The Kraken wrapped up the last week of games with a 1-2-0 record. The win came against a very bad-looking Chicago Blackhawks team, where the Kraken spotted the Blackhawks an early two-goal lead and then promptly rattled off six unanswered goals in the 6-2 win. The Kraken looked to implement a similar strategy in their next game against the Minnesota Wild, spotting the Wild three goals in the first five minutes. Unfortunately, that was where the game would stay until the Wild added an empty-net goal with less than two minutes left.
The final game of the week was against the Edmonton Oilers, who were missing the services of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Kraken were missing Chandler Stephenson, which forced a big shake-up of the lines.
John Hayden moved over from wing to play fourth-line center, while Shane Wright then moved up to center Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz. With the Schwartz move, Jani Nyman slotted into Schwartz’s previous spot alongside Kaapo Kakko and Matty Beniers. Finally, Eeli Tolvanen moved to a line with Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky. The final score was 5-4 Edmonton, which included an empty-net goal by the Oilers and then a 6-on-5 goal for the Kraken.
I am not going to overanalyze the games, given the context of this team’s position at this point in the season, but it seems like there have been quite a few defensive breakdowns over the last few contests. I don’t know if it’s the fact that the team is missing two true centers in the lineup or just flukey plays that lead to the breakdowns. Either way, this team is still competing, and that is all I am asking for at this point in the season. Even in the Minnesota game, the Kraken were still generating chances when they could have collapsed after going down 3-0 five minutes into the game.
Other musings
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken had more expected goals than their opponents in the games they lost last week and fewer expected goals in the game they won.
Shane Wright’s 19:54 of time on ice during the Minnesota game last Wednesday was a career high.
In the Kraken-Blackhawks game last Tuesday, it was the fifth time that both Matty Beniers and Shane Wright scored in the same game. They are 4-0-1 in those games.
This is the Andre Burakovsky I remember before he got hurt in February of 2023.
Congrats to the Wisconsin Badgers women’s team, who won an epic championship game to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State and Wisconsin have traded national titles for the last five years. Check out this rundown of this incredible game.
Last week, I applauded the Kraken penalty kill since the trade deadline after losing two of their top penalty killers in Brandon Tanev and Yanni Gourde. Since then, they have allowed three power-play goals over eight shorthanded opportunities for a penalty kill of 63 percent. I will take the blame for jinxing them.
The Kraken are six standings points behind where last year’s team was at this point in the season. The Kraken will need to earn 73 percent of the remaining points over the next 11 games to tie last season’s point total.
Something to keep an eye on in the Kraken prospect world: The Seattle Kraken have two players with expiring rights on June 1. Both Kaden Hammell and Andrei Loshko will need to be signed by that date; otherwise, they will become free agents and eligible to sign with any NHL team.
Shame! Shame! Shame! Last week, I mentioned that HV71 and Modo of the Swedish Hockey League were playing a best-of-5 series in the relegation series. Turns out it’s a best-of-7. After dropping the first two of the series, HV71 won the next three. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard and HV71 will now have two cracks at avoiding relegation.
On Monday, the WHL announced that the Penticton Vees will be the newest WHL team and that they will be accepting applications for an expansion franchise in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The Vees were a BCHL team this most recent season and will immediately join the WHL for 2025-26. The Chilliwack franchise is expected to join the league for the 2026-27 season.
The WHL also announced a new streaming partnership with Victory+. Games will be available for free through the platform, kicking off with the 2025 WHL playoffs this Friday.
The 2025 NCAA men’s hockey tournament bracket is set and begins Thursday. There are no Kraken prospects playing in this year’s tournament, but there are several high-end NHL prospects which will be fun to watch. All games are available across the ESPN family. Check start times and channels here.
The University of North Dakota fired their head coach, Brad Berry, on Sunday after 10 years with the program. I can’t help but wonder if former Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol could be a candidate to return to his alma mater and the school where he coached for 11 seasons.
Finally, I’ve had a lot of people ask me about Seattle Kraken season ticket renewals. Usually, season ticket holders would be a couple of months into their monthly installments for next season’s tickets by now. We haven’t heard much publicly from the team since Samantha Holloway sent an email to fans in January that implied changes were coming. I don’t know much more than what has already been circulating for months—that April is when season ticket holders should expect more information.
Goal of the week
There were a couple of Kraken prospect goals I liked this week, but when I saw this goal, I knew it was the one.
OH MY GOODNESS 🤯
Bryan Rust’s second of the period is a thing of beauty!
