SEATTLE – It’s Monday, Valentine’s Day, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Seattle again. Yes, again.
When the Maple Leafs face off against the Kraken Monday night it won’t be the first time that Toronto has played in Seattle or under the historic roof of Climate Pledge Arena. Monday will be the first time the Maple Leafs have played in Seattle since Oct. 8, 1968, when they played the Seattle Totems in the Seattle Center Coliseum in an exhibition game.
It was the third time the Maple Leafs ventured west to play the Totems after playing in 1962 (winning 7-4) and in 1964 (winning 7-1).
The game in 1968 would end the Maple Leafs win streak over the Totems as the locals got a win, 3-2, with Seattle legend Guyle Fielder picking up an assist. The Maple Leafs were a year removed from winning the Stanley Cup while the Totems were coming off back-to-back Western Hockey League titles.
Today’s Maple Leafs are just as formidable as the 1968 version but aren’t recent champions, having lost in the first round of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. They are hoping to get out of the first round this spring and end the franchise’s long championship drought.
Toronto has lost it’s past two games but is still loaded and will present a significant problem for the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday.
Maple Leafs offensive firepower
Toronto can score. Like, a lot.
The Maple Leafs average 3.53 goals per game which is fourth best in the NHL. While that is a scary proposition, Seattle has beaten two of the three teams ahead of the Leafs (Florida, Colorado, Minnesota).
Auston Matthews leads the way and already has 32 goals on the season. He’s going to be the one to watch. He’ll play on a line with Mitch Marner who only has 16 goals but does have 24 assists and 40 points.
On the back end, former Moose Jaw Warrior Morgan Rielly has five goals and 35 assists on the year. He’ll man the power play for the Maple Leafs, a power play that is ranked first in the NHL with a 30.5 percent success rate.
Yanni Gourde figures to spend a lot of time on the ice against Matthews and crew and knows what is in store for him. “They’re a great team,” Gourde said after morning skate on Monday. “We’ve got to limit their second chances and how you do that is having back pressure, making sure that they don’t have time and space when there’s a shot. You [get] five guys around, make sure that if they get something else out of it, it’s going to be contested, there’s going to be people around them.”
Maple Leafs Pacific Northwest connections
Seattle coach Dave Hakstol spent the past two seasons on the Maple Leafs bench as an assistant to head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Matthews was a third-round pick by the Everett Silvertips in the 2012 Western Hockey League Draft. He was willing to come and play in Everett but was given an opportunity to play professional hockey in Europe for the Zurich Lions. That was enough to keep him from signing with the Silvertips, robbing local hockey fans of some fun hockey.
Jordan Eberle broke a 22-game goalless drought with one that mattered Friday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. It was Eberle’s goal late in the third period that vaulted the Kraken to a 4-3 win against the Ducks.
Dec. 6 was the last time he scored and it felt longer than that. But at 18:18 of the third period and with the score tied, Eberle took a perfect back-hand saucer pass from Riley Sheahan and scored bar-down for what would be the game winner.
“I just yelled at [Sheahan] to try and let him know I was over there, and he made a great play and just tried to find a space up top,” Eberle said. “Definitely one of the longer slumps of my career, probably is the longest. I’ve played in this league a long time and you’re gonna have times where the puck’s not going in. But, especially this one, I felt like every night I was getting three or four and hitting crossbars and getting Grade A’s, getting robbed. Eventually they go in and then they always seem to come in bunches.”
It was a win against a Western Conference playoff contender and wiped some of the bad taste away from Wednesday’s 5-2 loss at home to the Arizona Coyotes.
Ryan Donato scored twice, Yanni Gourde had two assists, and Chris Driedger made 24 saves for the Kraken (16-28-4) who are 6-6-0 in their past 12 games.
“Biggest thing, we got back to our competitiveness,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “That was one of the big things that we talked about coming into today’s game coming off the first one back after the break.”
Isac Lundestrom scored twice, and John Gibson stopped 23 shots for the Ducks (23-17-9) who had not played since Jan. 31.
How it played out for the Kraken against the Ducks
Donato got Seattle on the board 2:00 into the first period to make it 1-0 with a one-timer from the left circle. Newly acquired Austin Czarnik picked up an assist on the goal for his first point as a member of the Kraken.
“I always pray that [goals] come,” Donato, who ended his own lengthy drought, said. “They come in bunches. Some guys are streaky, and they go a couple of games without a goal. But then they put two or three in and then they’re right back in it. So, for me, I just try to stay levelheaded and not really worry about that. Try and do the small things right and I know that those will come.”
The Kraken gave up a response goal 12 seconds later, however, when Lundestrom scored to tie the game at 1-1.
