Despite the loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, it was still a good week for the Kraken with back-to-back road wins against Calgary and Winnipeg. The team is still giving itself a long shot at making the playoffs, and that is all we can hope for at this point.
The challenge has been that Nashville just keeps accumulating points, Los Angeles seems to be coming out of its funk, and Vegas just loaded up at the trade deadline. It was already a tough hill to climb, but this hill is seriously daunting. As unlikely as the playoffs seem at this point, epic comebacks or fairy-tale-type endings must start when it looks like all is lost, so maybe we will witness something special.
Trade deadline thoughts
The trade deadline came and went with a bit of drama in Seattle, but no real surprises. I mentioned in last week’s column that we had probably seen Alexander Wennberg wearing a Kraken jersey for the last time. The team ended up scratching Wennberg for their Monday and Tuesday back-to-back games and ultimately traded him to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. The return was a second-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick. This was a fair return, but we had been hoping for a first-round selection after Sean Monahan brought a first-round return when Montreal traded him to Winnipeg in early February.
In retrospect, my assessment that he would warrant a first-round pick in return was evaluating what he meant to the Kraken, not so much what he would mean for a pursuing team. Wennberg led all forwards in time on ice and penalty-kill time for the Kraken. He also led the team in defensive-zone and short-handed face-offs. He would often be deployed against the opposing team’s best line to keep them in check.
Most teams pursuing a center at the trade deadline don’t need all those characteristics; they just need a few of them, hence lowering the expected return for Wennberg.
Eberle signs extension
The other bit of business around the trade deadline was the Eberle signing. This was largely expected by Sound Of Hockey, but we might not have expected the last-minute drama that implied he would be moved if a deal was not in place. The final contract was announced just hours before the trade deadline, giving us all a sigh of relief. The deal was for two years, carrying a $4.75 million average annual value. The AAV came in a bit higher than we expected but was likely inflated to avoid a third year in term.
Outside of the Wennberg trade and the Eberle signing, the Kraken had no other transactions during the trade deadline week. I was surprised that Justin Schultz wasn’t traded, with cup contenders looking to add some defensive depth, but as Darren Brown mentioned on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, the injury to Vince Dunn may have complicated matters a bit.
Other Musings
The Jets shutout of Seattle on Friday night was the sixth time the Kraken have been shutout this season, which is the most they have been shutout in a single campaign (they were shut out five times in the inaugural season). Only the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks have been shutout more this season, and both have been shut out nine times.
Jordan Eberle is scheduled to play in his 1000th NHL game on Tuesday night when the Kraken take on the Vegas Golden Knights. In addition to his 1000th game, he is also approaching several other milestone stat marks. He has 296 goals, 399 assists and 695 points.
During Ron Francis’s media availability on Friday, he spoke about Eberle’s character and leadership in the locker room as a contributing factor in re-signing the veteran winger for two years. During the inaugural season, Eberle was often the player that would be willing to speak to the media after several disappointing losses.
Eberle is probably responsible for minting more hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest than any other player with this goal. It still gives me chills.
This is the first time in Kraken history that I recall the team having a team goalie save percentage above .900. Both Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer have been outstanding since the turn of the calendar year with a collective .929 save percentage in 2024.
The Kraken have two more chances to get their first win on a Saturday night at home this season with the first opportunity this Saturday against Nashville. That’s a big game. I say they do it.
Kraken prospect David Goyette became the first player to log 100 points in the OHL this season. Goyette has been a very consistent producer all season, and it will be fun to see what he can do at the next level.
Ales Stezka (CVF/SEA) – The backup goalie for the Coachella Valley Firebirds had two wins in two days and posted a .958 save percentage. Stezka did not start the second game but had to jump in when Chris Driedger left the game feeling under the weather.
Ryan Winterton (CVF/SEA) – The Firebird winger has four goals in his last three games. He is tied with Shane Wright for fourth in rookie goal scoring in the AHL.
Colin Blackwell (CHI) – An old friend and original Kraken Expansion Draft pick, Colin Blackwell scored his first career hat trick for the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
By now we realize one of the major challenges of this Kraken season is the lack of goal scoring, but it is also worth pointing out that they have reduced goals against.
The road ahead
After the first half of March, the Kraken schedule gets easier, and as long as they don’t fare too poorly against tough opponents during the first half of the month, they should at least make the stretch run interesting. With the help of some back-of-the-envelope math, I tried to forecast the wild card contenders’ final point projections.
I categorized all teams into three buckets, Playoff Bound, Bubble Teams, and out. I then figured each team’s points percentage against those categories of teams this season and assumed each team would stay on that points pace against each category of team for the remainder of the season.
Here are the results:
Of the teams listed, the Kraken have the easiest strength of schedule remaining, but the 89.2-point projection still doesn’t look encouraging for them. I also did not include the cluster of other teams that are currently tied with the Kraken in points.
There is no doubt that sneaking into the playoffs will be a huge challenge. Money Puck currently has the Kraken at an 18 percent chance of making the playoffs. A first step will be grabbing four out of six points this week with home games against two Western Conference bubble teams in Vegas (Tuesday) and Nashville (Saturday).