Tyson Jugnauth (POR/SEA) – The Kraken’s fourth-round pick from the 2022 NHL Draft finished his WHL regular season with 24 points over his last 20 games. Portland’s opening-round playoff series against Prince George kicks off Friday in a four-versus-five matchup. Don’t forget you can check out WHL playoff games on Victory+.
Semyon Vyazovoy (UFA/SEA) – The Kraken selected Vyazovoy in the sixth round of their first draft back in 2021. The backup goaltender for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL stopped 34 of 35 shots across two games this week to wind down the KHL regular season. Vyazovoy finished the season with a .938 save percentage over 28 games, which was second in the league. Goalies and Russian players often take a longer path to the NHL, but Vyazovoy seems to be tracking well at this point in his career.
Joel Hofer (STL) – The backup goalie in St. Louis and former Portland Winterhawk made 50 saves on 52 shots in his two starts and wins this week for the Blues. Those wins were big for St. Louis, as they are currently in the second wild-card spot.
The week ahead
The Kraken will finish off their string of road games (they’re practicing at home on Monday before flying out again) with a game in Calgary, where they can play spoiler to a desperate Flames team fighting for its playoff life. The Kraken are 2-1-0 against the Flames this season, with all games decided by one goal. All three games were played before the trade deadline, so this should be a challenging task—but who am I kidding, all games have been a challenge this season.
On Thursday, the Kraken will return home for three of their final five home games of the season. The first game of the homestand is against the Edmonton Oilers, against which the Kraken are just 2-11-1 in franchise history. It doesn’t get any easier on Saturday, when the Dallas Stars come to Seattle for a two-game series against the Kraken, with the second game on Monday, the 31st. The Kraken are 16-15-5 at home this season, and I find myself rooting for a .500-plus points percentage at home, but that might be a tough ask given the games remaining.
What say you? Are you still watching? What are you looking for down the final stretch?
The Seattle Kraken finished their three-game homestand with two wins and an overtime loss to the best team in the league. The first game of the week, against the Montreal Canadiens, was one of the most memorable of the season. Fans witnessed the Kraken rally from a two-goal deficit, Jani Nyman’s first NHL goal, and an unforgettable overtime winner that will be seared into their memories.
It was probably the loudest I’ve heard Climate Pledge Arena in some time. It was a nice reminder of why I still love going to the games, even if playoff hockey isn’t in the cards this season.
The Jani Nyman experience
We’ve been talking about Jani Nyman all season as one of the Kraken’s most exciting prospects. He’s a ‘big man’ with a wicked shot that could be exactly what the Kraken need. After a relatively slow start to the season in Coachella Valley, Jani has scored goals consistently for the Firebirds. When he got called up early last week, there was a lot of anticipation over whether he could showcase his skill in the NHL.
Often, players take significant time adjusting to the NHL’s speed and size — we’ve seen it before with Ryan Winterton, Logan Morrison, and even Shane Wright. But Nyman wasted no time, scoring a beauty of a power-play goal from a gorgeous feed by Jordan Eberle in his first NHL game. He followed that up with another power-play goal on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets. As mentioned on the Kraken Hockey Network, “Li’l Jani” became the second Kraken player to score a goal in two of his first three games, with Matty Beniers being the other.
Folks. Jani Nyman's First NHL Goal. It's a beauty set up by the captain (his third primary helper of the game) #SeaKraken
Pessimists might point out that both of his goals came on the power play, but it’s more than just the goals that should excite Kraken fans. Nyman looks like he belongs in the NHL, consistently putting himself in good spots to shoot and battling for pucks without hesitation. It’s early, but you have to like what you’ve seen from him in his first three NHL games. And let’s not forget — he’s still just 20 years old.
Checking in on the Swedish Hockey League
The Swedish Hockey League kicked off its postseason over the weekend, with two Kraken prospects still competing. Unsigned sixth-round draft pick from 2023, Zeb Forsfjäll, and Skellefteå AIK are taking on Färjestad BK in a No. 4 versus No. 5 seed matchup. Meanwhile, Oscar Fisker-Mølgaard and HV71 are once again battling in the relegation round against Modo. Unfortunately, HV71 is already down 0-2 in their best-of-5 series and will need to win three in a row if they are going to avoid being relegated.
Mølgaard had a solid regular season in a league where scoring is hard to come by, tallying 19 points in 38 games with a plus/minus of plus-six on a struggling team. At just 20 years old, he’s considered a strong two-way center and is expected to join the Coachella Valley Firebirds for a limited stint this season once his HV71 campaign concludes. The SHL has provided Mølgaard with an excellent development path, playing in a level of hockey that, outside the AHL, is the most similar to the NHL. He’s projected to play in Coachella Valley next season and is likely a season or two away from being NHL-ready.