Gourde won a puck battle along the boards at 14:41 and made a cross-ice pass to a pinching Vince Dunn who’s top-shelf shot made it 2-1.
The Ducks evened the game up 2-2 at 5:34 of the second period when Lundestrom was allowed to park in the crease while three Kraken defenders surrounded him and watched.
Anaheim took its first lead, 3-2, three minutes later when a power-play point shot off of Rickard Rakell’s stick found its way past Driedger.
Donato would get the Kraken tied at 3-3 after a steal by Gourde at 13:35.
Full marks to Donato for two goals this game, but wow is Gourde creating opportunity for his teammates, too. His second primary helper here is an impressive bit of work. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/Zx2r80NaWg
Seattle ended the first period up 2-1, which was in many ways thanks to Driedger making 10 saves. Anaheim owned the possession numbers early, with 74 percent of all shot quality in the first period. It was more of the same in the second with the Ducks owning 63 percent of the quality.
“They pressed hard in the first. I thought we did a good job of finding a way to be up after one,” Eberle said. “Then obviously fighting back. It’s just a big road win.”
The Kraken turned things around in the third, however.
Seattle had 51.97 percent of all shot quality in the final frame and held the Ducks to one shot on goal over the final 13 minutes of the game.
“In the first half we just didn’t handle their pressure and their speed as well as we needed to,” Hakstol said. “We were able to grind through it and push back at the right times, make plays at the right times and come up with key plays, so that was obviously real positive for us.”
Was there divine intervention for the Kraken?
“It’s funny, I have a story,” Donato said when asked about Eberle’s game winner.
Donato went on to detail how he and Eberle were talking during the second intermission, sharing their disbelief they hadn’t scored. They commiserated about all the chances they had that didn’t end up in goals.
In Donato’s stall was a rosary that his dad had given him, and he suggested Eberle touch it and say a little prayer. Eberle obliged after the second period.
“And then he scores in the third, he looked at me he’s like ‘that’s insane,’” Donato said. “I was happy to see him score and I’m not saying that’s the reason, but I think that definitely helped.”
Tentacle Tales
+ Donato scored for the first time since Jan. 17.
+ Morgan Geekie had an assist on Donato’s first goal for his first point since Jan. 20.
+ The Kraken next play Monday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle underwhelmed in its return from the All-Star break on Wednesday with a 5-2 home loss to a bad Arizona Coyotes team. On Friday, the Kraken will try to get things going back in the right direction against the Anaheim Ducks, a team that has already beaten them twice this season.
The Ducks are fourth in the Pacific Division with 55 points. They have not played a game since Jan. 31 when they lost 2-1 in overtime to the Red Wings, so perhaps Seattle can catch ’em before the rust comes off.
Lineup changes
Coach Dave Hakstol gets one of his top blueliners back in Jamie Oleksiak, so that should be a nice boost for Seattle defensively. The Big Rig missed nine games with a lower body injury… but… also with non-COVID illness for part of it? Maybe? His status was confusing because it switched from illness to injury. We asked Oleksiak about his maladies on Thursday, but he said he didn’t want to get into it. Regardless of the cause, fans should be happy he is back.
There’s also a chance we will see newly acquired Austin Czarnik for the first time, though Hakstol was non-committal on that front both Thursday and Friday. The Kraken claimed Czarnik off waivers from the New York Islanders earlier this week. The relatively small 29-year-old forward showed good speed in practice on Thursday and could fill the depth role that was previously being held by Karson Kuhlman before he got injured.
Czarnik has 136 career NHL games under his belt with 15 goals and 28 assists spanning six seasons. In 2021-22 he played 11 games with New York and posted five points, plus 20 games with the AHL Bridgeport where he posted 15 points. Czarnik had some great AHL seasons for the Providence Bruins, scoring as many as 69 points in 2017-18. That was coincidentally Jay Leach’s first season at the helm of the P-Bruins.
Chris Driedger will get the nod in net for the Kraken against the Ducks. He has strung together several nice games in a row, but with minimal offensive support from his mates in those games, he has not gotten a victory since Dec. 14.
We expect Driedger to debut his new Vaughn pads for this contest.
This is a bit of a crapshoot and is based on the lines from Thursday’s practice. Czarnik seemed to have a regular spot, so we *think* he draws in, while Joonas Donskoi and Mason Appleton were rotating. Donskoi did get scratched once this season, so he’s our guess for who comes out. However, Hakstol also indicated Friday morning that there were some injury issues that could cause more changes. UPDATE: Marcus Johansson is out, so Donskoi is in. Here’s the lineup.
