After trading away Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Brandon Tanev, Ron Francis told the media that he made it more difficult for the Kraken to win games. Apparently, he didn’t tell the players, because the Kraken are probably playing their best hockey of the season right now.
The Kraken have a points percentage of .556 in the 18 games since the deadline. At the time of the deadline, they had just a .444 points percentage. In the grand scheme of things, these games don’t mean much, but it’s a reminder that the Kraken are probably better than their record would indicate.
The Kraken went a respectable 2-2-0 over the past week, with a win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday and a thrilling shootout victory against the St. Louis Blues at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday. That was the Kraken’s fifth shootout game of the season and just their second shootout win. The first came way back on Oct. 12 against Minnesota, the second game of the season. Seattle is now 4-2-1 at home since the trade deadline and has really served up some fun games for fans at CPA lately.
Their losses this week came in the form of a 7-1 stinker to the Utah Hockey Club and a tough battle with the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights. I gave the team a pass on the Utah game. It was the second night of a back-to-back, and several players were impacted by a stomach bug going around the locker room. The Vegas loss was a tight 2-1 final, and the Kraken had a golden opportunity to tie it up late but just couldn’t get it done.
Reverse standings watch
The standings are tight around the Kraken’s current position, which will determine their lottery and draft placement. The Kraken are currently sitting 28th overall and could finish as low as 29th or as high as 24th. Per tankathon.com, if they land in 29th, they’ll have a 9.5 percent chance to win the lottery and draft first overall. Their most likely draft position would be fifth. If they climb to 24th, they’d have a five percent chance to win the lottery and would likely draft ninth.
Draft analysts are projecting a drop-off in talent after the top five this year. Given the option, it’s always better to draft high, but as we know, there are always players who should have been selected higher and top picks that don’t pan out. Don’t worry too much about it. Let the chips fall where they may.
Other musings
Saturday night’s win over the Blues marked the Kraken’s 35th win of the season, one more than they had last season.
For as well as the team has played lately, the power play has been atrocious. They’ve scored just one power-play goal in their last 24 opportunities, spread across eight games. That’s their worst stretch of the season in that regard.
Jaden Schwartz notched his 25th goal of the season on Saturday, his highest total since scoring 28 back in 2014–15. He’s been excellent for the Kraken this year. Assuming he plays on Tuesday, it’ll be his 81st game of the season, a new career high.
If you haven’t seen Darren’s piece on Mikey Eyssimont last week, go check it out. He scored another goal Saturday night. He had five goals in 57 games with Tampa Bay before being traded to Seattle, and now has four in just 19 games with the Kraken. He’s basically a more skilled Brandon Tanev, for a fraction of the cost.
Speaking of goal scoring, the Kraken will finish the season averaging around 2.96 goals per game, up 0.37 from last season. That’s the fifth-largest increase in the league. It probably says more about last year’s team than this one, but 2.96 is right around the league average.
Shane Wright scored his 19th goal of the season Saturday night. I think it’s safe to say he has exceeded expectations. Before the season, I often pointed out his ability to get shots off from inside — the high-danger area. Take a look at his goal location chart.
Shane and Matty are both sitting on 19 goals. It sure would be nice to see them each hit 20 on Tuesday.
Joey Daccord has played a ton this year, but there are still nine goalies around the league with more starts than him.
Congrats to Kraken prospects Carson Rehkopf and Nathan Villeneuve, who both played their first professional hockey games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds this past week. These are two of my favorite Kraken prospects, and I think Villeneuve has an outside shot at making the Kraken next season.
Another one of my favorite prospects, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, scored his first AHL goal on Sunday. It was OFM’s fifth AHL game, and even in that short time span, he’s looking more comfortable as he adjusts to the smaller North American ice and the different AHL playstyle.
— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) April 14, 2025
Stick taps to all the staff around the Kraken Hockey Network. The production has been excellent in its first year. I’ve heard viewership numbers for Kraken games have tripled compared to when they were under ROOT. Making the games available over-the-air was a fantastic decision. Not exactly a hot take, but making the game more accessible is the best way to grow the game.
Goal of the week
This one comes from our old friend Morgan Geekie, who scored his 32nd goal of the season with this blast that defies physics:
Boston goal!
Scored by Morgan Geekie with 08:04 remaining in the 2nd period.
Joey Daccord (SEA) – I’m giving Joey a pass on the Utah game. Throw that one out, and he’s 3-1-0 with a .961 save percentage in April. Where would this team be without him?
Berkly Catton (SPO–SEA) – Two goals and 10 assists in his last three playoff games for the Spokane Chiefs.
Julius Miettinen (EVT–SEA) – The second-round pick from the 2024 NHL Draft scored the overtime game-winner Saturday night in Everett’s 3-2 victory in Game 2 of the second round of the WHL playoffs. He also had a secondary assist on the overtime winner Friday night.
The week ahead
One game remains on the Kraken schedule: Tuesday night at home against the Los Angeles Kings. It’s hard to say what kind of effort we’ll see from L.A. The Kings and Oilers are locked into a playoff matchup, but their seeding isn’t finalized. The Kings currently hold a two-point edge on the Oilers, with three games remaining for L.A. and two for Edmonton.
As luck would have it, the two teams face each other Monday night. If the Kings win in any fashion, they’ll clinch second place in the Pacific and home-ice advantage in the first round — making Tuesday’s game against the Kraken meaningless for them. But if they lose in regulation, the two teams will be tied, and that Tuesday game could determine home ice.
The game means very little for the Kraken, and plenty of people will argue that losing helps their draft odds — but you already know I don’t subscribe to that kind of chatter. Winning is still more fun than losing, and going out on a high note feels like the best way to end the year. If you were in the building Saturday night, you know how fun the environment can be at Climate Pledge when the boys put on a show. The players have shown some real compete lately, and I’d like to think that’s partly because they care about playing for the fans.