I don’t want to pin the whole season on one or two games, but considering where the Kraken are in the standings, the situation is dire. Two regulation wins against teams they are competing with for the wild card would give their chances a significant boost. We also cannot overlook the Washington Capitals who visit Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday.
For the last three seasons, all I have really asked for is that the team plays meaningful games in March. This week could not have more meaning in the season, so buckle up.
A day that began with the rousing news that Kraken forward Jordan Eberle had re-signed with the Seattle Kraken for two more years ended with disappointment as Seattle dropped a tight-checking contest to the visiting Winnipeg Jets, 3-0. Both teams struggled to possess the puck through the neutral zone and establish offensive zone time for much of the first 30 minutes, but the Jets seized control over the back half of the game, controlling the pace and frequently hemming the Kraken in their own zone.
“We just didn’t have a lot of energy tonight,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said postgame. “We saw that momentum really turn in the second period.” He noted the Kraken “couldn’t find that burst of energy to get us going on the right track [again].”
The Kraken had a handful of dangerous looks throughout the game, but could not convert. On the other hand, Winnipeg’s stars delivered in the third period. First, Mark Schiefle beat Joey Daccord from the low slot at 7:15 in the period. After that, Adam Lowry knocked home a point-black rebound shot at 11:28 in the final frame. Winnipeg then added an empty-netter to cap off the win.
The Kraken entered Monday night with points in eight-of-ten games, a run that had started to close the gap in the Pacific Division.
Even with this loss, Seattle remains just six points out of playoff position. But the schedule is starting to run out. Here are our three takeaways leaving Climate Pledge Arena after this one.
Takeaway #1: Schwartz injured
Jaden Schwartz left in the first period with an apparent injury. We didn’t see anything in Schwartz’s last shift to indicate what the injury might be, but he was grimacing as the puck dropped following an icing call midway through the shift.
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol didn’t have an update on Schwartz postgame, but Hakstol was quick to disclaim the loss of Schwartz as a turning point in the game. “What [Schwartz] does specifically at the net front obviously is important [in] a tight-check, defensive-style game,” Hakstol said. “But that’s not the difference in the hockey game.”
The Kraken do not play again until Tuesday, so the team will have time to evaluate Schwartz’s injury and the forward will have time to recuperate. With luck this relatively light stretch in the schedule will minimize the time he misses. But if the team is without Schwartz for several games going forward, the depth of the team–already stretched by the Alex Wennberg trade–will be further tested. This is a tough position to be in with every point so important.
Takeaway #2: Kraken ran out of gas in the second half of the game
This one started as a low-event slog. Both teams struggled to create offense. A mix of tight defensive play and unforced giveaways were to blame on both sides.
Winnipeg was quicker to right the ship in the second period though. While Seattle escaped the second without conceding a goal, Winnipeg was driving play toward Seattle’s end more consistently. Seattle generated just four shots on goal to Winnipeg’s nine.
“You look at the long change in the second period. It’s a big deal when you start with the puck and fresh legs versus defending and just doing your best to get off the ice. You’re not setting up the next line and [you’re] not putting that line in the best spot when they have to come out and defend,” Hakstol said.
Ultimately, Winnipeg carried that second period momentum over into the third period and the Kraken couldn’t find a response. Winnipeg outshot Seattle 14-5 in the final period and outscored Seattle 3-0.
“We didn’t execute well enough to push momentum our way,” Hakstol said. “I’m not disappointed with our effort. Our guys worked. It was a night where I just didn’t feel like we had a lot of gas in the tank.”
Takeaway #3: Kraken need to turn the page quickly
The team entered the game aglow in the optimism of Eberle’s re-signing and a successful road trip. It exited on a notably somber note after a flat effort.
When asked how he’d approach the team to make sure it still has the belief that it can push for the playoffs, Hakstol kept it simple. He said the key was to “just go back to work tomorrow. There’s no magic to it.”
Tomas Tatar had a similar message, saying the team’s goals were still out there for them. The team just needed to turn the page. “We know what we have to do to get in. This was just one game. We put it behind us.” He noted that the next game against Las Vegas is “huge” because it’s against the team “they want to catch” in the standings.
Tatar is right, but time is running short on this Kraken season. The team needs the turnaround to start Tuesday against Las Vegas.
After much discussion and debating about how the Seattle Kraken would handle Jordan Eberle at the NHL trade deadline, the two sides were able to work out a contract extension at the eleventh hour. Eberle has been re-signed for two years, at a $4.75 million cap hit, which will keep him in Seattle through the 2025-26 season. The deal includes a full no trade clause.
🚨BREAKING🚨 Per @FriedgeHNIC, Jordan Eberle and #SeaKraken are in an agreement on 2 year contract extension, $4.75M AAV!!
Eberle has expressed his desire to return to Seattle for quite some time, with both sides agreeing to the deal just hours before the NHL trade deadline.
Eberle has played 998 career games and should cross over the four-digit threshold on Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights. The scoring winger has 144 points (55 goals and 89 assists) in 219 games over three seasons with the Kraken. He has served as an alternate captain for the club and is a consistent, calming presence in the locker room.
