he is in line to become the highest-paid player on the Kraken. We expect him to fetch north of $7 million per season and at least five years of term. 

Determine who stays, who goes 

There are several other notable players whose contracts have expired. Morgan Geekie, Daniel Sprong, and Will Borgen are restricted free agents, while Carson Soucy and Ryan Donato are unrestricted free agents. The Kraken will have to make decisions on which of those players to keep and which to cut loose.

Let’s talk about the UFA’s first. Soucy played a huge role for the club this season, and although he got himself into the doghouse with fans on a few occasions for ill-timed penalties, he is a reliable, physical defenseman. He said on locker clean-out day that he wants to come back, but we think it’s a numbers game here, and those numbers will force Soucy onto the open market. He will attract plenty of interest from teams around the league.

The Kraken have left-shot Jaycob Megna also under contract for next season, and Ryker Evans took another step toward NHL readiness by earning a spot in the AHL All-Star Game. We would anticipate one of those players replacing Soucy, or perhaps the team will bring somebody in from the outside. 

As for Donato, he’s been a good soldier for this team and done everything coach Dave Hakstol has asked of him over two seasons. But at least a couple players will have to be jettisoned to make space for improvements higher in the lineup, and Donato feels like an easy candidate. 

Now onto the RFA’s. Last season, Sprong and Donato were not tendered qualifying offers, which made them unrestricted free agents. However, the players did not get the contracts they were looking for on the open market, and both ended up back with Seattle, making less money than they would have made if Seattle had qualified them. 

This offseason, it is our guess the Kraken will extend Geekie, who showed versatility and growth throughout his second year with the club. We also fully expect Borgen to be kept around after he proved to be a full-time NHLer, appearing in all 82 regular-season games and all 14 playoff games. We were very impressed by his rapid maturation this season.

As for Sprong, we aren’t so sure he’ll be back. Let it be known that Sprong was perhaps our favorite player to cover this season, mostly because his story of going from unsigned and on a professional tryout in training camp to scoring 21 goals on the fourth line was such a fun one to follow. But he was also incredibly gracious with his time and always willing to chat, so on a personal level, we would love to see him back next season. 

Here’s the deal with Sprong, though; most of the players that donned the deep sea blue in 2022-23 are expected to be back next season. 10 of the regular forwards—including all nine players on the top three lines—are under contract. Plus, Tye Kartye made a case in the playoffs that he is NHL ready, and with Andre Burakovsky expected back after tearing his groin just after the All-Star break (ouch), that’s now 11 of the 12 forward spots theoretically occupied. 

Remember that question we asked earlier about how the team can improve? “We do have some guys whose contracts are up, so we’ve got to make some decisions there,” said Francis. “But there’s always areas that we think we can tweak and get better, whether that’s bringing people from the outside in or trying to work from an internal position to make it stronger.”

They simply can’t do any tweaking to the roster if the spots are all filled already, and with Sprong again arbitration eligible, we think that he—like Donato and Soucy—will end up a victim of the numbers game. 

Figure out the goal crease (or don’t)

Keep an eye on Seattle’s goal crease this offseason as well. Philipp Grubauer rose to the occasion of the playoffs and was stellar throughout, giving the team and its fans hope that the $6-million-per-year netminder has put his struggles behind him. 

But remember, there are two goalie spots on the roster, and Martin Jones was a big part of Seattle’s success this season, especially when Grubauer was out with an early season injury. 

Jones was on a one-year deal, though, so he is unlikely to return for 2023-24, while Chris Driedger still has a year left. Driedger is back from his ACL injury and is with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for their Calder Cup chase, but after not playing for the Kraken this season, he hasn’t gotten much playing time in Coachella Valley either, as Joey Daccord has been on fire.

With Driedger still around and making big bucks at $3.5 million, we can’t imagine the Kraken bringing in a backup goalie for next season. Worth noting, though, Daccord is set to become a group six free agent, so the Kraken will have to negotiate with him if they want to keep him in the fold. He too could be ready (or close to ready) to serve as a full-time backup in the NHL. 

Make more brilliant trades and offseason signings

Even with things looking relatively set for next season, we would like to see the team bring in more offensive talent this offseason. If Sprong does go, that’s 21 goals the team will need to replace at the bottom of the lineup. The way we think it should do that is by adding more high-end offensive punch to the top of the lineup. 

Last summer, Seattle signed Burakovsky in free agency, then traded for Oliver Bjorkstrand in perhaps the steal of the offseason. Those transactions made the Kraken instantly better. If they can add another skilled offensive player (or two) in the coming months—player(s) that fit in Seattle’s top six—then the group just gets that much deeper. 