This is likely the final Monday Musings of the season. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you readers. I spend a lot of time putting this together, and I love doing it. It means a lot that you take the time to read and comment on the topics I explore, the theories I come up with, and the random collections of thoughts that go through my head.
Although Musings will take a break during the Kraken offseason, I’ll do my best to go deep into a few topics along the way. First up: a deep dive into Kraken scoring this season. If you have any other topics you’d like me to explore, drop a note in the comments and I’ll build a plan to dig in.
There was a lot to feel good about for Kraken fans after a 4-3 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues that turned from uneventful to thrilling at the drop of a hat.
In the end, the Kraken skated away with a resilient and exciting win after Chandler Stephenson beat Jordan Binnington in the seventh round of the skills competition, and then Philipp Grubauer rejected Jimmy Snuggerud to earn a victory in what could be his final game as a Kraken.
It may have hurt Seattle’s chances at winning the draft lottery, but it was a fun late-season victory to witness nonetheless.
Here are Three Takeaways from a 4-3 Kraken win over the Blues.
Takeaway #1: Hey, it was exciting
Since the Kraken played themselves out of playoff contention and into the draft lottery, we’ve maintained that we’re perfectly happy with wins because of the good feelings and potentially even added momentum heading into the offseason and eventually training camp. But we’ve been on the “absolutely no loser points” train, and yet the Kraken flirted with that outcome on Saturday after Shane Wright got a good bounce off his skate to tie the game 3-3, and then both teams instinctively went into “play for OT” mode.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! ☔️ 🚨
Shane gets his 19th of the season by driving hard to the blue paint and getting a bounce off his skate. Goal was reviewed, but refs determined no kicking motion.
The first two periods were dull as could be, with almost nothing happening at either end of the ice other than Jaden Schwartz getting a fortunate carom off a sprawling Nick Leddy to give him an open net off a 2-on-1 rush. Schwartz deposited his 25th of the season to make it 1-0 at 3:44 of the second period.
Once the game turned to the third stanza, it was like somebody popped the top on a shaken-up soda, and all of a sudden, it went from 1-0 to 3-3.
“I was kind of thinking [it was a low-event game], and then all of a sudden, it was 3-3,” Stephenson said.
In fact, after a fast and furious maelstrom of goals, Seattle found itself chasing the game, down 3-2 after Mikey Eyssimont, Colton Parayko, and Leddy all scored within 50 seconds of one another.
But that chase was also short-lived, because Wright tied the game again just 2:19 after Leddy had given St. Louis the lead. Wright, by the way, said after the game that he was sure the goal would withstand a video review—until he actually saw the footage himself.
“I was confident [it was a good goal] until I saw the replay,” Wright said. “It looked like I kind of moved my foot a little bit, but I know I didn’t try to kick it. I was just able to get the bounce there.”
The excitement of the third period carried all the way through to the seventh round of the shootout, when Stephenson scored and Grubauer got the deciding save.
Takeaway #2: “For Grubi”
Both Wright and Stephenson mentioned that the team wanted to win this game for Philipp Grubauer, who has undoubtedly had a tough go this season—even getting waived and sent to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League for a stretch.
With his ongoing struggles, we’ve surmised for a while that Grubauer could be a buyout candidate after this season. And with Joey Daccord surely set to play the final game of the season on Tuesday, it’s possible that Saturday was Grubi’s last game as a Kraken.
If that ends up being the case, he would be ending his run in Seattle on a high note. His shot volume Saturday wasn’t huge, but a couple of his 20 saves were of the critical variety, and he stood tall in the shootout to help his team snag a victory from the desperate Blues. He also seemed to find himself again in the later stages of the season, though he only got a handful of chances to play after his recall.
“The starts that he’s had since he’s come back [from Coachella Valley] have been the goaltender he can be,” coach Dan Bylsma said. “Tonight, he was really solid. He gave us a chance early on, made a big save on the PK, the save on [Brayden] Schenn in the third was massive, and good for him getting the shootout win.”
For his efforts, Grubauer was awarded the team’s player of the game championship belt.
WRIGHT AS RAIN! ☔️ 🚨
Shane gets his 19th of the season by driving hard to the blue paint and getting a bounce off his skate. Goal was reviewed, but refs determined no kicking motion.
While the Kraken didn’t necessarily hurt the playoff chances of the Blues by giving them a loser point, they did add some tension for the St. Louis fanbase, who will have to watch their team go all the way down to the wire before finding out whether they’ll officially qualify for the playoffs.
With the single point earned, the Blues moved to four clear of the Calgary Flames and one behind the Minnesota Wild (who rallied back from a two-goal deficit to win in overtime in Vancouver on Saturday), remaining solidly in the last wild card spot. But the Flames have three games left, whereas St. Louis has just one—against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday. So, nothing is decided on that front, though it is looking pretty good for the Blues.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the standings, the Kraken didn’t help themselves in terms of draft position either. We know this isn’t something players think about, but the Kraken actually ended the night two spots higher in the standings than where they started. If that were to hold through the end of the season, they would have the sixth-best odds of winning the draft lottery, instead of the fourth-best odds, where they sat earlier in the day on Saturday.
There’s a lot to work out as far as games in hand, tiebreakers, etc., so where Seattle finishes is still very much up in the air. I hate to say this, but the Kraken really need to lose Tuesday against Los Angeles.
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.
The Seattle Kraken closed out their road slate in perfectly acceptable fashion, bouncing back from a dud 7-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday with a more competitive outing against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
But, as has happened many times before (Seattle has been largely owned by Vegas over its franchise history, now sitting just 3-10-1 all-time against the Golden Knights), Seattle battled hard and ultimately came up short with a 2-1 loss.