Expansion Draft
Eberle came to Seattle via the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Previously with the Islanders, he was coming off two straight Eastern Conference Finals losses. The Islanders had a solid team and were forced to expose some good players. When the protection lists were released, many in the hockey world were surprised to see Eberle available, and the Kraken smartly selected him as their pick from New York.
Eberle was one of the six players that flew out to Seattle to attend the Expansion Draft live.
Fans cheer for Jordan Eberle at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Not being protected by the New York Islanders after recently losing a hard-fought battle in the Conference Finals could have made coming to Seattle difficult. But if it was, you would have never known it from listening to Eberle, a true professional that became one of the faces of the franchise from Day One.
We recall from that difficult inaugural season, when the Kraken stumbled to a 27-49-6 record, that Eberle and fellow veteran Mark Giordano were trotted out to face questions from the media following loss after miserable loss. Eberle handled every question with grace and consistently gave thoughtful responses, even after the most difficult defeats.
In his time with the Kraken, Eberle and his family have grown to love the Pacific Northwest. Sound Of Hockey’s own Darren Brown recently asked about Eberle’s mindset to help determine if he wanted to return to Seattle next season. “My family loves it here, and I think my sole purpose right now and my goal is to try and help this team get in,” Eberle said. Eberle’s positive experience with the Kraken was a deciding factor in getting this deal done.
No trade for Eberle
Ultimately, a deal was struck, as predicted by yours truly in a Sound Of Hockeyarticle on pending unrestricted free agents. In that article, I wrote, “If he re-signs with the Kraken, which he has said publicly he wants to do, we predict a two- or three-year deal in the $4.5-$5.5M range for Eberle to finish his career with the Kraken.” With Eberle’s new contract including a full no trade clause, retiring a Kraken is a likely scenario.
Rumors swirled about an Eberle trade as Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote in his article on trade targets, “Eberle and the Kraken have been grinding on a contract extension believed to be in the neighborhood of two years at $4.5 million, but that wasn’t enough to get it done. Eberle was seeking a third year, though his preference is to stay in Seattle. Without a new contract, the Kraken will be moving Eberle…”
This ended up being pretty close to the contract terms that got the deal done.
Eberle highlights
What is the most iconic goal in Kraken history? There are a few that come near the top, such as Vince Dunn scoring the first ever goal at Climate Pledge Arena, and Matty Beniers scoring seven seconds into overtime against the Washington Capitals.
Eberle, though, has two goals in which both the goal and celebration are burned into my memory. These goals are:
First Kraken playoff win at Climate Pledge Arena:
Overtime goal with 4.9 seconds remaining, followed by a McCann kiss on the head:
Eberle was also the first player in franchise history to score a hat trick for the Kraken and has a bobblehead to prove it.
It was raining hats last season at @ClimateArena when Ebs netted the first-ever hat trick in #SeaKraken history!
In honor of this historic milestone, the first 10k fans at Thursday's game will take home a limited-edition Jordan Eberle bobblehead, pres. by @pitchbook! pic.twitter.com/ffwCeipcsw
Andre Burakovsky has missed more games due to injury than he has played for the Seattle Kraken. As of March 6, he has missed 80 games and played in 78 over these past two seasons.
Burakovsky came to the Kraken a year after winning his second Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22. The winger signed a reasonable five-year deal worth $27.5 million the day free agency opened in 2022, saying at the time he appreciated how badly the Kraken seemed to want him. Upon his arrival, the Swede delivered right away, leading the team with 39 points through 49 games before suffering a season-ending groin injury on Feb. 7, 2023.
Upper, lower, and undisclosed injuries, oh my!
That groin injury eventually required surgery and caused Burakovsky to miss the remainder of the regular season and all of the playoffs in his first campaign with the Kraken. In his second season, some rust was expected, but the injury bug bit Burakovsky four more times (so far) in 2023-24.
Oct. 21 – Upper-body injury – missed 20 games
Dec. 7 – Upper-body injury – missed nine games
Jan. 13 – Lower-body injury – missed four games
Feb. 29 – Lower-body injury – missed two games
Since the 2019-20 season, he has missed games due to injury 12 times. To start the current season, the left winger looked out of place and only registered two assists before landing back on injured reserve after getting thrown into the end boards by New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba.
When he returned from that injury on Dec. 7, Burakovsky played only six minutes before slamming into the same end boards after a hit by New Jersey Devils defenseman Kevin Bahl.
You had to feel for the guy, as he dealt with injury after injury. It took him until the calendar turned to 2024 to register is first goal of the season, and then 19 more games for his second goal, the game-winner in a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
All that said, for a $5.5-million AAV, more is expected than 10 points in 29 games, and the Kraken need Burakovsky to perform to be successful. Did his goal Tuesday finally break him out of the funk?
Playing statistics
As the injuries piled up, so did Burakovsky’s rotating mix of linemates. Coach Dave Hakstol moved him around the second, third, and fourth lines to see if he could find chemistry and spark his offense.