By adding a couple more players, there could be a world in which the Kraken don’t have a true “fourth line,” and instead have a first line, a second line, and two third lines that just roll through every night. They would be very tough to stop if that comes to fruition. 

The Kraken have plenty of trade chips to play with, as they have 10 picks in the NHL Entry Draft and salary cap space, the two things you need to make trades that improve your team.

What moves would you make? Let us know in the comments. 

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.

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Kraken Roundtable – Stanley Cup Playoff Round 2 Edition

by Darren Brown | May 6, 2023 | Kraken

After the Seattle Kraken played Games 1 and 2 of their second-round series against the Stars in Dallas, the NHL playoff schedule granted them a rare two-day break before Game 3 in Seattle. This feels like a perfect time to reflect on what transpired in those first two contests in another installment of the Kraken Roundtable. 

Our contributors, John Barr, Darren Brown, Josh Horton, and Curtis Isacke, put their heads together to discuss what they’ve learned and how the Kraken can win this series against the Stars. 

Who is your unsung hero of the playoffs for the Kraken?

Darren Brown: Well the “sung” hero is obviously Philipp Grubauer, who has been dazzling through nine playoff games and has given his team a chance to win every game. But since the question is “unsung” hero, I’m going to go with Jaden Schwartz. 

Schwartz is so fun to watch on the forecheck and in the offensive zone, and he has seemed to find another gear to his game in the postseason. He so far has three goals and three assists, but it’s not just the points he has contributed that has earned him the “unsung hero” award in my eyes; it’s the way he pursues pucks in the offensive zone, blocks shots, and does everything he can to create opportunities for his linemates. 

Remember, Schwartz had 20 points in the playoffs the year the Blues won the Stanley Cup, and that is no coincidence. He is a playoff performer, and he is showing it for the Kraken.

Josh Horton: For the entirety of the season, but especially in the playoffs, Adam Larsson stands out. He eats a ton of minutes and does a lot of little things that can turn narrow losses into narrow wins. 

John Barr: Morgan Geekie. After playing center all season, Geekie was slotted as a wing with Schwartz and Wennberg a couple weeks before the end of the season. His stats do not jump off the screen, but he has scored a couple big goals in key victories for the Kraken this playoff run and is generating scoring opportunities in his elevated role. Since Jared McCann went out, coach Dave Hakstol has also started to deploy Geekie on the power play, and I would not be surprised if he finds the net again in the next two games.

Curtis Isacke: Good answers, gang. I’ll go a bit off the board and say Justin Schultz. He has two goals and two assists through nine games. During his five-on-five minutes, he is top-five on the team in expected goals for percentage and leads the team with a +7 goal differential. The Kraken are +2 in goal differential with Schultz on the ice on the power play, and he leads the team in expected goal percentage with the man advantage among players with at least six minutes of power play time. Overall, he is first among Kraken blueliners in individual expected goals created per sixty minutes.

Of course, Yanni Gourde deserves as much praise as can be heaped on him for the job he did shadowing Nathan MacKinnon versus the Avalanche. But since his praises have rightfully been sung, I went with Schultz. Schultz is on the opposite extreme from Gourde in terms of on-ice exposure and degree of difficulty. He has seen much easier matchups, and he is fifth of six in total ice time for Kraken blueliners. But “easy” matchups are favorable only if the team actually converts those chances, and Schultz has delivered. In doing so, he has been a (somewhat surprising) positive for the team during this run.

What did we learn in Games 1 and 2? 

JH: We learned the Kraken’s forecheck is for real and that Dave Hakstol deserves his flowers.

Some were uninspired by Hakstol’s hiring before last season, and he received heat from fans early on as the team found its footing. But what he’s done implementing an ultra-disruptive defensive system that not only causes absolute chaos for the opponent, but complements the personnel perfectly, has been the difference in the Kraken emerging as contenders for the Stanley Cup Final and avoiding a token first-round exit in their second season. 

The forecheck is helping to produce offense at five-on-five, and Seattle is jumping out in front of teams because of it. What’s more, the Kraken aren’t sitting on their heels and trying to nurse those leads. It’s another testament to Hakstol, not only installing an effective system, but instilling a general attitude of staying on the gas instead of running out the clock. 

JB: We learned that the Kraken’s depth in the regular season can translate to playoff success.

All season long the strength of the Kraken has been their depth, but without a comparable team in recent history, it was never clear if it was going to translate to playoff success. The Kraken had 15 unique goal scorers in Round 1 and five different players scored in Game 1 against the Stars. It has to be challenging for opposing coaches to figure out how to match lines when you never know what line will get going next. 