Here are Three Takeaways from the latest Kraken loss to the Golden Knights.
Takeaway #1: Missed opportunities
Seattle had some golden opportunities in this game that found different ways to stay out of the net. Twice in the second period, the Kraken appeared destined to get themselves on the board. Had either of those gone in, Jared McCann’s tap-in goal at 17:21 of the second would have leveled the score heading into the third, instead of just getting Seattle back in the game after falling behind 2-0.
Early in the middle frame, Kaapo Kakko and Matty Beniers showed good chemistry when Kakko found himself with the puck and minimal room to stickhandle deep in the Vegas zone. He made a couple of nifty moves to nutmeg William Karlsson and find Beniers in the slot. Beniers then made a nifty move of his own, fired it toward Adin Hill, got his own rebound, and took a second shot that rang off the crossbar.
Wow. Some dazzling stickhandling by Kaapo Kakko to set up Matty Beniers, who gets his own rebound and rings one off the crossbar. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/Uenw4VOHcB
Karlsson scored with a missile over Joey Daccord’s shoulder soon after that to give Vegas some insurance and make it 2-0.
John Hayden also had a great chance later in the period when Josh Mahura found him streaking unmarked down the slot. Hayden got a good shot off, but Hill got just enough of it with his blocker to redirect it past the outside of the cage.
The nail in Seattle’s coffin came during a feverish push with Daccord off for an extra attacker. With the 6-on-5 advantage and the Kraken doing everything they could to find an equalizer, Jaden Schwartz whacked at a loose puck and sent it into the crease. Brandon Montour was there and had a wide-open net, but he completely fanned on his attempt to push it into the yawning cage.
🤦♂️
Brandon Montour gets a chance at an open net with 20 seconds left but fans on it. #SeaKraken lose 2-1.
That chance came with 20 seconds left in the game and surely would have sent it to overtime.
Takeaway #2: A bounceback for Joey Daccord
Joey Daccord has seen heavy usage in the second half of this season, and with it, his stats have slipped a bit. He had largely found his game again with three excellent starts in a row before he was forced into playing both games of a back-to-back with travel, after Philipp Grubauer came down with the bug that’s been floating through the Kraken locker room on this road trip.
In the second of those games, Daccord got lit up for seven goals on 29 shots before mercifully giving way to Victor Ostman, who made his NHL debut with 12 stops in relief.
In this one, Daccord didn’t face massive volume—only 25 shots in total—but there were some good testers in there. He came up with a couple of timely saves that felt like the kind that could propel the Kraken to tie the game. Most notably, Daccord came up large just seconds after McCann got Seattle on the board, and he absolutely robbed Nicolas Roy on a point-blank shot in the middle of the third that allowed Seattle to make its late-game push.
So, it was good to see Daccord recover from a rough night when he was set up for failure in Utah. But in the end, Adin Hill was just a little better at the other end and got some lucky breaks to give Vegas the 2-1 win.
Takeaway #3: Draft watch
At this stage in the season—with just two more games to play—it’s easy to wonder where Seattle will land in the NHL Draft Lottery. As of Friday morning, the Kraken have one more point in the standings (74) than the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, who each have 73. The Bruins have played the same number of games as the Kraken, whereas the Flyers still have four to play.
I’m still in the mindset of hoping for positive outcomes in games—because it’s just more fun—but it would probably behoove the Kraken to drop these last two to the recently red-hot (but just lost their last two) St. Louis Blues and the playoff-bound Los Angeles Kings.
If the Kraken can drop behind Boston and Philadelphia in the standings, they would finish four spots from the bottom. That would give them a 9.5 percent chance of winning the lottery and the No. 1 overall pick, though they’d most likely stick in the position that landed them Shane Wright in the 2022 draft.
Tanking stinks. Buuuuuuuuuut… Seattle might as well lose these last two.
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.
With the Seattle Kraken season coming to a close, the guys decided to answer YOUR questions for this latest episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast.
Aside from the Mailbag portion of the show, which is the bulk of the episode, the guys also go Down on the Farm and discuss Alex Ovechkin’s incredible milestone.
When the Seattle Kraken traded Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to the Tampa Bay Lightning for two first-round picks, a second-round pick, and depth forward Mikey Eyssimont, our immediate reaction to Eyssimont’s inclusion in the deal was that he was some sort of throw-in from the Lightning. We figured it was akin to Daniel Sprong coming back from the Washington Capitals when Seattle traded Marcus Johansson at the 2021-22 trade deadline, when general manager Ron Francis called Sprong a player that Washington wanted the Kraken to take.
After all, Eyssimont arrived in Seattle on an expiring contract, had been in and out of the lineup in Tampa Bay, and was claimed off waivers by the San Jose Sharks as recently as January, 2023, before being traded to the Lightning at the 2022-23 deadline and then subsequently signing a two-year deal, which the Kraken inherited.
But Francis’ tone when speaking about Eyssimont’s acquisition was different from when he discussed Sprong’s arrival. Rather than Eyssimont being a player Tampa Bay wanted Seattle to take, Francis made it sound like the Kraken were going to give Eyssimont a good look to determine if there could be a future for him in the Pacific Northwest.
Embracing his role with the Kraken
In watching him since the deadline, we at Sound Of Hockey are sold that Eyssimont should be back next season, and he seems to want to be here as well.
“I’ve been loving it here,” Eyssimont said. “I love the boys, love the arena, the amenities, the organization itself. I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed my time in the city of Seattle; I mean, I truly do love it here.”
According to Eyssimont, several players—like Matty Beniers, Joey Daccord, Tye Kartye, John Hayden, Josh Mahura, and Cale Fleury—have gone out of their way to make him feel welcome in the organization since his arrival.