First period highlights
This game got off to a roaring start. Just two minutes into his first game with the Kraken, Czarnik made a beautiful cross-ice pass to Ryan Donato, who blasted it home to make it 1-0.
That score was also short-lived, though, as Yanni Gourde found a pinching Vince Dunn with a perfect pass at the bottom of the left circle. Dunn fired it past John Gibson at 14:41, to give the Kraken back a lead.
Another look at Dunn’s score. Gourde’s pass makes it. We talk all the time about a cross slot pass challenges lateral movement from the goaltender…see it in spades here from Gibson #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/EKJzSrIGri
That was an eventful first period. The Ducks had the better of the chances, and registered 71 percent of the expected goals for, but hockey is a chaotic sport. So, the Kraken took a lead to the room.
We were exhausted from trying to keep up here, so we welcomed the intermission.
Second period highlights
The Ducks got two goal in the first 10 minutes of the second period. Derek Grant made a nice one-handed pass to Lundestrom, who put it past Driedger for his second of the game.
Then with Gourde in the penalty box, Rickard Rakell took a wristshot from the point that found its way through traffic and put the Ducks in the lead for the first time.
2-3
Nice puck movement and Rakell gives Anaheim their first lead of the game. Power play score after Gourde’s slashing call. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/f7efVh0jGF
Donato struck for the second time at 13:35. Gourde picked up a loose puck on the right halfwall after a fortuitous bounce off the ref. Gourde quickly found Donato in the top of the slot. With the puck on end, Donato did not hesitate and fired a knucklepuck off the post and in.
Full marks to Donato for two goals this game, but wow is Gourde creating opportunity for his teammates, too. His second primary helper here is an impressive bit of work. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/Zx2r80NaWg
It was ironic that Donato would use the knucklepuck against the Ducks, the team that created it in D2: The Mighty Ducks, but it was effective nonetheless.
The period ended with the score tied 3-3.
Third period highlights
It was a largely uneventful third period until the final two minutes. And just when you thought Jordan Eberle might never score another goal, he popped a beautiful Riley Sheahan pass over John Gibson to give Seattle a 4-3 lead with 1:43 left.
The Sound Of Hockey Podcast is back from the All-Star break, and the guys start this episode out on an extremely high note.
With no Kraken games to talk about (this show was recorded on Wednesday before Seattle faced Arizona), John, Andy, and Darren instead spend time breaking down the women’s game between Team USA and Team Canada at the Winter Olympics.
They then shift to some general Kraken talk, including taking a look back at the first half and making some predictions for the second half.
Next, the guys recap some of the All-Star Game festivities and Gary Bettman’s press conference at that event, before moving onto their segments.
Segments this week include Serious Business, Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Three Stars.
With the way Seattle played on its road trip prior to the All-Star break, we were hopeful it would pick up where it left off on Wednesday, bringing a relentless attack and suffocating defensive structure in front of outstanding goaltending. The Kraken looked rusty and at times sloppy against the Coyotes, though, and deserved the loss they were ultimately handed (although 5-2 was a bit harsh, being that Arizona got two empty-net goals).
Facing a bad team that was on the second of back-to-backs with a goalie playing his second game in two nights, the Kraken had a lot of advantages on Wednesday. But netminder Karel Vejmelka played well enough to win for the Coyotes, and the Kraken didn’t finish on enough of their scoring chances.
Here are our three takeaways from an uninspiring Seattle loss to Arizona.
Takeaway #1: Jordan Eberle will score again… one day
For four months, the biggest “can’t buy a goal” storyline was wholly owned by Joonas Donskoi, who took 44 games to finally find the back of the net. Seattle’s first All-Star, Jordan Eberle, has now taken over that narrative and is in the midst of a miserable scoring slump that dates all the way back to Dec. 6.
We’ve heard players say a number of times that they don’t worry too much about not scoring as long as they’re getting chances, and the chances have been plentiful for Eberle. During the second period on Wednesday, it looked like he was about to break through.
Marcus Johansson made a lovely pass off a two-on-one rush right onto Eberle’s tape at the top of the Arizona goalcrease. Eberle did everything right and even managed to elevate the puck, but Vejmelka went right to left and stole the sure goal away from the snakebitten scorer.
Eberle looked up to the rafters in disbelief after the highway robbery by Vejmelka, who also made a similar save on Yanni Gourde in the first period. In all, Vejmelka had 34 saves on the night, but the one on Eberle was most memorable.
Eberle did get a meaningless goal in the All-Star Game, and we thought maybe that goal plus the break would do him some good. But getting stonewalled like that in his first game back had to be tough on the psyche.
He is an awesome offensive player. He’ll score again soon, and then a lot more goals will come right after that.