Digging into his playing statistics, there is reason for optimism that Burakovsky has found himself, despite the brief two-game hiatus before this week’s road trip. Burakovsky has a great shot, and with the exception of this season, has consistently out-scored his expected goals, according to MoneyPuck.
Focusing on his shooting statistics, there is an interesting trend that popped out. With only two goals on the year, you might assume that the two-time Stanley Cup champion might be shooting the puck less. In actuality, Burakovsky is shooting more than at any point in his career at 17.35 shot attempts per 60 minutes. Shot attempts include shots on goal, shots that are blocked, and shots that miss the net.
The number of Burakovsky’s shots that have been blocked is what pops off the page, with 7.35 of his shot attempts getting blocked per 60. This is almost double the average rate at which his shots have been blocked over his career (3.9).
Burakovsky leads the Kraken at 1.72 blocked shot attempts per game. Oliver Bjorkstrand is second in blocked shot attempts per game with 1.65, and Jared McCann is third with 1.34.
Eye test
From the eye test, Burakovsky likes to carry the puck into the zone. He is good at stickhandling in tight space and uses that to get out of difficult spots and make quick shots. What the statistics on blocked shot attempts point to is that defenses have figured this out and collapse on him, resulting in more blocked shots. Whilst playing for the Avalanche and Capitals, both of those teams had true star power in Alexander Ovechkin and Nathan MacKinnon. This allowed Burakovsky to fly under the radar, with defenses focused elsewhere.
When Burakovsky jumped out to the team lead in scoring in his first season in Seattle, he may have signaled to opposing teams that they should focus on him more.
Andre Burakovsky
Settling in
When a player goes nearly eight months without game action, getting back into the swing of things can understandably take time. It is unfortunate that it has taken almost the whole season, but Burakovsky does finally seem to be back on track.
Hakstol has noticed and praised the forward recently and increased his ice time from 13-14 minutes per game on average to 15-17 minutes over his last eight outings. With this increased time, Burakovsky has gotten his second goal, a game-winner against the Jets, and he also has three assists during that stretch.
Meanwhile, his shot attempts have increased from 3.55 to 5.85 per game. Burakovsky’s improvement has been visually evident, and he has looked like the best Kraken forward at times. This all points to an improvement on his offensive production the rest of the season.
“It felt very good,” Burakovsky said about scoring Tuesday. “It’s been a battle with all the injuries and all the missed time, and I think I’ve been playing some really good hockey lately, creating a lot and skating a lot… It was nice to finally see one go in. I almost forgot what it feels like.”
Look for Burakovsky to continue this offensive push as he adjusts to the increased pressure on his shots getting blocked. Historically, he is simply too dangerous of an offensive player to sustain a paltry 4.5 shooting percentage. Regression to his career average of 13.9 percent is due.
For this episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, the guys recorded Tuesday night and predicted what would happen in advance of the Friday NHL trade deadline.
Lots of good chatter in this one about the Kraken, who have been playing well, plus prospect talk and segments that include Weekly One-Timers, You Don’t See That Every Day, and Tweets of the Week.
As expected, Alex Wennberg has been traded by the Seattle Kraken. We’ve expected this to be the outcome for a while, and this move became a foregone conclusion when the team held Wennberg out of the lineup Monday and Tuesday for “trade-related reasons.” The only questions left to answer were: A.) Where would he end up? And B.) What would Seattle get back for him?
Those questions are now answered. For Wennberg, the Kraken received a second-round pick in 2024 and fourth-round pick in 2025 (DAL) from the New York Rangers. Seattle also retained 50 percent of Wennberg’s salary.
Kraken retain 50 percent on Wennberg Seattle gets 2nd in 24 and 4th in 25
The Swedish center has been a fixture for the Kraken, playing 222 games for Seattle since signing as a free agent prior to the franchise’s inaugural season. He only missed two games during his time with the Kraken and racked up exactly 100 points. Only Adam Larsson has played more games in franchise history.
🚨 WENNY WILLS IT IN! 🚨
Wennberg would NOT be denied of his 100th point with the #SeaKraken and a HUGE insurance goal.
Alex Wennberg was relied upon in all game situations and led all Kraken forwards with an average ice time of 18:25 per game over his three seasons.
The versatile center came to Seattle after signing a $13.5-million deal just after the Expansion Draft in July, 2021. This is a key point to think about when remembering Wennberg’s time in Seattle, because he chose to be one of the team’s first players and helped develop a hard-working culture for the organization.
Personally, I had hoped Wennberg would re-sign in Seattle. But since a deal had not been inked yet, it was becoming less and less likely the Kraken would be able to bring him back. So, general manager Ron Francis decided it was best to make a move and recoup what he could, the right decision in the end.
Since Wennberg got pulled from the lineup before Monday’s game in Calgary, Jared McCann has stepped into the role of second-line center and has done an outstanding job through two games, scoring five points, including two short-handed tallies and three assists. Shane Wright is waiting in the wings in Coachella Valley, and we would guess he’ll spend some time with the Kraken before the season is done.