“It’s been nice to just— the boys have kind of showed me around a bit, gone out to dinner quite a few times here, which has been nice. It’s not something that I think the guys normally do very much, but in the interest of kind of bringing me into the fold, guys have gone out of their way to show me the city and take me out. It’s been a great time.”
A perfect fourth-line fit
What we’ve liked about Eyssimont’s game is the way he embraces the fourth-line role he has been given. In a way, he is a perfect—and much cheaper—replacement for Brandon Tanev, who was also moved at the deadline.
Eyssimont, making $2.7 million less than Tanev, brings many of the same elements as Tanev, from his speed to his grit, minus the penalty killing that was such a hallmark of Tanev’s game in Seattle. But one could argue he plays that fourth-line role even better than Tanev did, simply because he understands that it’s his role, and he just wants to be his very best within that role. He’s not trying to do anything more than be the best fourth-line player he can be.
Earning praise from Dan Bylsma
While he’s been an every-night player for Seattle since his arrival, Eyssimont, 28, is not playing huge minutes, averaging just 10:11 per night. But he’s doing everything he can to leave a lasting impact every time he hits the ice.
“I guess when you’re not playing much, you probably smell blood a little bit more and want to push a little bit harder,” Eyssimont said. “I know that when I’m playing my best, I’m a little bit more poised and confident, so I mean, as far as my role here, I’m not playing special teams, but you just try to do your best and do what you can to help the team win with the minutes you get.”
You can tell that Dan Bylsma loves Eyssimont’s game, too. In Seattle’s 6-1 drubbing of the “Edmonton Oilers” (said in quotes because they were without Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Stuart Skinner, Mattias Ekholm, and others) on March 27, in which the Kraken piled on five goals in the second period, Bylsma pointed to Eyssimont’s hard-nosed forechecking as the catalyst that got the team rolling. Eyssimont was awarded the player-of-the-game championship belt that night.
More recently, Bylsma gushed more about Eyssimont’s approach to playing as a fourth-liner.
“I think that’s the role, and what he does makes him an effective player. The speed, the physicality, the tenacity, a little bit of snarl in there is always making him an effective player,” Bylsma said. “That’s a hard thing to do, I think, when you come to a new team… With what Mikey brings, and what he does with how he plays, with speed, with tenacity, we’re starting to see [effectiveness] every night with him.”
Growth and future potential
The Littleton, Colo., native also got the scoring started last Wednesday in Vancouver on a quintessential Eyssimont hustle play, stealing the puck on a backtrack, then racing in and slipping it through Thatcher Demko’s five-hole.
Having comfort in that position—playing limited minutes but flying around, throwing hits, and creating energy for his teammates when he does play—is not by accident. As many young players have had to learn when moving from a developmental league or (in Mikey’s case) college hockey to the pro ranks, continuing to play the same way you always have simply doesn’t work.
“I learned early on in my career in the AHL with Mike Stothers [with the Ontario Reign] that the way I played in college wasn’t going to cut it in pros and wasn’t going to get me to the NHL,” Eyssimont recalled. “So there was a lot of developing and additions I had to add to my game to get to this level.
“And as hard as it was on me during those seasons in the AHL with Stothers, it developed me into the player I am today and ultimately an NHL player, so it was all worth it.”
And even now that Eyssimont has finally stuck in the NHL for the last two full seasons and seems to have solidified himself in the Kraken lineup for the rest of 2024-25, he’s not resting on his laurels. He brings a refreshing attitude to his game, aiming to improve every day, even as he gets deeper into his career.
“There’s been points in my time here in Seattle, there have been moments where I feel like I’ve been playing the best hockey I’ve ever played in the NHL,” Eyssimont said. “And that’s something I try to find every season, is a point in the season where I’m playing the best hockey I’ve ever played in my life.
“To me, that means that you’re elevating your game and you’re continuing to develop. So I’m really pleased to have found that kind of gear and that confidence, because it shows that I’m still developing as a player and have more room to grow.”
Will Eyssimont return next season?
Eyssimont said nothing has been discussed with the Kraken yet about a potential extension, and who knows what other teams will throw at him if nothing materializes before the opening of free agency on July 1? But assuming Eyssimont is willing to take a reasonable cap hit for next season, we have to think there will be mutual interest in an extension, even if it’s for a 13th-forward spot.
What say you, folks? Would you pencil Eyssimont into the Kraken lineup for next season?
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.
The Seattle Kraken scored five goals in each of their last two games and allowed just one goal against in two convincing wins over the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. These games don’t mean much in the standings, but they might help set the tone for the offseason and provide a new baseline of expectations for the players heading into next season.
I’ve been saying it a lot lately, but this team isn’t as bad as their record suggests. Their goal differential, excluding empty-net goals for and against, is minus four, which ranks 15th in the league. Yet, they sit 27th in the standings. They’ve picked up wins against Carolina, Florida, Los Angeles, and Vegas. I’ve said it all season: this team competes. Despite the record, I still enjoy watching them play.
The two blowout wins this week were a blast, but both the 5-0 win over Vancouver and the 5-1 win over San Jose were closer than the final scores suggest. The Kraken started slow in both games, going without a shot on goal in the first five minutes each time. Still, they scored first in both games, improving their record to 20-10-4 when striking first this season. Once they built a two-goal lead, the games felt under control, even though they were outshot in both games.
Joey Daccord fatigue?
Another key storyline from the last two games has been the stellar play of Joey Daccord. I was all set to dig into his workload this season to see if he might be getting overworked. In March, Joey posted a save percentage below .900 in eight of his 11 starts. I know save percentage isn’t everything, but he just didn’t look like himself over the past several weeks. The working theory was fatigue. And then he goes out and stops 47 of 48 shots over a two-game span.
Joey has definitely been logging a heavy workload in the second half of the season, but there are still plenty of NHL goalies who have played more games than he has this year. He’s already hit a career high with 53 NHL games this season, but if you go back to 2022-23, he played 64 games when you include his 26 Calder Cup playoff games with Coachella Valley.