Takeaway #2: None of the winning elements were there for Kraken against Coyotes
On a number of occasions, we’ve written and talked about the winning formula for Seattle being (1.) strong goaltending, (2.) air-tight defensive structure, and (3.) timely scoring.
All three of those were… sort of… there… on Wednesday, but none of the three was fully baked. For example, Philipp Grubauer played decently, and you can’t really fault him for Nick Schmaltz’s first goal, which came at 14:51 of the second period. Schmaltz snuck behind the Kraken defense while Seattle’s forwards were playing Hot Potato in the Arizona end. Alex Galchenyuk hit Schmaltz with a stretch pass that sent him on a partial breakaway. Schmaltz was in alone with Grubauer, so again, you can’t really fault Grubauer for giving up the goal, but he also sort of whiffed with his glove on what looked like a stoppable shot.
Defensively, there weren’t many odd-man rushes allowed, so the structure was ok, but there were some horrendous turnovers. Most notably, Adam Larsson tried to one-touch a breakout pass between his legs in the opening minutes. The pass got broken up and led to Phil Kessel toying with Grubauer and giving Arizona an early 1-0 lead.
“We ended up with a D on the wall that was trying to bump it out to our centerman that was already above the play,” coach Dave Hakstol said of the botched breakout. “In reality, on each of the three goals tonight, we just weren’t sharp.”
As for timely scoring, the Kraken did get a couple goals, but they were too little, too late, as Arizona did a better job of capitalizing on its chances from start to finish.
Takeaway #3: Oh, yeah! That guy!
Aside from Kessel (who played a really good game, by the way), Clayton Keller, and Jacob Chychrun, the Arizona Coyotes must lead the league in having players that make you say, “Oh, yeah! That guy!”
On Wednesday, several players that fit that category factored into the victory. Alex Galchenyuk had a goal and an assist, Loui Eriksson had an assist, Ryan Dzingel had an assist, and Anton Stralman had the eventual game winner.
That Stralman goal was a backbreaker, and it was yet another instance of Seattle quickly conceding goals immediately after scoring at the other end. Colin Blackwell got Seattle on the board just 16 seconds into the third period, but it only took 1:36 for the Coyotes to answer and regain their two-goal lead.
Dzingel shot from the point, and Haydn Fleury blocked it in the slot. The puck pinballed right onto the stick of Stralman, who made a move to his backhand. Grubauer couldn’t track Stralman through traffic, and by the time he figured out where the puck was, Stralman had already beaten him.
What did we think when Stralman scored? Oh yeah! That guy!
Hakstol had some more profound thoughts about the goal, however. “In reality, we gave one back. We gave one back right away,” he said. “It came off a failed breakout. We had a good clean breakout that the opportunity was there to make one more play and get up ice, and we didn’t do that. That led to the play in the defensive zone.”
Still, we remain hung up on how many players surprised us by being in Arizona’s lineup. More examples that did not have points but reminded us they were still around included Andrew Ladd, Antoine Roussel, and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Did you just say to yourself, “Oh yeah! Those guys!” after reading those names? If so, that is the correct response. Those guys beat the Kraken on Wednesday for the second time this season, and that stings.
The Sound Of Hockey Podcast is back from the All-Star break, and the guys start this episode out on an extremely high note.
With no Kraken games to talk about (this show was recorded on Wednesday before Seattle faced Arizona), John, Andy, and Darren instead spend time breaking down the women’s game between Team USA and Team Canada at the Winter Olympics.
They then shift to some general Kraken talk, including taking a look back at the first half and making some predictions for the second half.
Next, the guys recap some of the All-Star Game festivities and Gary Bettman’s press conference at that event, before moving onto their segments.
Segments this week include Serious Business, Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Three Stars.
The Kraken are FINALLY back at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday, as they welcome the Arizona Coyotes for the first time. It is not the first time these two squads have faced one another, as Seattle fell to these lowly Coyotes 5-4 on Nov. 6 in Glendale.
That was a miserable loss for Seattle. The boys got out to an early lead and chased netminder Karel Vejmelka from that game, but with Scott Wedgewood on in relief, fell behind in the third period. The Kraken got a late tying goal, then immediately gave up the winning goal to Lawson Crouse with just a few seconds left.
It was the first win of the season after 11 consecutive losses for the Coyotes, and it also kicked off a painful six-game losing streak for the Kraken.
Interestingly, that night, Vejmelka got his second start in two nights, an extreme rarity for NHL netminders. Well, would you believe if we told you that this same scenario is playing out again for this second matchup between these teams? It’s true! The Coyotes lost 5-1 last night in Vancouver, with Vejmelka in net. He is expected to get the nod again on Wednesday, though, despite his very recent usage.