Digging into Kraken lore, Wennberg was a key contributor to the Kraken’s first ever playoff victory against the Colorado Avalanche on April 18, 2023. Although Wennberg excels defensively, he had a two-point performance that night, including the game-winner and an assist. Wennberg was named the first star and helped set the tone for the series, which the Kraken went on to win in seven games.
Here are a couple other fun plays Wennberg made recently, just because…
On the defensive side of the ice, Wennberg led the team in both takeaways at 178 and takeaways minus giveaways at 96. “Best friend of the Pod,” Alison Lukan, wrote a great article on this topic last year.
Wennberg will be missed for his solid play on the boards, quick hands with the puck, defensive reliability, and occasional no-bucket warm-ups (you knew his hair was on point if he came out without a helmet). The penalty killing specialist led the franchise in blocked shots for forwards with 172, which was 33 more than Brandon Tanev, who was in second place. Blocking that many shots and only missing two games in three seasons is an impressive feat.
If you have consistently read Sound Of Hockey articles, you will know that the we are pro-Wennberg, and that his contributions will be missed. We wish Alex Wennberg all best with the New York Rangers. We definitely will be watching (and perhaps shedding a tear) when Wennberg makes a return appearance to Climate Pledge Arena.
The Seattle Kraken continued to confound Tuesday by defeating an impressive Winnipeg Jets team 4-3 in their barn, despite being on the second of back-to-backs with travel, and despite being without top defenseman Vince Dunn (injured by Martin Prospisil’s dirty hit on Monday) and Alex Wennberg (held out the last two games due to “trade-related reasons”).
“Really, we just played good hockey,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “I mean, we’ve been playing really good hockey over the last few weeks. We came into this road trip disappointed coming off of a loss to Edmonton [on Saturday], but the reality is we played really well that night and just carried that through into the road trip.”
The latest win brought Seattle to 7-2-1 in its last 10, including these two wins in Calgary and Winnipeg on consecutive nights.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators finally showed some signs of cracking by losing in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens, breaking their eight-game win streak and allowing the Kraken to finally gain one standings point of ground.
From the other direction, the Vegas Golden Knights have entered the wild card chat by struggling tremendously and are now level in points with the Predators and Los Angeles Kings. So, Seattle sits six points behind three different clubs, all of which are currently inside the playoff bubble. The two wins rocketed the Kraken’s playoff chances from 10 percent all the way up to 31 percent, according to MoneyPuck.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a big 4-3 Kraken win over the Jets.
Takeaway #1: Joey is back!
In his first game since getting torched for four goals on 13 shots and pulled in a Feb. 24 loss to the Minnesota Wild, Joey Daccord returned to the net Tuesday and had a solid, winning effort between the pipes. With 30 stops on the night, Daccord earned a victory over all-world netminder, Connor Hellebuyck, who faltered for just 20 saves on 24 shots at the other end.
Even though the Jets have apparently been dealing with a nasty flu bug, they came out… flying (Jets puns are impossible to avoid sometimes)… in the first period, while the Kraken were struggling to find their tentacles after an emotional game the night prior. Daccord made several saves on Grade-A chances, 14 total stops in the opening frame, and Hellebuyck let a stinker through his five hole to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
🚨 JUSTIN TIME! 🚨
Jets were dominating, but off a rush, Schultz fires one through the wickets on Hellebucyk.
Not a good goal for Hellebuyck… keep shooting while he's shaking!
Later, with the game on the line in the closing seconds and Winnipeg feverishly (flu-related pun intended this time) pushing for an equalizer, Daccord scrambled to secure the victory. After getting his stick ripped out of his hands by Mark Scheifele, Daccord sprawled to his right and chested away what looked like a sure goal for Neal Pionk with just five ticks left to tock.
The only thing better than that game-saving stop was the fist pump Daccord threw after the horn sounded.
Philipp Grubauer has had a run of outstanding play since returning from injury on Feb. 22 and had seized the net back from Daccord. But now that Joey delivered this performance against Winnipeg, the goaltending decisions moving forward could become a bit more difficult in the best way.
If the Kraken really are going to stay in this race, despite potentially trading away a key player or two, they will need huge performances down the stretch from both goalies.
Takeaway #2: Burky gets off the schneid
Andre Burakovsky picked a great time to break out of his insane goal-scoring slump, rifling a wrist shot from the right circle over Hellebuyck for the game-winner at 17:21 of the third period. On a power play, Ryker Evans—playing his first game since Feb. 13—fired a shot that got blocked and stung former Kraken Mason Appleton.
With Appleton hobbling around, and the Jets effectively down to three and a half penalty killers, Evans got the puck back and slid it to Burakovsky, who dusted it off and ripped it.
For the first time since Jan. 4 and just the second time this season, Andre Burakovsky scores for the #SeaKraken!
The goal was Burakovsky’s first since Jan. 4 and just his second in 29 games played this season.
“It felt very good,” Burakovsky said. “It’s been a battle with all the injuries and all the missed time, and I think I’ve been playing some really good hockey lately, creating a lot and skating a lot… It was nice to finally see one go in. I almost forgot what it feels like.”