Other musings
The Kraken have lost all three games against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets by a margin of one goal. Two of those games were overtime losses, while the other ended with Winnipeg scoring the game-winner with just 27 seconds remaining.
Across all three games against the Winnipeg Jets, the Kraken only trailed for 12 percent of the total time — the lowest percentage they’ve trailed against any Western Conference opponent this season.
To put that 12 percent trailing figure into context, the Kraken have trailed in 42 percent of their total game time this season. The only team with a higher trailing percentage is the San Jose Sharks.
After Brandon Montour’s brilliant game-winning goal against the Canadiens on Thursday, I spent the entire drive home talking about it being a set play. For the next 24 hours or so there was a lot of discussion about it on several platforms. I really loved how Troy Smith discussed it on the Sheet the next day. Alison also got some additional context here.
Eeli Tolvanen has stepped up as one of the new penalty killers in the absence of Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev. While he was used sparingly on the penalty kill over the past few seasons, it’s not a role he’s been asked to play much throughout his career.
Since two of their top penalty killers (Gourde and Tanev) last played on March 4, the Kraken’s penalty kill has operated at a 92.3 percent success rate, tied for second-best in the league.
No one should be too concerned about Shane Wright’s current deployment as the “fourth-line center.” It’s a strategic move to provide Jani Nyman with experienced players around him. Jared McCann was moved to center for Nyman and Burakovsky, which pushed Wright to the fourth line. This setup could also be an opportunity for Wright to work on his two-way game. He’s still getting power-play time and was on the ice for overtime.
Jani Nyman had just two goals in his first 10 games with Coachella Valley. However, in his last 10 games with the Firebirds before being called up, he scored eight goals.
The Kraken rank second in the league in the percentage of team goals scored by defensemen, with 20.8 percent of their goals coming from the blue line. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is still up for debate.
As mentioned above, HV71 is facing Modo in the relegation series. Former Kraken and Seattle Thunderbird Alexander True is part of that Modo team.
Chart of the week
If there’s one thing I’ve loved about this season’s team, it’s their refusal to quit. I’ve probably mentioned this a couple of times this year, but last Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, the Kraken once again rallied from a two-goal deficit. They lead the league in wins after being down by two goals.
Goal of the week
There were lots of fun goals to choose from this week, but let’s give it up for Jani’s first NHL goal. For this one, we get the full clip, including Nyman’s parents’ reaction.
Here's a longer cut of Nyman's first goal… what a moment to be able to share! #SEAKraken
Jordan Eberle (SEA) – The Kraken captain has recorded one goal and six assists over his last four games, including a three-assist performance against the Montreal Canadiens last Wednesday.
Eeli Tolvanen (SEA) – Tolvanen scored three goals over the last three games and leads the Kraken in goals this season with 21, which also marks a career high for a single season.
Brandon Montour (SEA) – Montour has tallied three goals and three assists over his last three games. He also set a Seattle Kraken single-season record for goals by a defenseman, with 16 goals on the season, matching his career high. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week.
The week ahead
The Kraken have three road games over the next eight days, starting with a back-to-back against the Blackhawks and Wild on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a Saturday matchup at the Edmonton Oilers.
The Blackhawks have struggled all season, holding the second-worst record in the league. However, the Kraken have already lost to the Blackhawks once this season, so it’s unwise to assume they’ll be an easy opponent.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild have been struggling lately, going 3-6-1 over their last 10 games and averaging just 1.6 goals per game during that stretch. The Kraken will be on the second night of a back-to-back, though, and they are currently 0-10-0 in such situations this season.
And Edmonton…let’s just worry about Edmonton later.
The Seattle Kraken returned to action over the weekend following the 4 Nations Face-Off break, splitting a pair of games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
On Saturday night, the Kraken edged out the Panthers in a tight 2-1 win. Captain Jordan Eberle made his return to the lineup after a lengthy absence due to a pelvic injury back in November. Despite the extended break for the team, the Kraken looked sharp, with Joey Daccord delivering a strong performance in net. Shane Wright recorded assists on both Kraken goals, scored by Kaapo Kakko and Jared McCann.
Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t go as well, with the Kraken falling 4-1. While the Kraken didn’t generate many quality scoring chances, they also didn’t concede many. Seattle is now 0-9-0 in the second game of back-to-backs, making them the only NHL team without a point in that situation this season.
Return of the captain
Eberle looked solid in his return, especially considering the long layoff and the challenge of coming back from such a unique injury. He logged 14 minutes of ice time on Saturday, primarily in a fourth-line role, with 57 seconds on the power play in the first period. He registered two shots on goal and, more importantly, helped stabilize the fourth line, giving the other three lines more rest between shifts.