Jamie Oleksiak and Carson Soucy getting close to returning
As recently as our walk into the arena (see video below), we thought it was unlikely that Jamie Oleksiak or Carson Soucy would return to action against the Coyotes, even though they participated in morning skate on Wednesday. Coach Dave Hakstol has been hinting that both have been getting closer, though.
Interestingly, Oleksiak has been removed from injured reserve, according to the NHL media site. Will he dress on Wednesday? UPDATE: Neither Oleksiak nor Soucy are present in warm-ups, so it looks like Will Borgen and Haydn Fleury will make up the third pairing.
Philipp Grubauer gets the nod for Seattle, as he looks to extend his stretch of very positive play that dates back to Jan. 10.
Projected lineup
The latest
House band “Enumclaw” raised some eyebrows they dropped a very clear f-bomb. “I don’t wanna be a f***in’ loser!” the lead singer screamed into the microphone. Same, Enumclaw. Same.
The Kraken also rolled out some cool new touches to the pre-game show.
The #SeaKraken now have a bell-ringing ceremony just before the opening face-off. Here’s Miracle on Ice hero Rob McClanahan ringing it for the first time. pic.twitter.com/PTYMbLdor6
As we’ve seen many times before, the Kraken conceded an early goal. Adam Larsson tried to make a little backward breakout pass off the halfwall, but Janis Moser got a piece of it and deflected it right to a wide-open Phil Kessel in the slot. Kessel deked around Grubauer and put it away at 4:07 of the first period.
The Kraken had the better of the possession in the opening frame and got some good looks on Vejmelka, including Mark Giordano and Vince Dunn shots that hit the post. Seattle failed to find the back of the net in the opening frame, though, and went to the room down 1-0.
Grubauer did make a couple solid saves on Clayton Keller and Jacob Chychrun to keep his team within one goal.
Second period highlights
Halfway through the second, Vejmelka made a ten-bell save on Jordan Eberle, who looked like he was about to score his first goal since Dec. 6. On a two-on-one with Marcus Johansson, Johansson put a perfect pass area pass on Eberle’s stick at the top of the crease. Vejmelka sprawled from right to left and somehow got his blocker on it. Eberle looked skyward as he skated to the bench.
The Coyotes then stretched their lead to 2-0 when a broken play in Arizona’s end allowed Nick Schmaltz to sneak behind the Kraken defense. Alex Galchenyuk found a loose puck and hit Schmaltz at the far blue line. Schmaltz went in on a partial breakaway and beat Grubauer at 14:51.
That was how the second period would end. While Seattle was outshooting Arizona through 40 minutes, the Coyotes had more shot quality with 2.04 expected goals for to the Kraken’s 1.39.
Third period highlights
The Kraken got on the board just 16 seconds into the third period. Colin Blackwell fought through a slash as he crossed over the blue line and fired a harmless-looking shot from the top of the right circle. It was perfectly placed, though, and hit off the inside of the far post to bring Seattle within one… for a moment.
As is tradition for Seattle, the Kraken gave that goal back fewer than two minutes later. Haydn Fleury blocked a Ryan Dzingel shot from the point. The puck caromed right onto the stick of Anton Stralman, who made a move and backhanded it past Grubauer. The goal made it 3-1 and reminded us that the Coyotes lead the league in guys that make you go, Oh yeah! That guy!
After a long road trip and an All-Star break, the Seattle Kraken welcome the Arizona Coyotes to Climate Pledge Arena Wednesday. This won’t go down as a marquee matchup on the NHL schedule, as it features the two clubs holding down the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Seattle has 15 wins, and the Coyotes have 11, and while Arizona may seem like an automatic two points, you should ask the team that lost to them first this season – which of course is the Kraken.
A lot of time has passed since that game, and as Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said after morning skate, the Kraken are focused on their game.
But what about the Coyotes?
Yes, they are all in for the tank, er, rebuild this season and of course have arena drama. However, the NHL is tough, and any team can win on any night so Seattle cannot overlook these scrappy Coyotes.
Coyotes to watch
Arizona is led by All-Star forward Clayton Keller, who in 46 games, has 17 goals with 21 assists and 38 points. On the back end the Coyotes are getting a strong season out of Shayne Gostisbehere, who has 28 points on eight goals and 21 assists.
Phil Kessel is still in Arizona and can always be dangerous, although he’s had a modest year compared to his past performances.
Overall, the Coyotes are last in the NHL in goal scoring, averaging 2.15 goals per game. By comparison, Seattle is averaging 2.61 which is 25th in the league. If you’re a bettor, you might want to consider the under in this one, but always remember to bet with your head and not above it.