Other musings
Expect a PWHL announcement this week. My odds of Seattle landing a PWHL team have only gone up over the past week. Should be a fun week of news. (update: new intel. Sounds like this is still a few weeks out but it is coming.)
Through 77 games this season, the Kraken have gone to overtime 12 times. At this point last season, that number was 19. If they’d managed to get to overtime and lost in those additional seven games, that’s seven extra points in the standings. Not enough to get them into the playoff picture, but one of a few micro-trends that really hurt this team.
Another one of those trends: their record in the second game of back-to-backs. The Kraken are 0-11-0 in those situations—the only team in the league without a single point in back-to-backs. The league average is 0.9 points per back-to-back game. If the Kraken had just played to league average in those games, they’d have 10 more points.
Good news? The Kraken have a back-to-back on Tuesday when they visit Salt Lake City for the first time in franchise history.
Shane Wright did not score on Saturday night against the Sharks, but what stood out more to me was his shot selection. He has a real knack for getting inside, and he generated several quality looks from high-danger areas.
As noted by the Kraken Audio Network broadcast team, Jared McCann and André Burakovsky are playing their best hockey of the year, with 13 and 12 points respectively since the trade deadline.
As we’ve been predicting for a while, Kraken prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard has been assigned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds and suited up for both games against the Henderson Silver Knights.
Now that their OHL teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, I’d expect Carson Rehkopf and Nathan Villeneuve to get some time with the Firebirds down the stretch and into the postseason. Rehkopf is expected to make the jump to Coachella Valley full-time next season, while Villeneuve has one more year of CHL eligibility before he’s AHL-bound.
Here’s a look at how Kraken prospects performed in the first round of the CHL playoffs:
I believe the Kraken still have one non-emergency AHL call-up remaining, and I expect them to use it sometime this week.
Goal of the week
Seattle Kraken prospect Lukas Dragicevic is having himself a series. He scored this clutch goal in the final minute to force a Game 7.
Jared McCann – McCann has six points over his last two games and is just two points shy of hitting 60 on the season. It was a secondary assist, but I loved the steal and the effort he put in to get the play started.
2-0 #SeaKraken set up the cycle. McCann with the takeaway below the goal line drops the puck to Larsson who sets up Burakovsky in the low slot.
Berkly Catton – The Kraken’s first-round pick from the 2024 draft is having a monster postseason, including a two-goal, five-assist night in Spokane’s 9–4 series-clinching win.
Tyson Jugnauth – “Juggy” has racked up seven points in his last four playoff games for the Portland Winterhawks and will be suiting up for a decisive Game 7 on Monday night.
The week ahead
The Kraken have five games left in the regular season and face the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule. This week features a three-game road trip through LA, Utah, and Vegas, before they return to Climate Pledge Arena to host the St. Louis Blues, who, at this point, may never lose again.
As I’ve said before, I’m always rooting for the Kraken to win. That doesn’t stop me from keeping an eye on the bigger picture, too. If we peek over at the current NHL Draft Lottery odds on tankathon.com, the Kraken are hovering somewhere between 4th (Boston) and 8th (Buffalo) in the standings.
Where the Kraken ultimately land in the draft lottery odds will likely come down to the wire. Here’s a look at the remaining schedules for the teams clustered around them in the standings.
It’s nearly impossible to predict how these final games will shake out. I expect a few teams that are locked into their playoff or draft positions will start resting key players, so some of these stronger teams down the stretch might not be at full strength. In the meantime, I’ll be rooting for all the teams near the Kraken in the standings—hopefully they can pick up a few wins and help Seattle improve their draft position.
Things I’d like to see down the stretch
Outside of rooting for wins, there are a few other things I’m hoping for as the boys wrap up the season:
Matty Beniers and Shane Wright each get two more goals to hit the 20-goal mark. At the start of the year, I had Matty projected for 25 and Shane around 12. Let’s split the difference and get them both to 20.
Josh Mahura scores a goal. He’s been a quiet contributor since joining the team, and he just seems like a genuinely great human. Let’s get him on the board.
A win on Saturday night against the Blues. That would push the Kraken above .500 at home on Saturdays. Winning at home is always good for morale.
One more goal for Brandon Montour. He’s currently sitting on 16, which ties his career high for a single season. Would love to see him set a new personal best.
A look at one more prospect at home. Ty Nelson? Jagger Firkus? Honestly, I don’t care who, just give us one more glimpse of the future before the season ends.
The end is nigh
No matter how tough this season has been, I still feel a little sad that it’s almost over. The team has shown a ton of compete over the last month, which is all I could ask for down the stretch. There’s plenty of work to be done this offseason, but the way they’re battling already has me excited for what’s ahead.
The Seattle Kraken wrapped up their season series against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night with a commanding 5-0 victory at Rogers Arena. Despite missing top goal scorers Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen due to undisclosed reasons, the Kraken never looked out of sync. Per the Kraken Hockey Network broadcast, both are considered day-to-day. Ryan Winterton was recalled from Coachella Valley on an emergency basis, signaling that the absences are injury or illness related.
The Kraken were tested early with a couple penalties—first Jamie Oleksiak for holding at 1:55, followed by Mikey Eyssimont for hooking at the five-minute mark. But the penalty killers held firm, and Eyssimont quickly redeemed himself, opening the scoring late in the first period. From that point on, Seattle never looked back.
Goals were added by Chandler Stephenson, Shane Wright, Andre Burakovsky and an empty-net goal by Adam Larsson.
Takeaway #1: Mikey Eyssimont is fun to watch
Eyssimont continues to make the most of his opportunity in the lineup. The scrappy forward notched his third goal as a Kraken, beating Thatcher Demko five-hole after Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk flubbed a pass in the neutral zone. The sequence was equal parts opportunistic and skilled, highlighting Eyssimont’s ability to capitalize on chaos.