In the previous 10 games, Tye Kartye and Mitchell Stephens averaged less than nine minutes of ice time per game, while Brandon Tanev, the other fourth-liner, averaged under 13 minutes. With Eberle back, Coach Dan Bylsma was able to rely more on the Tanev-Eberle wing pairing, occasionally double-shifting Shane Wright to center the fourth line. This provided a more dynamic fourth-line threat compared to a Tanev-Stephens-Kartye combination. While it’s hard to measure the direct impact, in a close 2-1 win, even small advantages can make a big difference.
Eberle played just under 12 minutes on Sunday and had two notable turnovers. While his timing might take a few more games to fully return, the early signs are promising.
4 Nations Face-Off: Quick thoughts
The 4 Nations Face-Off was a hit, not only among die-hard hockey fans but also with casual viewers. I heard from several non-hockey-fan friends and coworkers who tuned in and loved the USA-Canada games. The gold-medal game between the USA and Canada drew 9.25 million viewers in the US—the largest audience for an NHL-sanctioned game. For context, last year’s Stanley Cup Final Game 7 between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers had 7.66 million viewers.
The tournament also introduced some creative elements worth considering for the NHL:
Three-Point System: The 4 Nations used a system where regulation wins earned three points, overtime or shootout wins earned two, and overtime or shootout losses earned one. This setup could encourage teams to take more risks late in regulation to secure a full three points, especially in tight playoff races.
10-Minute 3-on-3 Overtime: While extending overtime might reduce shootouts, research suggests the current system may not need much tweaking.
New Camera Angles: The tournament featured fresh perspectives, including cameramen on the ice after goals, new in-game angles, and a referee cam. While still needing refinement, these innovations show promise.
the on-ice camera for goal celebrations is such a nice addition to 4Nations… hope to see this in the postseason pic.twitter.com/4POY7hGcwY
Brandon Tanev played 16:19 against Florida on Saturday—his highest ice time since Dec. 10—including 2:26 in the final five minutes.
The Kraken are now 5-2-1 all-time against Florida but 1-6-1 all-time against Tampa Bay.
Joey Daccord’s win on Saturday was his 20th of the season, marking a career high.
Jani Nyman continues to impress, leading all AHL rookies with 23 goals. I expect we’ll see him with the Kraken later this season.
Prospect Berkly Catton reached 100 points in the WHL over the weekend. While he’d benefit from a more competitive setting next season, the NHL-CHL development agreement limits his options to either the NHL or the WHL. There’s a chance he could make the Kraken roster, which would make this a non-issue.
For context on Catton playing in the NHL next season, only six players from the 2023 NHL Draft have played more than nine games in the NHL this season.
The Kraken won two coach’s challenges over the weekend: goalie interference on Saturday against Florida and an offside call on Sunday against Tampa Bay.
Berkly Catton (SPO/SEA): The top Kraken prospect is riding a 12-game multi-point streak, with eight points over three games this weekend.
Nathan Villeneuve (SBY/SEA): The 2024 second-round pick had five points in his last three games. Despite flying under the radar, he’s a physical forward with 55 points in 47 games for the Sudbury Wolves.
Shane Wright (SEA): Wright tallied three points over the weekend and has 12 points in his last 10 games.
The week ahead
The Kraken play just two games this week, both against Western Conference teams vying for a wild-card spot. They’ll wrap up their road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday before hosting the Vancouver Canucks at home on Saturday.
St. Louis has struggled lately, going 3-5-2 in its last 10 games, while Vancouver is clinging to the final wild-card spot but dropped two regulation games over the weekend. Though the Kraken are out of playoff contention, they have a prime opportunity to play spoiler.
Trade deadline looming
As much as the focus should be on the ice this week, the NHL Trade Deadline is just 13 days away, and speculation is heating up. Under GM Ron Francis, the Kraken have historically made moves close to the deadline, so big changes may not happen until next week.
Darren Brown put together a solid primer on the Kraken’s trade deadline approach. I’ve mentioned it before, but I still think an extension for Yanni Gourde could be in the cards. The Kraken need a fourth-line center next season, and if the two sides can find common ground, it would be a smart move to keep him in Seattle.
If you have thoughts or reactions to anything in this post or anything Kraken-related, let me know in the comments section below!
The Kraken ended the week on a high note, sending us into the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a thrilling come-from-behind win against the Calgary Flames. That game marked the seventh time this season the Kraken have erased a two-goal deficit to win—a feat they accomplished more times this season than in the previous three seasons combined—and they still have 25 games remaining.