CI: The Kraken do not have the skill to keep pace in a back-and-forth, wide-open game against Dallas. To survive, the Kraken need to play their forechecking scheme fast and clean to keep Dallas hemmed into its own zone. When well executed, this “best defense is a good offense” approach limits the volume of rush chances going the other way and reduces the five-on-five possession time in the Kraken zone. 

Equally important, Seattle needs to keep its discipline and avoid confounding, needless penalties. If Dallas gets three-plus power play chances a game, it will be very difficult for Seattle to keep pace because the Stars are lethal on the man advantage.

It will take all eighteen skaters playing connected, structured hockey to win three more against this talented Dallas squad.

DB: I think the Kraken got tired. Their system is aggressive and requires them to play fast and on their toes to be successful. After riding adrenaline and the emotional high of their Game 7 win in Denver to get them through Game 1, they didn’t have the same jump in Game 2. They weren’t on the Dallas defenders instantaneously in Game 2 like they were in Game 1, and once they took a couple penalties, they were cooked. 

Two days off couldn’t have come at a better time. 

What is the biggest surprise of Round 2 so far?

CI: Tye Kartye’s strong performance in this series continues to surprise. He has been on the ice for two Kraken goals for and zero goals against. (Overall in the playoffs it is four goals for and zero against.) This success is supported by a strong shot quality disparity while he is out there; he leads the team with 75.69 percent expected goals for percentage during his 26:07 time on ice in the series. 

The eye test (as measured by these eyes) has been equally complimentary. He is playing at full speed, using his body to protect the puck or separate others from it, and his wrist shot looks NHL-caliber. He has made a few questionable decisions with the puck in the defensive zone, and the team has sheltered his minutes late in games and in clear defensive situations, but it is hard not to be impressed with the 22-year-old rookie.

JH: Kartye stood out to me, too, Curtis. 

In the interest of originality, Jason Robertson’s quiet series has really caught me off guard. The Stars don’t profile as the splashiest team, but the young talents like Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, and Roope Hintz have lured me into watching a few Stars games this year. Those other guys have been noticeable, but Robertson really hasn’t. I think Dallas needs to get him going as the series pivots to Seattle. 

DB: This may sound a bit cocky, but I don’t think this is as tough a matchup for the Kraken as Colorado was. That’s the opposite of what I thought coming in, because Dallas has more balance than the Avs, so I expected Dallas to scare me more than the Avalanche’s two-line team. The high-end skill of the Stars isn’t nearly as terrifying as that of the Avalanche, though, and the Kraken showed in Game 1 that their style of play–when they have their legs under them–can keep them in games with Dallas and even give them a good chance to win the series. 

JB: I am not sure if it is really a surprise, but Matty Beniers has been very quiet over the last few games. He has been playing fine but not having those breakout moments that we were accustomed to seeing during the regular season. Part of that might be the elevated physicality of the playoffs, and part of it might be Dallas keying in on Matty to limit his chances. 

What will be the key to the Kraken advancing past Round 2? 

CI: As mentioned above, limiting Dallas’s power-play opportunities is of paramount importance. So far, Grubauer has been the team’s best answer during manpower disadvantages. He has saved almost four goals above expected on the penalty kill during this playoff run, per Natural Stat Trick. But the team cannot necessarily rely on that to continue. The skaters in front of Grubauer need to do a better job avoiding penalties and suppressing shot quality when penalties do occur.

In this matchup, Seattle needs to find a way to disrupt Dallas’s high-to-low passes, which get the puck down near the goal line in a threatening position to either directly create a scoring chance or pull the second layer of Kraken defenders out of position for a return pass to the slot. 

I am tempted to say the Kraken should try to get more width in their defensive structure to dissuade these attempts, but this would open the slot player for more tips and shots. Instead, Seattle’s top layer defender may need to get more aggressive pressuring the strong-side puck carrier and, in tandem, the strong-side defender in the second layer of the diamond must be ready to get back down toward the goal earlier to anticipate and disrupt these plays. 

JB: Parlaying on Curtis’s comments above, the Kraken will need to minimize the power play opportunities for Dallas. The penalty kill has been outstanding during the playoffs, but being shorthanded seems to really disrupt the flow and momentum for the Kraken and makes the impact of penalties greater than the two minutes they are at a disadvantage. During the playoffs, when the Kraken have had to kill three or more penalties in a game, their win-loss record is just 1-3. Meanwhile the Stars are 4-1 when getting three or more power play opportunities. 