I LIKEY MIKEY!!! 🎯 Eyssimont rips one blocker side on Demko to get the #SeaKraken on the board! Kraken lead 1-0 with 2:33 left in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/SWsztY0OSa
He nearly added a second goal in the third period, ringing a shot off the post after driving hard to the net. But goals alone don’t define his impact. Eyssimont was noticeable all night, buzzing around on the forecheck and getting under the skin of the Canucks players. He played with the energy of someone who knows every shift counts—and made each one matter.
Eyssimont is everywhere tonight—jumps on another chance and rings it off the post! 🔔 #SeaKraken still up 3-0 with 14:32 to play. pic.twitter.com/RxN7F6frfb
What stands out most is how Eyssimont has become a tone-setter for the fourth line. Whether he’s pressuring defenders into mistakes, chipping in on the cycle, or finishing a check, he brings consistent pressure. His ability to frustrate opponents and energize teammates adds depth to a lineup that needs all hands on deck with key scorers sidelined.
Takeaway #2: Kraken starting on time
For the fourth game in a row, Seattle scored the opening goal. Starting on time has been a key focus for this group all season, and the early advantage gave them control of the pace. While that fast start didn’t lead to wins in their back-to-back losses to Dallas, it kept them competitive deep into those games. This time, the strong start translated to a full 60-minute effort.
Vancouver didn’t play a poor game, but Seattle appeared to be the more patient and opportunistic team. The Kraken waited for chances and made the most of them when they came.
Joey Daccord was calm and composed between the pipes, turning away all 25 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. His best save came midway through the first period. With the game still scoreless, Conor Garland found Drew O’Connor wide open for a short-handed chance. Daccord read it perfectly, snagging the puck with his glove and holding the line. Less than two minutes later, Eyssimont scored to give Seattle a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Daccord’s performance was backed by a disciplined defensive effort. The Kraken killed off three penalties, including two in the first seven minutes, and shut down Vancouver’s power play entirely.
Takeaway #3: Playing the role of spoiler
With the Canucks clinging to the slimmest of playoff hopes, every point matters. Seattle didn’t do their Pacific Northwest rivals any favors, handing them a deflating 5-0 loss and potentially sealing their postseason fate.
The Canucks now sit eight points out of a wild card spot with only seven games remaining. According to MoneyPuck, their playoff odds have dropped to 1.64 percent. Making matters worse, the St. Louis Blues—who currently hold the final wild card position—have rattled off 10 straight wins.
Seattle will have two more chances to play spoiler in the final weeks. They’ll face the Utah Hockey Club on April 8 and the red-hot Blues on April 12. While their own playoff hopes may be dashed, the Kraken can still shape the Western Conference picture—and maybe, just maybe, build some momentum for next season.
Bonus takeway: Li’l Jani is a big man
Jani Nyman showed he’s not afraid of the moment—or the opponent—in the third period. After a whistle, Nyman gave a solid shove to defenseman Elias Pettersson, sparking a five-player pile-on from the Canucks. Undeterred, Nyman stood his ground. As the scrum cleared, he pointed straight at Pettersson and, based on my admittedly questionable lip-reading skills, appeared to say, “Me and you. Fight.”
The bout never materialized, but the moment said a lot. Nyman may be new to the NHL and still finding his footing, but he’s not shrinking from the spotlight. His willingness to mix it up, especially in a blowout game, speaks to the kind of edge and confidence that bodes well for his future.
The Seattle Kraken set out to reach the playoffs this season but have officially fallen short. With the St. Louis Blues’ win over the Colorado Avalanche on March 29, the Kraken were eliminated from playoff contention.
As the NHL inches toward the postseason, the playoff picture is becoming clearer. Still, a few spots remain up for grabs. Here are the final team tiers and matchups to watch.
Updated team tiers
Bolded = Remaining teams the Kraken play, Starred* = moved tiers, x2 = play twice
The Eastern Conference has one, maybe two, wild card spots still contested. The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens currently hold the last two spots, but the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders are all in striking distance. According to Tankathon.com, Ottawa and Montreal have the easiest remaining schedule.
The Western Conference still has a race, but the gap has widened to six points. The St. Louis Blues made no moves at the trade deadline, opting to bet on their current roster. That decision has paid off, as they’re now riding a 10-game win streak that has vaulted them into the a wild card spot. The Calgary Flames remain in pursuit, led by standout rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf, and they have two games in hand. The Vancouver Canucks are fading but not yet out. They have one game in hand and the easiest schedule of the chasing group. The Minnesota Wild have slipped to the final wild card spot and sit one point behind the Blues with 88. They’ll need a strong finish but are getting Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek back from injury soon.
Although not mathematically eliminated, the Utah Hockey Club has 80 points. That would be enough to make the playoffs in the East, but in the West, they sit eight points out and appear ready to book some tee times.
At the top of the Atlantic Division, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers are in a tight race. Only two points separate the three teams. Despite Toronto’s recent postseason appearances, it may surprise fans to learn the Leafs haven’t won their division since the 1999-2000 season. Could this be their year?
Fresh off two wins over the Kraken, the Dallas Stars are now the third-best team in the league. They are just four points back of the Winnipeg Jets, hold a game in hand, and remain firmly in the hunt for the Presidents’ Trophy. The battle for the top spot in the West will be fierce, especially since the runner-up is likely to face the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. Winnipeg drew that assignment last season and lost the series 4-1.
Kraken play since the break
The Kraken have remained competitive since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. In 18 games, they’ve gone 7-9-2. That record doesn’t look great, but they held a winning mark of 6-5-1 in their first 12 games. The final six were a gauntlet, with five games against the Playoff Bound tier. They went 1-4-1 in that stretch.