In my opinion, the Seattle Kraken’s ability to never quit is what makes this team so enjoyable to watch, but it’s also part of the frustration. They can compete with any opponent for stretches of a game, giving us glimpses of their potential.
Coincidentally, the Kraken nearly pulled off another two-goal comeback earlier in the week against Detroit at Climate Pledge Arena. They scored twice in the final 10 minutes of regulation to force overtime but eventually lost in a shootout. Despite the loss, it was an exciting game to watch. Both Shane Wright and Matty Beniers found the back of the net, while Chandler Stephenson tied the game with his 10th goal of the season with under three minutes left in regulation. On Saturday in Calgary, Wright also had a goal and an assist to lead the comeback charge, and Beniers had the game-winner in OT.
Sandwiched between the shootout loss to Detroit and the overtime win in Calgary was a lackluster effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It wasn’t the Kraken’s best game, but they didn’t mail it in either. They trailed 3-0 midway through the second period but got an early third-period goal to make things interesting. Toronto is a talented team with high-end players, and even though their “big four” didn’t score, their presence was felt as they controlled most of the play.
If you had told me heading into the week that the Kraken would take three points from three quality opponents, I would have been happy—and I am. This team continues to compete, and with Shane, Matty, and Kaapo Kakko, I’m still fully engaged as we head down the stretch.
The Kaapo Kakko impact
As everyone should know by now, Kaapo Kakko has been on a resurgence since his trade to the Kraken in mid-December. I’ve previously highlighted the production difference between his time in Seattle versus New York this season, but here’s a quick summary:
The numbers are even more striking when isolating the last 20 games. There’s no doubt he’s been a bright spot over the past six weeks. The Kakko-Beniers-Jaden Schwartz line has been clicking, so let’s take a look at Kakko’s impact on their numbers as well.
Matty’s points-per-game average has risen slightly from 0.515 to 0.583, but his goal production has more than doubled in nine fewer games played. If you extrapolate his nine-goal pace over 24 games across a full season, it projects to a 30-goal pace for Matty.
Shane Wright is staying hot
Another bright spot in recent months has been the emergence of Shane Wright. With two more points on Saturday night, he now sits at exactly a point per game over his last 10 outings. Since being a healthy scratch back in November, he has steadily produced, never dipping below a .5-point-per-game average over any 10-game span.
Between Kakko, Beniers, and Wright, you can see a young core starting to take shape—one that should give fans plenty to be excited about for the rest of the season.
Other Musings
Saturday’s game against Calgary was the 35th time this season the Kraken allowed the first goal. They continue to lead the league in that category.
I’m starting to warm up to the idea of the Kraken extending Yanni Gourde. The team needs a center next season, and Yanni has been a great leader since the inaugural season. It doesn’t need to be a “team-friendly” deal—just a fair one. As with any veteran contract, the term will be the tricky part.
Since Yanni went down with an injury, the Kraken’s penalty kill is just 64.3 percent. It was 77.8 percent before his injury.
Shane played 1:26 in overtime against Detroit last Tuesday—the most OT ice time he’s had all season. He was sitting on two goals at the time, so I wonder if it was an attempt to get him a hat trick or part of a new overtime strategy.
On Saturday, Shane and Matty both scored in the same game for the fourth time in their careers. The Kraken have won three of those four games, with the only loss coming in the shootout against Detroit.
I continue to wonder about Kaapo Kakko’s next contract.
Philipp Grubauer is 2-0 with a .933 save percentage in his first two starts with the Coachella Valley Firebirds since being reassigned.
This entire play was a thing of beauty—and it was even better to witness in person last Tuesday.
#SeaKraken make it interesting. A Tanev stretch pass connects with Stephenson who goes across the goal mouth unencumbered to make it 4-4 with just under three to play
Berkly Catton (SPO/SEA) – A regular in this section, Catton posted eight points in two games this past weekend, including a four-goal game against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Carson Rehkopf (BRA/SEA) – Another frequent mention, Rehkopf, the Kraken’s 2023 second-round pick, had a six-point night against the Erie Otters. “Razor” remains one of my favorite prospects because he can score from anywhere.
Ready for a wild stat? 🤓#SeaKraken prospect Carson Rehkopf of the @OHLSteelheads scored the 10th hat-trick of his #OHL career on Friday, part of a six-point effort that brings him to 30 goals on the season! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/LNBmNQ2sbJ
Jani Nyman (CVF/SEA) – “Li’l Jani” continues to impress in his first full North American season, recording five points in his last four games. Of all the Kraken prospects, I believe he has the best chance of making the NHL roster next season. Hopefully, we get a glimpse of him at some point later this year.