Burakovsky, who had just missed two more games with a lower-body injury before returning to the lineup Monday, had been back to playing his confident style for a while, dangling around defenders and often looking fast and dangerous. We knew it was only a matter of time before he broke through.
“It’s nice to see him get that one,” Hakstol said. “I know that’ll make him feel good, but I can tell you inside of our dressing room, nobody really cares whose name is on the scoresheet right now.”
Takeaway #3: Another solid, team effort
For the second night in a row, the Kraken got four goals from four different players, with only Jared McCann overlapping with goals on both nights, both with short-handed breakaways. So, in 2022-23 style, the Kraken got tallies from seven different skaters over the brief road trip.
They’ve had several guys—Yanni Gourde, Tomas Tatar, Adam Larsson, Justin Schultz, and Burakovsky—break goal-scoring droughts lately, and they’re suddenly bringing that “anyone can score” approach that became so reliable last season.
*Author’s note: Tatar’s game-tying tip on Matty Beniers’ shot that was five feet off the net was so sick.
🚨 TUNA TIP! 🚨
25 seconds after Nino Niederreiter got a good bounce crashing the net to give the Jets a 3-2 lead, Matty throws one toward the net, and Tomas Tatar gets a piece of it.
“You make plays at the right time and get some contributions from everybody in every part of your lineup,” Hakstol said. “And we were able to do that both nights on this trip.”
This is exactly how this team will need to compete moving forward, assuming Wennberg does get moved before Friday’s trade deadline.
Can you imagine if this team sells off an asset or two and still rallies to make the playoffs? Man, that’d be neat.
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.
For the first time in the Seattle Kraken’s young franchise history, a highly touted prospect made non-Kraken-related appearances in the region. The high-flying Moose Jaw Warriors made their lone trip of the season through the U.S. Division last week, and along with them came Jagger Firkus, a second-round pick of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft.
To call Firkus a junior-hockey sensation would be an understatement. The dynamic center for the Warriors is having one of the best seasons of any player in the Canadian Hockey League this year, not only leading his team in goals, assists, and points, but also leading the CHL in total points. And on a team with as much NHL potential as the Warriors have, he’s stuck out like a sore thumb. Nobody else on the roster is within 20 points of his team lead.
Since he arrived in the Pacific Northwest last week, the “Firkus Circus” received nothing but praise. The forward tried to embrace as much of it as possible.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Firkus said in an interview with Sound Of Hockey. “The support I’ve gotten, ever since I stepped into Everett, (has) been next level. Honestly, it’s something that I never really thought would happen to me.”
Circus Week
“Circus Week” began Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena for Firkus, as he and the Warriors were treated by the Kraken, taking in their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins from the press bridge.
“It’s electric in there,” Firkus said on experiencing Climate Pledge Arena from a fan’s perspective and catching up with Kraken staff members. “It’s an unbelievable facility… it was just great to see everyone. A lot of [my teammates] were in awe of how nice that rink really is.”
The 19-year-old from Irma, Alberta, was elated to see one of his boyhood idols, Sidney Crosby, play for the first time in person.
“(For) pretty much every kid from Canada, it’s the guy that you idolize and dream to be,” Firkus said. “To see him in real life was honestly unbelievable, and he was exactly what I imagined.”
One of the games of the year in the WHL came on Friday night at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett with Firkus and the Warriors in town. Firkus was the first skater out during warmups and was met with a warm welcome from fans eager to see what he could do in person.
In what could be a preview of a potential WHL Finals matchup, the Warriors went up by two goals two separate times, only for the Silvertips to claw their way back and force overtime and eventually a shootout with the game tied 7-7. Firkus showed off his hands and his vision with a goal and an assist in regulation for the Warriors.
All the exhilaration in regulation culminated in Firkus scoring a beautiful backhand goal over Silvertips netminder Tyler Palmer to give Moose Jaw the lead in the shootout, which they held for the win. Firkus fumbled the puck a bit on his entry, though he made it sound like he did it on purpose.
“I think that little fumble kind of froze (Palmer),” Firkus said. “So I tried to go up top, and it ended up going in.”
With a 19.6 shooting percentage on the year, Firkus has a tight release that gives him the ability to shoot with power from almost anywhere in the offensive zone. Silvertips defenseman and fellow Kraken prospect Kaden Hammell had high praise for Firkus and harped on how challenging it was to defend a shot like his.
“He’s probably one of, if not the most dynamic player in the WHL,” Hammell said. “It’s fun as a challenge for a defenseman like myself to take on players like him. He’s a hell of a player.”
Hammell got to know Firkus well at Kraken Development Camp in July, 2023. “He’s a great guy, and I’m hoping that we can continue to develop our relationship over the next couple of years.”
Firkus’ team is loaded with NHL potential, too. Often, when the Warriors go to the power play, they send out a unit featuring Firkus alongside first-round picks Matthew Savoie (BUF), Brandon Yager (PIT), and Denton Mateychuk (CBJ), not to mention, February’s WHL Player of the Month, Atley Calvert.
Savoie, Firkus’ newest teammate and former Wenatchee Wild (acquired in a trade before the WHL trade deadline), thinks it’s pivotal for players like themselves to be around others at similar skill levels, all striving for the same brand of success in the NHL.