Excluding the shutout loss to the Wild on March 19 and the first defeat to the Stars on March 29, the Kraken were in nearly every game until the end. Since the trade deadline, when they dealt Oliver Bjorkstrand, Yanni Gourde, and Brandon Tanev, Seattle has kept games close. Other than the two blowout losses mentioned, every game was either a win or decided by one goal, not counting empty-netters. They’ve been competitive and fun to watch.
Goaltending
Joey Daccord hit his first sustained rough patch of the season, going 4-7-2 with a .883 save percentage over 13 appearances. Seven of those came against Playoff Bound teams, where he posted a 2-4-1 record.
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Philipp Grubauer, meanwhile, is playing his best hockey of the entire season, a stretch that began after returning from his AHL stint. Embracing the backup role, Grubauer appeared in four games and posted a .925 save percentage—his best four-game stretch of the season. “The German Gentleman” has looked mostly sharp, going 2-2.
Point percentages versus team tiers
To reach 95 points, the Kraken needed to maintain a .579 point percentage over the full season. This was broken down by team tier, with target point percentages set for each. Here’s how their actual results stack up as of April 1:
Seattle struggled the most against the Playoff Bound tier, posting a .224 point percentage and going 5-21-3. They fared better against the Bubble and Tanker tiers, slightly exceeding the target against Bubble teams. They went 15-10-2 against the Bubble tier and 11-7-1 against Tankers.
Clearly, the Kraken must figure out how to secure more wins against top-tier teams to return to the playoffs.
Kraken the rest of the way
Seattle has seven games remaining: three against Playoff Bound teams, three against Bubble teams, and one against a Tanker.
Playoff Bound: Los Angeles Kings (twice), Vegas Golden Knights
Bubble: Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Utah Hockey Club
Tanker: San Jose Sharks
The Bubble games will be interesting as the Kraken can play the role of spoiler. Those teams need every point. Based on Kraken point percentages by tier, the bar should be set at six points over the final stretch. Anything over six points and they will exceed their season average. Seattle begins its final road trip—five games—tonight against the Canucks.
Things to watch as the season winds down
Even with the Kraken out of the playoffs, there are still stories worth watching:
Jani Nyman—affectionately nicknamed Li’l Jani—has six points (three goals, three assists) in 10 games and looks primed to earn a roster spot next season. He’ll eventually return to Coachella Valley to help with their playoff run.
Shane Wright is having a strong first full season in the NHL, with 17 goals and 40 points while averaging 14 minutes of ice time. A 20-goal season would be the icing on the cake.
Home-ice advantage: Despite their struggles against top teams, the Kraken hold a .500 points percentage at home (17-17-5). With two home games left, I’m rooting for them to finish with a winning record.
Draft Position: I’m not one to root for tanking, but with the Kraken sitting 29th, draft lottery odds are at play. Finishing 27th gets them a 7.5 percent chance at the top pick. At 29th, it’s 9.5 percent.
This season didn’t go as hoped, but the Kraken showed resilience and have remained competitive in games. With a full offseason ahead, they have a chance to regroup and come back stronger.
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
It’s a quick episode this week with just John and Darren. John gives some more thoughts on whether the PWHL will actually expand to Seattle, as he suggested last week.
Also, plenty of Kraken talk and a look around the NHL.
Segments include Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and What’s Good?
All I’ve asked for down the stretch is for the Seattle Kraken to play competitive games that are enjoyable to watch. Over the past week, that’s exactly what they delivered during a tough three-game stretch. The Kraken lost in overtime to the Calgary Flames, blew the doors off an injury-riddled Edmonton Oilers team, and then got handled by a Stanley Cup-contending Dallas Stars team.
Even in the Stars game, it was a one-goal game heading into the third period. But when Mason Marchment scored just 28 seconds into the period, it felt like that was all the Stars would need to put the Kraken away. If you had told me the Kraken would go 1-1-1 for the week, I would have taken it.
I try to be objective when analyzing this team, and it feels like they’ve been more competitive than their record suggests. One stat people often look to beyond the standings to evaluate a team is goal differential. I take a slightly different approach by excluding empty-net goals for and against, which I call ‘adjusted goal differential.’ Historically, teams with a positive adjusted goal differential are more likely to make the playoffs, while those with a negative one tend to miss out. Teams hovering around zero are usually the bubble wild-card contenders.
Here’s a look at the adjusted goals for/against across the league, with the net result of the two metrics shown in the right-side graph.
The diagonal line represents where ‘adjusted goals for’ equal ‘adjusted goals against.’ The idea is that teams above the line—those with a positive ‘adjusted goal differential’—are more likely to be playoff teams. As of Monday, every team above the line is currently in a playoff spot, with the only exceptions being the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild, who are in playoff positions despite being below the line.
The key takeaway from the graphic is that teams close to the diagonal line have been in the playoff hunt over the past month, except for one outlier: the Seattle Kraken.
I’m not saying the Kraken should be a playoff team, but they probably should have been in the mix down the stretch of the season.
PWHL to Seattle
On last week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, I shared my belief that Seattle will be named as one of the expansion cities for a new PWHL team for the 2025-26 season. I haven’t received official confirmation, but I’ve reached out to several sources both locally and nationally. What I’ve heard has given me enough confidence to say that this is going to happen. I’d put the likelihood at 75 percent, and we could hear an announcement as early as Tuesday of this week.
A few months ago, I published an article arguing that Seattle would be a great location for a PWHL team, but the timing didn’t seem right. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I believe Seattle is an ideal market. The PWHL has always aimed bigger than any of its predecessors in professional women’s hockey, and expanding aggressively aligns with that vision. Seattle and Vancouver are strong markets for pro women’s hockey, and I assume the Kraken organization is leading this effort. If they are, they’ll do it right. They certainly make mistakes, but they operate at a first-class level. That kind of launch in a key market would likely appeal to the PWHL.