The week ahead
The entire league is on break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Kraken won’t play again until Feb. 22, when they take on the Florida Panthers. I don’t know how many of you are excited to watch the 4 Nations Face-Off, but I certainly am—especially the USA versus Canada matchup on Saturday.
There likely won’t be a Monday Musings next week—unless your comments inspire me.
The Kraken just wrapped up a fun week of hockey at Climate Pledge Arena, winning two out of three games with victories against the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their only loss came against the league-leading Washington Capitals. I won’t pretend it was the prettiest stretch of games, but let’s face it—winning is fun.
Saturdays are fun again
The win against the Penguins on Saturday marked the Kraken’s fourth home victory on a Saturday this season. Last season, they went 0-7-2 at home on Saturday nights. Pittsburgh seemed to dominate lengthy stretches of the game, but the Kraken capitalized on key opportunities and never trailed. An added bonus of Saturday’s game was the annual Kids Game, featuring several kids shadowing job functions during the event—not to mention the many young fans in the crowd, thanks to the family-friendly start time.
Face-off follow-ups
It was great to see people discussing my mention of Chandler Stephenson’s defensive capabilities on Reddit last week. Measuring defensive skills using public data is challenging because so many important events aren’t captured. Thinking out loud here: it would be great to have metrics like deflections of passes, elimination of passing lanes, coverage of players, possession in the defensive zone, controlled zone exits versus zone exits that immediately concede possession, and so on—all measured against the strength of the competition on the ice.
Someone in the Reddit thread pointed out Stephenson’s low face-off percentage in the defensive zone, as available on NHL.com stats. I commend the poster for digging into the data and investigating on their own. However, even that stat requires context.
For most of the season, Stephenson has been part of the first penalty kill unit, meaning he takes a lot of face-offs while the team is shorthanded. Being shorthanded naturally reduces a team’s chances of winning a face-off. League-wide, shorthanded teams win only 46.9 percent of face-offs in all scenarios. Meanwhile, Stephenson’s face-off percentage while shorthanded is 50.8 percent.
I should also point out that face-offs are an incomplete stat because what you really want is possession, which isn’t the same as simply winning the face-off. That said, face-off percentages are the best we have right now and are generally a good indicator of possession—though not 100 percent of the time.
Sign or trade
In case you missed it, we did an exercise on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast last week called “Sign or Trade,” focusing on the Seattle Kraken’s pending unrestricted free agents. Using the AFP Analytics midseason extension projection model, we analyzed a couple of players and shared our opinions on whether the Kraken front office should re-sign or trade them based on their forecasted cap hits.
Yanni Gourde’s projected cap hit was $4.1 million AAV over three years. We all agreed the Kraken should trade him if that is what it would require to re-sign him, but I wonder—at what point does the AAV start to make sense for the team? The Kraken need another center for next season, and there doesn’t appear to be anyone in the pipeline who could fill the fourth-line center role. So, if Yanni would stay for $3.5 million, would you consider it?
The other part of the equation is what the Kraken could get for Yanni on the trade market. As I mentioned last week, if a first-round draft pick is on the table, you have to make the trade regardless of Yanni’s potential re-signing number. You could always try to bring him back in free agency, but that rarely happens—so I wouldn’t count on it.
The other interesting player is Brandon Tanev, whose projected cap hit is $2.4 million AAV for two years. Tanev has played very well this season, and at those numbers, re-signing him would definitely be worth considering.
Other musings
The Kraken improved to 6-2-0 all-time against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The only Eastern Conference team they have a better record against is the Buffalo Sabres, who they defeated on Monday. Seattle is now 7-1-0 against the Sabres.
Fans at the Capitals and Penguins games this week had the chance to see goals from Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Neither player had scored at Climate Pledge Arena since the Kraken’s inaugural season.
With their win on Saturday, the Kraken’s record improved to 12-5-3 in games where they score first. When the opposition scores first, Seattle’s record is 10-20-0.
At this point, it feels like a stretch to consider Seattle, Anaheim, and Nashville in the playoff race. However, Nashville has been the hottest team in January and is inching back into the conversation.
I haven’t completely given up on the Kraken making things interesting, but until further notice, they are out of the playoffs and are likely sellers at the trade deadline.
The Kraken have two games against the Calgary Flames before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Two regulation wins in those matchups would certainly make things more interesting.
The Capitals looked very strong when they played the Kraken last Thursday. Impressively, the Caps also boast one of the best prospect pools in the league—not bad for a team that hasn’t tanked. They’ve only missed the playoffs once in the last 10 seasons.
The big trade on Friday between the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche officially kicked off trade season. There’s usually a major trade in late January that starts to grease the trade gears—last year it was Elias Lindholm, and the year before, Bo Horvat. Expect trades to pick up steadily as we approach the March 7 trade deadline.