“It always helps to be surrounded with really talented players,” Savoie said. “And to have the ability to play with those guys helps our drive to get us to where we want to be.”
Firkus has been the points leader for the Warriors three seasons in a row, nearing 300 career points, and is again is on pace to win the CHL’s scoring title. It leaves one to wonder, does scoring at a high volume in juniors like Firkus has translate to doing the same at the NHL level?
Of the last 20 CHL single-season scoring titlists, 17 have played games in the NHL, with 10 having played over 100 games. But Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Jason Robertson are the only three players to win the award and excel with above a point-per-game in their careers.
So, maybe the inflated production for Firkus won’t be as high as what he’s putting up now in the WHL, but who knows? With the intangibles and work ethic he’s shown, it’s only a matter of time before the Kraken give him the opportunity.
“Obviously, there’s lots of room to improve for me,” Firkus said. “I think there’s times in games [in the WHL] where you can think twice and try to make the smart play, but at the pro level you have to make that play 10 times out of 10, or you’re gonna have someone else taking your spot.”
The Warriors finished their three-games-in-three-days weekend with contests in Kent and Wenatchee. Firkus shined again on both nights, scoring twice in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday, then following that with arguably his best night of the road trip on Sunday, when he gathered a goal and two assists in another 3-0 win over the Wenatchee Wild. With his goal in Wenatchee, Firkus hit 50 on the season.
Going 6-0-0-0 on their U.S. Division trip for the first time in franchise history, the Warriors outscored opponents 40-19 over this span. Firkus finished this stretch at two points per game, and he netted three game-winning goals. He is now second in the WHL in game-winning goals with 10 on the year.
With a point on Friday, the Warriors became the second team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot, currently occupying the second seed. With six games remaining in the regular season, Firkus and the Warriors know what’s at stake this time of year.
“This is our last kick at the can to win something,” Firkus said on the core group of players graduating or moving after the season. “Everyone wants to go into this playoff run hot, and we all want to win.”
The WHL Playoffs are set to begin on March 29.
Header photo: Jagger Firkus races for a puck with Nathan Pilling on Saturday. (Photo/Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds)
That game got spicy! On a day when rumors were swirling wildly around Alex Wennberg, who was held out of the lineup for “trade-related issues,” Monday’s tilt between the Seattle Kraken and the Calgary Flames almost felt like an afterthought.
But the Kraken players not named Wennberg came out and played a solid game, winning both on the scoreboard and in the court of public opinion (more on that in a bit).
Seattle dominated the first period and got a goal from Yanni Gourde, his first in 19 games. The group eased off in the second, but still held serve and went to the third period up 2-1. Then Adam Larsson scored just 21 seconds into the third, and Jared McCann threw the dagger with a short-handed goal 12 minutes later.
Here are our Three Takeaways from a solid 4-2 Kraken win over the Flames.
Takeaway #1: “Garbage” from Martin Pospisil
The contest started with Martin Pospisil immediately taking a questionable run at Larsson and dumping him head-first into the boards. It was from the side, so Pospisil got away with it, and Larsson thankfully did not get hurt on the play.
Nonetheless, the Kraken players didn’t like it, and rookie Tye Kartye stepped up to ask Pospisil—also a rookie—to answer for his actions.
What did Pospisil do when Kartye came calling? He turtled and got whaled on, landing Kartye with two extra minutes of penalty time, during which Andrei Kuzmenko scored his first of two goals on the night.
We think it's safe to say Tye Kartye didn't like Martin Pospisil's hit on Adam Larsson during the first shift of the game. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/2DChGaBqih
There was a moment of brief concern that this could be a turning point in the game, but Oliver Bjorkstrand quashed those fears by scoring his third goal in four games four minutes later.
🚨 BJORK-GOAL! 🚨
It starts with a hard forecheck by McCann and Bjorkstrand, and it ends with a nice pass from McCann to Bjorkstrand.
Of course, Pospisil’s shining moment came at 13:41 of the third period. Vince Dunn had his back fully turned to Pospisil, who had all the time in the world to look at Dunn’s numbers and think, I shouldn’t hit this guy right now.
Instead, Pospisil went full-steam into Dunn’s back and sent him headlong into the dasher board. A brouhaha ensued, led by (of all people) Matty Beniers, who jumped right in to defend Dunn.
WHAT IS WITH THIS POSPISIL KID?!
Now he blows up Vince Dunn from behind and sends him head-first into the dasher board.
Here’s what coach Dave Hakstol had to say on the matter: “Garbage. Not a whole lot different than the first hit six, seven seconds into the game. If you’re going to run around like that, you probably need to answer when somebody comes at you man to man. And that didn’t happen either… From there, I’ll leave it to the league.”
To the Kraken’s credit, they did everything they were supposed to do on this night. They won the game, they stuck up for each other, and they came out looking like the good guys. Meanwhile Pospisil earned a five-minute major, a game misconduct, and surely a meeting with the Department of Player Safety.