Seattle PWHL arena thoughts
One challenge I speculated about in January was the arena situation. The turnout for both the USA-Canada game in 2022 and the PWHL Takeover Tour earlier this year proves there’s real demand for elite women’s hockey. Those two games drew 14,500 and 12,608 fans, respectively, undeniably impressive numbers. However, those were marquee events, which are traditionally easier to rally fans around when they’re one-offs rather than part of a full season.
The PWHL’s average attendance over the past two seasons was 5,485, less than a third of Climate Pledge Arena’s hockey capacity. That said, the 5,485 figure lacks context. New York’s attendance has dragged the league average down, and Toronto played its first season in the limited-capacity Mattamy Athletic Centre.
I don’t know what the forecast would be for attendance over 15 regular-season games in Seattle, but I’ve speculated that a hybrid approach could work—splitting games between Climate Pledge Arena and Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. Both venues are managed by Oak View Group and could help tap into different geographical markets. I haven’t heard anything to suggest this is the plan, but it could be a good solution if arena availability becomes an issue and/or they want to expand their reach. In the PWHL’s first season, three of the six teams played in multiple home arenas. This season, only the Boston Fleet continue to do so. You also have to consider whether the Kraken Hockey Network, along with their local TV and streaming relationships, is part of the appeal of Seattle for the PWHL.
The thought of having a PWHL team to call our own really excites me. I already watch plenty of women’s hockey, but it’s more scattered: split between the PWHL, college hockey, and national team games. Having a dedicated team to follow, with appointment-based viewing both on TV and in person, would take engagement to another level. Instead of catching random games when schedules align, I could follow a team consistently, learn the players’ stories, and invest in their journey throughout the season.
A Seattle-based PWHL team would provide a rallying point for local fans, building a community around women’s hockey much like the Kraken have done. It’s one thing to appreciate the game from afar, but having a hometown team would make the experience more personal, immersive, and meaningful.
Other musings
The Kraken’s 6-1 win over Edmonton on Thursday night was their largest margin of victory this season since they beat Montreal back in October.
It was also just the third time in 15 games that the Kraken have beaten the Oilers in franchise history.
As shared by the Kraken Hockey Network, the Kraken’s three goals in 111 seconds against the Oilers on Thursday were the second-fastest trio of goals in franchise history.
No matter how much Alison Lukan disagrees with me, I don’t think a goal scored by the same team should be counted as a “response goal.” In my opinion, a response goal should only be when a team answers a goal against with one of their own. A goal for that comes within a set interval of another goal for should be considered a “pile-on goal.” Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
The Kraken rank third in the league in pile-on goals (12) and first in response goals (12) using a 60-second interval. (I also don’t think we have consensus on the interval length either.)
Earlier this season, I mentioned that Seattle was one of the most disciplined teams in the league and didn’t put themselves shorthanded often. Before the trade deadline, the Kraken averaged 2.2 shorthanded situations per game, the third-fewest in the league at the time. Since the deadline, they are averaging 2.9 per game. This really bit them in the butt on Saturday when the Stars had five power plays and executed on two of them.
I think we can safely assume Jani Nyman will make the Kraken roster next fall.
The WHL playoffs kicked off over the weekend, and here’s your friendly reminder that you can watch all games for free on Victory+. The Everett Silvertips versus Seattle Thunderbirds series is shaping up to be a doozie.
The first game of the Portland–Prince George WHL playoff series was wild. Portland entered the third period with a three-goal lead, only for Prince George to score four straight to take the lead. Portland then tied the game with about three minutes left, forcing overtime where Prince George won it on this play:
Terik Parascak scores his second of the night for the W!
The @PGCougars storm back from a 5-2 deficit to take Game 1 in overtime 🔥
The Coachella Valley Firebirds announced they have signed Justin Janicke to an AHL contract for the 2025-26 season. Janicke, a Kraken seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, was not signed by Seattle but remains in the system. Now that he’s in the organization, it should be a smoother path for him to eventually sign with the Kraken. He had a terrific season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, leading the team with 15 goals and finishing second with 34 points.
Ryan Donato (CHI) – The former Seattle Kraken forward had four goals and two assists over his last three games. He has 29 goals this season, and assuming Chicago doesn’t sign him to an extension before July 1, he will be hitting the free agent market this summer.
Scott Ratzlaff (SEA-WHL) – The Seattle Thunderbirds goaltender saved 89 shots on 94 attempts in his two games against Everett over the weekend in the opening round of the WHL playoffs. He won the first game and would lose in overtime in the second game. Go check out this series if you get a chance.
Victor Ostman (SEA-CVF) – Victor Ostman posted a shutout for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in just his third career AHL game. The Kraken-signed goaltender has spent most of the season with the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL.
The week ahead
The Kraken will face the Dallas Stars again on Monday night to close out their second-to-last homestand of the season before hitting the road for five games. Their first stop will be Wednesday night in Vancouver, where they could deliver a serious blow to the Canucks’ playoff hopes with a regulation win. The Canucks are 5-3-2 over their last 10 games, but they’re chasing the Blues for the final wild-card spot. St. Louis has won nine straight and currently holds a six-point lead over Vancouver, which has just eight games remaining. The Kraken then head to San Jose for a Saturday night matchup—at least on paper, a lighter opponent than they’ve faced lately.
Beyond the three Kraken games, it’s shaping up to be a jam-packed week of hockey, featuring three I-5 rivalry games in the Everett–Seattle WHL series and a possible PWHL expansion announcement. Not to mention the ongoing playoff races, especially in the East.
I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t keeping an eye on the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Nashville Predators—and the potential impact their results could have on the current lottery odds.