Matty Beniers is playing his best hockey of the season right now. His performance seemed to improve after the Kaapo Kakko trade. Since Kakko joined the team, Beniers has scored seven goals in 17 games; before that, he had just four goals in 33 games.
Speaking of the Kakko trade, Will Borgen signed a five-year contract with the New York Rangers over the weekend. The average annual value clocked in a $4.1 million. I’m happy for Will and, at the same time, thankful the Kraken did not sign for that price tag.
Buoy attended one of those mascot night events at a Portland Trail Blazers game. I wonder if all those mascots get together after work to enjoy a few “college sodas.”
Jared McCann (SEA) – McCann’s goal-scoring is off pace compared to previous seasons, but he’s contributing in other ways. He recorded one goal and four assists over the Kraken’s last three games.
Tyson Jugnauth (POR/SEA) – The unsigned Kraken prospect is on an active 10-game point streak, tallying six goals and 13 assists during that span.
Joey Daccord (SEA) – Daccord is 4-2-0 in his last six starts with an impressive .928 save percentage. Even in his two losses, he’s kept the Kraken competitive with a chance to win.
The week ahead
The Kraken face a tough matchup on Monday when they head to Edmonton to play the Oilers in Connor McDavid’s first game back after his three-game suspension. It’s hard to expect much from the Kraken in that game, as Edmonton has been playing well lately, winning seven of its last 10 games. Adding the best player in the league back into the lineup certainly won’t hurt the Oilers.
After Monday, the schedule lightens up with home games against Anaheim on Tuesday, San Jose on Thursday, and a Sunday game against Calgary. Both Anaheim and San Jose have been struggling recently. Anaheim is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games, while San Jose has managed just one win in its last 10. I don’t take anything for granted this season, but if there are two games you expect to win, these are them.
Calgary presents a bigger challenge. The Flames currently hold the last wild card spot and have been stingy on defense. One potential advantage for the Kraken is that Calgary will be playing the night before against the Red Wings, which might mean Seattle faces backup goaltender Dan Vladar instead of Calder Trophy candidate Dustin Wolf. That said, Vladar played well against the Kraken earlier this season, allowing just two goals in an overtime loss back in October.
I’ve accepted that a playoff push is unlikely, but I’d still like to see the Kraken make things interesting the rest of the way. Six points this week, including a regulation win against Calgary, are almost mandatory if they hope to have any shot at climbing back into the playoff picture. Either way, I still enjoy the winning—especially at home—so I’d probably be satisfied with a couple of home victories this week.
The Seattle Kraken have magically won three of their last five games, just missing out on at least another point in their one loss of the week against the Winnipeg Jets. That loss came after the Jets scored off a fluky bounce with 30 seconds remaining. Regardless of the season’s overall outlook, the Kraken are playing some fun hockey right now.
The importance of context
I’m not fully prepared to delve into the societal impacts of social media and sensational headlines, but too often, I see people forming opinions based on a tweet or headline without digging deeper. To truly understand something, it’s essential to put it into context. In life, understanding context helps you gain clarity, make better analyses, and avoid misunderstandings. Hockey is no different.
Take Saturday night as an example: the Kraken were outshot 17–1 in the third period. There’s no denying that’s bad, but the context matters. The Kraken entered the third with a 3–2 lead and prioritized a conservative defensive mindset, which ultimately secured the victory. I wouldn’t recommend sitting back for 20 minutes to protect a one-goal lead, but understanding the situation provides perspective if you only look at the shot totals. Either way, it worked.
Shifts and impacts on time on ice
On the topic of context, we got a question in our Patreon Mailbag last week about Shane Wright’s relatively low ice time. I also received a few texts about it. I get where the concern comes from—you hear that Wright is playing well, then check the box score and see he’s third or fourth among Kraken centers in minutes. The reality is you need to dig deeper to understand the situation.
More often than not, differences in ice time are driven by special teams and line deployment. For example, in a one-goal game, Chandler Stephenson and Matty Beniers double-shifted during the last five minutes. Up until that point, Wright hadn’t missed a regular shift. A different situation came up when his linemate Jared McCann committed two penalties on back-to-back shifts, sidelining his linemates for an extended period of time.
Center deployment context
At a recent Patreon watch party, someone brought up some interesting stats about where Kraken centers are taking face-offs. They pointed out that Stephenson is handling a disproportionate number of face-offs in the defensive zone. This makes sense: coaches typically deploy a defensively responsible center in those situations, and Stephenson is not only the team’s best face-off winner but also considered its strongest defensive center.