Who’s stopping the puck?
Philipp Grubauer will be back in net for the Kraken, and he’ll face Karel Vejmelka who played Tuesday night and gets a rare back-to-back start. Vejmelka made 24 saves Tuesday in Vancouver during a 5-1 Canucks win.
Seattle will need to test him early and often Wednesday night.
Northwest connections
The Coyotes have two off-ice connections with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. Arizona goalie coach Corey Schwab played for the Thunderbirds from 1988 through 1991 prior to a long pro career that included stops with the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Arizona head video coach Hunter Cherni served in a similar hockey operations role with the Thunderbirds. If you’re a fan of ironic coincidences, when Cherni left Seattle to work for the Providence Bruins in 2015, he was replaced at the Thunderbirds with current Kraken video assistant Brady Morgan. After a season with the Thunderbirds, Morgan moved to work for the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate in Tucson.
Coyotes odds and ends
It goes without saying that scoring first is always a key to winning in the NHL, but that might be heightened Wednesday night. Arizona is 5-23-2 when their opponent scores first, while the Kraken are 8-20-3.
Arizona’s power play is ranked 32nd in the NHL and its penalty kill is 31st. Will Wednesday night be the elixir that the Kraken’s sick power play needs?
With the NHL All-Star break in the rearview mirror, we thought it would be a good time for a roundtable discussion to get the staff’s takes on the biggest surprises and disappointments and the favorite on- and off-ice moments of this inaugural Seattle Kraken season.
We also want to welcome Curtis (Curtiz?) Isacke to the team, as he will be contributing around these parts moving forward. We are pumped to have him helping out!
Ok, let’s get to it.
Biggest Surprise
Darren Brown: I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the play of Ryan Donato this season. After being cast off from three different organizations including not being tendered a qualifying offer by the Sharks last season, this was a real “prove it” campaign for the 25-year-old winger.
Ryan Donato is pacing to have a career year with the Seattle Kraken. (Photo/Brian Leisse)
After being a healthy scratch in the early stages of the season, he’s played himself into a solid role, done everything asked of him, and has notched a respectable nine goals and seven assists in 41 games. He will again be a restricted free agent after this season, but I would be surprised if the Kraken were to follow San Jose’s lead in not giving him a qualifying offer.
Andy Eide: Mine could probably fit in the “disappointment” category, but the fact that Joonas Donskoi has one goal and needed 44 games to get it is a surprise. ‘Baffling’ might be a better word than ‘surprising.’ Donskoi has scored double-digit goals in each of his last four seasons, and you would have penciled him in for seven or eight by this point. This isn’t a diss on him since he’s contributed in a number of other areas. He has 14 assists which is the same he had last season in Colorado. He’s been a monster on the penalty kill and is driving play.
It’s also not like he didn’t create chances in the first half. He’s had a number of near misses, great goalie saves against, and some bad luck.
With half a season to go, hopefully the goal he scored in Boston will open up the floodgates. He’s always been a streaky scorer, but nobody could have foreseen it taking 40-plus games for him to find a goal.
Curtis Isacke: If I’m being honest in my initial reaction to this prompt, my biggest “surprise” is the same as Darren’s answer to the question about the biggest disappointment (stay tuned).
But, in terms of a “pleasant” surprise, I’ll stretch a bit and go with the early returns on the Kraken’s first amateur draft class. Second overall pick centerman Matty Beniers is tied for seventh in goals scored and fouth in points in all of Division I NCAA hockey. Elite Prospects recently ranked him as the second most valuable forward based on a broad (but not complete) dataset of NCAA Division I hockey prospects, delivering solid play-driving analytics on offense and defense, and measuring as truly elite in the transition game.
Second-round defenseman Ryker Evans leads all WHL defenders in scoring and looks capable of providing the offensive defenseman and power play quarterback projection Seattle Kraken management put on him–despite many furrowed brows among media and analysts–on draft day.
Third-round forward Ryan Winterton missed several weeks with injury, but has tallied seven goals and nine assists in eight games since returning to the Hamilton Bulldogs. While the sample size is still small, the two-point-per-game pace is second in the OHL. And, even beyond those three, there are some strong performances farther down the board too. For example, seventh-round goaltender Semyon Vyzaovoi is third in his 33-team Russian junior league (MHL) in save percentage (among goaltenders with more than 15 starts).
John Barr: This is a little off the board, but I am going with the free agent signing of Marcus Johansson. He has been one of the more versatile forwards on the team and has played up and down the lineup. Johansson is steady and reliable no matter where he plays. Sure, he is not flashy, but the team has needed him to backfill all over this lineup as injuries and COVID raged through the roster. Like Donato, he was a late free agent signing on a reasonable salary, and I have appreciated his contributions.