DB: Agreed, penalties are a big deal, but beyond that, the Kraken need to stay on their toes. They had a good first period going in Thursday’s Game 2 but eased off the pedal once they got into penalty trouble. When they play on their heels and allow their opposition to gain momentum, it seems to be tough for the Kraken to slow things down, especially as the fatigue of the postseason continues to take its toll.

The Kraken are at their best when the opposition has no time and space to make breakout passes or to rush through the neutral zone. Once they ease off even a little, things go sideways. 

JH: Philipp Grubauer has been fantastic and has silenced a lot of haters this postseason. With the Kraken’s lack of top-end firepower and their aggressive style of play, it will be imperative Grubauer continues to make key saves to keep the Kraken in games. 

Is it enough? Cale Makar suspended for Game 5 for his hit on Jared McCann

by Darren Brown | Apr 25, 2023 | Kraken

Perhaps Dave Hakstol’s disdainful post-game comments about Cale Makar’s late hit on Jared McCann got through to the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Makar was given a hearing by the league’s disciplinary arm Tuesday, and he was assessed a one-game suspension.

“It’s a late hit, where the puck is out of play,” Hakstol said after the game. “Canner shoots that puck, it goes immediately out of play, straight up into the netting… I believe the puck is being caught by a fan as Canner is being run into the end wall. So, late hit; really late, no puck in play.”

Hakstol also confirmed that the injury sustained by McCann on the play would keep Seattle’s 40-goal scorer out for at least Game 5, and probably longer.

The fateful hit came about nine minutes into the first period. With the Kraken killing a questionable penalty call on Yanni Gourde, Matty Beniers sprung McCann on a shorthanded breakaway after a stretch pass. McCann got stopped by Alexandar Georgiev, then watched the puck deflect up over the glass for a stoppage. He was paying no attention to Makar and wasn’t bracing for any kind of hit, being that there was simply no reason for him to take contact in that moment. The play was over, and a good three seconds had elapsed since the shot had been taken.

But Makar decided to violently slam McCann into the wall, causing him to hit his head on both the glass and the ice. McCann was down for an extended period, then helped to the bench and down the tunnel.

The on-ice officials didn’t appear to be calling any penalty initially. They then huddled, assessed a five-minute major, and went to the penalty box to review the call. After review, they lowered the penalty to a two-minute minor, a power play on which the Kraken did convert for Daniel Sprong’s goal.

Still, the punishment doled out by the refs was clearly insufficient, considering the damage Makar had done. Good on the Department of Player Safety for looking into it and giving supplementary discipline for Makar’s actions, even if the severity of the sentence is up for debate.

“It is important to note that McCann is in no way eligible to be checked on this play,” the department said in its decision video. “Makar finishes this hit well outside the allowable window for finishing this check. In addition, it is clear that Makar knows McCann is not in possession of the puck when he decides to deliver this hit.”

Makar became the villain in an instant

Makar, the ultra-skilled defenseman, is not known for dirty play or attempting to injure players. In the eyes of Kraken fans, though, he is suddenly public enemy No. 1, made clear by their incessant booing every time Makar touched the puck in Game 4. Heck, at times, the crowd even booed Makar just for stepping onto the ice.

In what had been a relatively tame series through Game 3, Makar’s poor decision turned things in a nasty direction, and we are confident it will continue that way for the remainder.

Ironically, Makar will be back in the lineup just in time for Game 6, the last home game of the series for the Kraken, whose fans will surely be ready to taunt No. 8 at the drop of a hat.  

Is one game enough?

If McCann ends up missing the remainder of the series, then a single game for Makar feels light, but there is context to consider. First, Makar has no history of fines or suspensions, which does weigh into disciplinary decisions. Second, the weight of suspending a player for a playoff game is far more significant than doing so in the regular season, so a playoff game is generally viewed as equivalent to two regular-season games.

Given the violent and unnecessary nature of the hit, we would have liked to see a second game handed out to Makar. But the department is also known for its inconsistency, so the fact they gave any kind of suspension should be a small consolation for Kraken fans.

Makar being banished from Game 5 is also a big deal, perhaps even bigger than McCann not being able to participate, at least for that contest. The reigning Norris Trophy winner is one third of Colorado’s three-headed monster, made up of Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen. He had a huge offensive impact on Game 3 and is sure to factor in again when he returns from the timeout turtle. Only having to look out for Colorado’s two dynamic forwards for a game, and not their star blueliner, should make things significantly easier on the defensive side of the puck for Seattle.

Even so, Hakstol and his players would also like to have their top goal scorer for the rest of the series, and that is suddenly looking highly doubtful.