I had the conversation on Thursday, so by Saturday, I was focusing on who was taking face-offs in the defensive zone. With Yanni Gourde on injured reserve, I noticed Beniers was out there quite a bit, which made me want to see how the face-off deployments were trending over the season.
Sprong sound bite
A sound bite often lacks context, which can distort the full picture of an interview or statement. A recent example is Daniel Sprong’s comments to the media after his first game with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The quote that made headlines was, “I want to prove that I don’t belong here.” This sounds like a disgruntled employee, but the full quote tells a different story:
“It’s been a tough couple of days, and my mindset is to help the young guys promote to the big team. I’ve been a young guy before, and I try to lead by example and help with the little things. And for myself, I want to prove that I don’t belong here. You know, my performance in the NHL over the last two years speaks for itself, and these are the cards I’ve been dealt right now. Personally, I want to prove that I don’t belong here. For now, I’ll help the young guys, work hard, and try to fix my game a little bit.”
To me, the full context softens the edge of his statement. Sprong understands his assignment and will support his teammates in Coachella Valley, but ultimately, he wants to return to the NHL. I have no issues with that mindset.
Other musings
Adam Larsson had two notably long shifts on Saturday night. In the second period, he was on the ice for about 85 seconds when Chandler Stephenson committed a penalty, and he stayed on for another 80 seconds to kill the first part of the penalty. He also played the final 2:29 of the game.
Saturday night was one of the best games I’ve seen all season from Matty Beniers. He was strong on the puck and was a big contributor defensively in the third period that helped the Kraken lock it down.
I’m loving what I’m seeing from Kaapo Kakko. After notching three assists on Saturday, Kakko has more than doubled his points-per-game average with the Kraken compared to his time with the Rangers this season. Some context: he’s averaging three more minutes of ice time per game with the Kraken and has been on the ice for 41.7 percent of the team’s power play time since joining, compared to 23.0 percent with New York.
It’s probably too early for the Kraken front office to start negotiating Kakko’s next contract, but it’s shaping up to be an interesting conversation. As a Restricted Free Agent this offseason with one year remaining under team control, Kakko can take the qualifying offer and hit the open market in 2026 if he chooses. Assuming he continues to play at this level, the Kraken will likely try to lock him up long-term.
The Kraken have played seven overtime games so far, while Vancouver has played 14. The resulting seven “loser points” are the exact difference between the two teams in the standings (Kraken 43, Vancouver 50).
I checked in on the Kraken’s shooting percentage this season and was surprised to see it’s above league average and closer to last season’s numbers.
Hockey insider Frank Seravalli made a case for Yanni Gourde potentially fetching a first-round draft pick ahead of the trade season. While I think that’s a stretch, I do think Gourde could bring back a second-round pick and a late-round pick. If that’s the case, I’d love to see Nick Robertson come to Seattle in a trade with Toronto.
I really hope we get to see Yanni Gourde play at least one more home game at Climate Pledge Arena.
Goal of the Week
As Curtis pointed out on Friday, Kraken prospect Jani Nyman is really hitting his stride for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Li’l Jani is starting to set up his own office on the power play which could be a unique option for the Kraken next season.
Jani Nyman alkaa päästä vauhtiin AHL:n 2x finalisti Coachella Valley Firebirdsin paidassa. 🔥
Nyman on joukkueen tehokkain pelaaja: 33 matsiin 12+9. Kolmen ottelun maaliputkessa. 192cm, 94kg.
Jaden Schwartz – It was great to witness a hat trick last Saturday. Schwartz has been one of the Kraken’s best players over the last month and has been a consistent contributor all season.
Jaden Schwartz picks up the fifth hatty of his career! 🎩🎩🎩
Lleyton Roed – In his first full season of pro hockey for Coachella Valley, Roed has a five-game point streak and eight points over that stretch. I wonder if he might get a call-up in the spring after the trade deadline.
Kaapo Kakko – I can’t stop talking about Kakko. He had three assists on Saturday night, and that line with Schwartz and Beniers is performing at a level we haven’t seen all season.
The week ahead
The Kraken have three home games this week that should be entertaining at the least. The Sabres will be looking for redemption after surrendering six unanswered goals to the Kraken in Buffalo nine days ago. Then the revitalized Washington Capitals will visit Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday where Alexander Ovechkin continues his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record. The week is then capped off on Saturday when the Penguins come to town. The Caps are surging right now, with points in their last 10 games, including seven wins. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is reeling, losing eight out of their last 10 games.
At this point of the season, I just want to see the Kraken maintain the compete level that we’ve seen over the last week. That is fun and enjoyable hockey to watch, which is all I need now.