Biggest Disappointment
DB: I can’t believe the organization had to play the “team puppy” card this early on. To me, that’s a card that is reserved for the most desperate of times, but with the team in last place, the Kraken apparently determined that the situation was dire enough that it called for the introduction of Davy Jones. *Author’s note: Please understand I am only kidding and got to boop Davy on Tuesday, and he is the cutest.
Ok, but seriously… It’s impossible to overlook what has happened in the Kraken goalcrease. After Philipp Grubauer signed his big free-agent deal, we truly believed that with Chris Driedger already in the fold, Seattle would have one of the top tandems in the NHL. Obviously, things haven’t played out this way in the first half of this season, but recent returns have been far more favorable. Let’s hope that continues in the second half, and those two can build something positive going into next season.
Philipp Grubauer has shown improved play of late. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
CI: I agree with Darren that Grubauer’s play has been the most notable player disappointment on the Kraken. I was a bit nervous in the offseason when the team committed so much of its cap space to two goaltenders, given the inherent variability of goaltender performance. I talked myself into the signing a bit on the premise that the team understood the studies and signed two goaltenders coming off of stellar seasons in order to create redundancy and better protect them against a regression. Saying all of that, I’m bewildered by Seattle’s goaltender performance overall, and in particular the play of Grubauer. I was concerned that the goalie situation might be overpriced but average in production. Never did I consider that at the unofficial halfway mark, Grubauer would have registered the single worst goaltender season in the league by some advanced and standard metrics.
But he is hardly alone in returning disappointing on-ice play in the first half. In fact, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that every aspect of the team, aside from even-strength team defense, has fallen short of expectations. And Darren has already covered Grubauer.
So, I’ll go “off the board” again and say this: It’s a shame that this inaugural season has been impacted by COVID, leaving many people I know nervous or unwilling to go out and see a Kraken game at Climate Pledge Arena. Everything about the experience is phenomenal, but I sense there is a certain unrestrained jubilance missing. I really hope we can get back to that place within the next year (or at least sometime?).
AE: There was a lot of speculation as to who would be the breakout player for the Kraken. Which guy would emerge with a bigger chance and explode to career highs because of it? Through the first 30 games it looked like that was going to be Brandon Tanev. He was the high-energy player, the fan favorite, and was on pace to set a new career high in goals. Tanev was even a must-see during pre-game warmups.
Then he got injured to the point where his season was done. Not only were the Kraken robbed of a productive player, but the city lost its first face of the franchise, one that brought cheers from the Climate Pledge Arena crowd with every mad dash down the ice.
JB: He is one of my favorite players on the team, but I was expecting a breakout season for Morgan Geekie. We have been tracking Geekie for some time and know what he can do on the ice, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. He had a big goal in the opening game in Vegas and appeared to be a scoring threat that the Kraken desperately needed this season. Since that opener, he only has two goals in 39 games and has been given a reduced role as of late with a couple games as a healthy scratch.
I still like Geekie’s potential, but he appears to be a season or two away from being that scoring threat we anticipated. At 23, Geekie is the youngest forward on the Kraken’s NHL roster, so he has time.
Favorite on-ice moment
DB: It’s odd to select a moment from pre-season, but the first “home” game in Spokane was something I’ll never forget. The roar of the crowd and the insanely loud “Let’s go, Kraken!” chant as the puck dropped for the first time sent shivers down my spine. I remember looking over at Andy, and saying, “Oh, that gave me chills,” and he said, “Yeah, me too!” What an awesome memory.
JB: I attended the first game in Vegas and the first victory in Nashville, but nothing compares to opening night at home. I had goosebumps all night and may or may not have shed a couple tears that night. The whole event exceeded my expectations, but hearing the throngs of fans cheering for an NHL team in Seattle was something I dreamed about many times. It was literally the moment when my dream came true.
But, like John, there is only one answer for me. It was the night of the inaugural home opener, and the final seconds of a scoreless first period were melting away in a protracted corner puck battle in the Canucks zone. The Kraken were playing well, and the atmosphere was charged in the building, just waiting for a release.
Finally, with about nine seconds remaining, the puck broke free and landed on Joonas Donskoi’s stick. He filtered the puck from low to high (as the Kraken are wont to do), getting it to Adam Larsson at the blue line, who quickly moved it to his partner, Vince Dunn. Dunn rotated a bit to change the angle, deked to shake loose the Canucks player, and snapped a wrist shot past Thatcher Demko. This sent 17,151 Seattleites to a cacophonous nirvana (pun intended).