We know these can be highly contentious topics, but what do you think of this outcome, folks? Let us know in the comments (but be nice to each other, please).

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.

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Kraktice Report – Kraken expect electric atmosphere in Game 3 against Avalanche

by Darren Brown | Apr 22, 2023 | Kraken

It’s here, it’s here! It’s finally here! The first home playoff game in the history of the Seattle Kraken will be played Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena. 

The excitement from Kraken players was palpable at morning skate at Kraken Community Iceplex, where Seattle appeared to be working through some slight tactical adjustments to the power play and executing quick transitions through the neutral zone. 

One housekeeping item, Morgan Geekie was not on the ice for the session, but coach Dave Hakstol said it was a maintenance day. That indicates Geekie should be good to assume his spot on the wing next to Jaden Schwartz and Alex Wennberg, but we will keep an eye on that in warmups. 

Jesper Froden took Geekie’s spot in line rushes and did not stay out with the healthy scratches for extra work at the end of practice. He normally would continue skating if he was not planning to be in the lineup, so we thought that was worth noting.

Colorado’s personnel changes in Game 2

One thing we found interesting in Game 2 was Avalanche coach Jared Bednar’s decision to split up Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. It seemed to work, at least for that game, but the idea that Bednar felt the need to counter what Seattle brought with its depth in Game 1 went against the narrative coming into the series. While everyone was asking what Seattle could do to stop Colorado’s high-octane attack, nobody expected Bednar to be tinkering after one game, trying to find a way to make his big guns more effective against the Kraken. 

“I think it’s just a different look for them,” said Ryan Donato. “If anything, it spreads out— I mean, those two guys together are very dynamic. So I think there’s strengths for them being together and strengths for them not being together, but for us, it doesn’t change anything.” 

Eeli Tolvanen added that having them on the same line makes them very dynamic, but with the duo split apart, it means there’s one of the two on the ice almost all the time. “I think you have to be more careful on line changes and all that because they’re not playing the same line,” said Tolvanen, who is celebrating his 24th birthday Saturday. “I feel like they’re going to be on the ice for more, but I think all our lines are doing a good job defensively. So it doesn’t matter who’s out there.” 

Hakstol echoed Tolvanen’s sentiments. Although being at home gives Hakstol the advantage of the last change before face-offs, he says the team won’t be overly hung up on which line is out there at any given time. 

“We’ve never been a big line matchup team, if you look at it historically throughout the year,” Hakstol said. “There’ll be some of that. Being at home allows you to get some matchups, it allows you to avoid some matchups. But like I said, we haven’t been a hard match team all year, and we’re not going to start now.”

While the Avalanche have been tinkering with their lines, the Kraken have tried to stay focused on themselves and only change things if they fit better to their strengths. “It’s still about what adjustments we can make that make us more effective,” said Hakstol. “It’s not just about the adjustments; if you’re not good at something, you’re not going to adjust to that. So it’s finding adjustments that fit your game, that fit the opportunity.”

Kraken players expect an electric atmosphere

The atmosphere in Climate Pledge Arena has been fantastic all season long, but we are expecting some big-time goosebump moments on Saturday. Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said last week there’s a new pre-game show coming for the playoffs, and we know a plaza party will be happening outside. So, the organization is doing what it can to bolster the excitement, but it will be the crowd that should hoist this game into “unforgettable” status. 

“I think it’s going to be awesome,” said Tolvanen. “The whole regular season it was really loud. Everybody showed up; the fans did a really good job in the regular season. So [with the] playoffs, I think there’s going to be a notch more, and I think everybody’s really excited about it.”

We had boots on the ground around Climate Pledge to scope out what was getting set up over there, and we can confirm there will be a beer garden with TV’s for earlier playoff games and for people who want to come experience the atmosphere that don’t have tickets to the game. 

Inside, Tolvanen says he’s hoping the home faithful will bring a similar jolt to what Colorado’s fans brought in Game 2. “I think it’s going to boost us,” Tolvanen said. “They got momentum last game out of their fans; they did a really good job of that, and I think we have to take advantage of that today. The fans are going to be behind us, and I think all the support and all the energy we can get out of them, I think we have to use it to our advantage.”

While Tolvanen is hoping the fans push the team forward, Donato wants the players to give their fanbase plenty of reasons to cheer. “I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing them all there,” he said. “They’ve been great all year; now it’s our turn to return the favor by winning a playoff series, hopefully.”

By the way, we heard from a source within the organization that players have been quietly campaigning to get the crowd on the same page with a massively loud “SEA” at the beginning of the Star-Spangled Banner. So, for those in attendance, it’s “O, say can you SEA!” 

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.

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