Yes, I know the Kraken lost that night. But I’ll carry that moment with me for a long time. It’s everything hockey in Seattle can be and will be.
There’s no place like home 🦑
Vince Dunn scored the first-ever goal on home ice for the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena pic.twitter.com/VgoYipdqrP
AE: Just before the break, the Kraken hosted the Florida Panthers at Climate Pledge Arena. Florida was the best team in the league, and there was not a ton of optimism for a Seattle win before the game started. But the Kraken played well, found some greasy goals, and held a 4-3 lead late in the game. The Panthers went to the power play and pulled Sergei Bobrovsky to make it a six-on-four. They peppered Grubauer and the overwhelming feeling was that they were going to tie the game.
Grubauer stood tall, however, including a save on Anthony Duclair who received a cross-ice pass and was on the doorstep with time and space. The net was wide open, and as Duclair took what was going to be a soul-crushing game-tying goal, Grubauer flew across the crease and got his glove on it.
The crowd erupted and may have given the reaction to Dunn’s home opener goal a run for its money in decibel levels. Calle Jarnkrok scored on the empty net and the Kraken won 5-3.
I also really loved the first night Kraken game ops put their full pre-game show together. We got to view the dry run early during morning skate that day, and seeing the players out on the bench taking it in and applauding after was awesome.
CI: To the extent John Forslund isn’t considered “on the ice,” give me Forslund. He’s a true professional and a gentleman, but also one of the most skilled and informative play-by-play broadcasters in the business. It’s hard to overstate his value to this franchise.
As the rest of the ROOT Sports broadcast searched for its footing initially, he was a steadying influence. And now, even on a night when the team is struggling, he’ll provide better entertainment and hockey education than you’ll find anywhere else on your television. Plus, the man can call a goal. We’re lucky to have him. (The rest of the team broadcasters are pretty darn good too. The Kraken have a good thing going on their broadcasts.)
JB: The fish toss after Kraken home victories. That is something unique in Seattle about Seattle. I’ve been to over 20 arenas across the league, and I always love the arenas that do something unique to their city. Nashville, Boston, and Tampa all jump to mind as unique experiences where you know exactly where you are when you are watching a game in those arenas. The CPA experience still needs some development to make it feel like a true Seattle experience, but the fish toss is unique and will never be replicated outside this city.
AE: The Kraken hit a homerun with the opening of the Kraken Community Iceplex. With three rinks, the Iceplex is a hockey gem, right in the city. Yes, it’s the practice rink for the team, but it’s a hockey mecca, the only rinks in city limits, and is more than just a practice facility.
The place is a palace, and no matter what time it is, there are activities and people utilizing it. Public skating, youth hockey, curling, figure skating, and a pub, the Iceplex has everything, and hockey is right at the center of it all. The Kraken promised they were going to help build the sport here and they’re doing that with their practice facility.
Second half bold prediction
DB: I really hope I’m right about this, but both Grubauer and Driedger will be around a .920 save percentage in the second half. Please let me be right about this.
CI: Looking at the ages and contracts on this team, there is only one conclusion: this group of Kraken players is a bridge team. If a player isn’t a core piece that could be around in the next era of Kraken hockey, try to trade him. For the right offer, I’d trade virtually any player not named McCann or Dunn. Of course, there are many Kraken players that are not realistically movable, but any and all marginal candidates should be on the table.
I’m going to recklessly predict three trades: (1) Mark Giordano, (2) one of Calle Jarnkrok or Colin Blackwell, and (3) an additional trade taking on a hefty (but expiring) contract with an extra draft asset attached.
If a “hockey trade” is possible, a realistic target I’d be interested in taking a flyer on is Bruins winger Jake Debrusk (particularly if he gets the Jay Leach stamp of approval that other former Bruins have received).
JB: The Kraken get over 50 percent of the remaining points on the schedule. Driedger and Grubauer have stabilized in net lately. Meanwhile the skaters in front of them have been playing well, going 5-5-0 over the last ten. Once they get Jamie Oleksiak, Carson Soucy, and Jaden Schwartz back from injury, they should finish the season strong.
AE: I have two predictions that may or may not be considered ‘bold.’ First, the Kraken will continue their strong play of late and put together some wins in the second half. They start five points behind the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings, and not only will Seattle catch and pass the Blackhawks but will make a run at the Winnipeg Jets, who are nine points ahead.
Second, the Kraken power play, which has been quite bad, is in a 3-for-40 slump. Over the second half they will score at least 10 power-play goals. You heard it here first.
Now it is your turn, what would be your responses to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comment section.