Worth noting, Dunn left the game and did not return. Hakstol did not give an update on him after the game, but that’s par for the course. Seattle can’t survive long without Dunn, so keep your fingers crossed that he’ll be ok.
Takeaway #2: Ignoring the distractions for win No. 100
Sometimes you wonder how a team will respond to distracting situations happening off the ice, and the Wennberg trade rumors (and him being held out of the game) would certainly qualify as one of those situations. But the Kraken flew out of the gate on this night and dominated the first period from start to finish. And whenever there was any pushback from the Flames, the Kraken quelled it by scoring at the other end of the ice, earning their 100th win in franchise history.
We were especially impressed by the play McCann made while the Kraken were shorthanded, and Calgary was pressing for a tying goal midway through the third. Seconds after a missed offensive opportunity, McCann hustled back to get into a defensive posture. He saw another chance brewing, with Rasmus Andersson struggling to handle the puck at the blue line. So he pounced and created a breakaway for himself, then cruised in and sniped it past Jacob Markstrom.
🚨 MCCANN CAN! 🚨
What an effort by Jared McCann to steal Andersson and create a breakaway for himself.
Goal No. 26 on the season, and a short-handed goal for McCann.
“I was pretty gassed, so I just tried to kind of get the shot off quick,” McCann said. “I like to go over the blocker, but I decided to change that at the last second.”
It was an outstanding individual effort, one of many impressive individual performances in the game. It was also a fitting way for the Kraken to earn win No. 100 in franchise history, a nice milestone for everyone involved.
“It’s amazing, we’re all so thankful for the opportunity we’ve been given, and a lot of guys on other teams weren’t given the same chance,” McCann said. “To get that, it’s huge for the organization, and there’s hopefully many more to come.”
Takeaway #3: Wennberg chatter
When news broke that Wennberg would be held out of this game, we figured a trade could be coming on Monday. That didn’t happen, but teams don’t just hold players out of the lineup unless there is something very real in the works.
So, have we seen the last of Wennberg in deep sea blue?
We’ve loved watching and dealing with Alex Wennberg during his nearly three seasons in Seattle. He’s a true pro, and he has been a pivotal piece of this team during his tenure. But the writing has been on the wall for a while, and now that we’ve come to grips with the idea of him moving on, it’s becoming painfully clear that trading Wennberg is the right thing for the organization to do.
In theory, the Kraken can still compete for an outside chance at a playoff spot, even if they do move Wennberg along. And the way he is being talked about right now shows us the Kraken can likely get a solid return for him. If they don’t think they can bring him back next season, it makes all the sense in the world to move him and get back what they can, even if that stings their still-dwindling chances of reaching the postseason for the second year in a row.
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 fell short of the ultimatum I set in last week’s Monday Musings of grabbing five out of a possible six points, but I can’t be upset at the effort. The boys came away with gutsy wins against the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins but fell short of gaining a point versus the Edmonton Oilers in a Saturday afternoon matinee.
This might have been the best three-game effort the Kraken have brought this season against some high-quality opponents. From top to bottom, the team is really bought in and showing the desperation to stay in the playoff hunt right now.
Unfortunately, the Kraken woke up on Monday nine points out of a wild card spot and again looking at a logjam of four teams they would need to climb over in the standings to get into the postseason. Getting in is looking less likely every day, but if the Kraken can play the rest of the season like this, I still think they have a shot.
Remaining schedule
The next four games will be the toughest four games remaining on the schedule. Even if they only manage four points of the eight available, the Kraken might be ok to stay in it as long as either the Los Angeles Kings or Nashville Predators start to lose a bit more than they win. Over the next four games, the Kraken have one game against the Calgary Flames, two against the Winnipeg Jets, and then one game against the Vegas Golden Knights. After those four games, the schedule gets easier with six out of the next eight games being against teams that are mostly eliminated from playoff contention.
Alex Wennberg
With the trade deadline this coming Friday, I worry this might be the last week we see Alex Wennberg wearing the Seattle Kraken jersey. Regular readers will know that I love Wennberg and what he has brought to this franchise. He was one of the first free agents to sign in Seattle before the team ever took the ice. I am always blown away with his play and patience with the puck, and I marvel at his footwork and board play.
I will never forget the below play during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. A lot of the highlights won’t show his contributions to the goal, but the whole sequence doesn’t happen without his board work.
He had another great play on Monday that will go underappreciated, when he gained the zone, and as five Bruins set up to defend, Wennberg delivered a soft pass to empty ice that Will Borgen. Borgen swiftly stepped into it for a one-timer that Oliver Bjorkstrand tipped by Linus Ullmark.
🚨 CUE THE MAESTRO! 🚨
Bjorkstrand tips a Borgen shot in with 5 minutes left!
If this is truly his last week or even season with the Seattle Kraken, he will be missed. He currently leads all Kraken forwards in ice time, and he plays on the power play, penalty kill, and is often deployed in key defensive situations.
Hard sell, soft sell, or hold
What the Kraken do at the trade deadline is still anyone’s guess. I found Pierre LeBrun’s take on what the Kraken might do with their two biggest assets on expiring deals humorous. LeBrun’s take was the Kraken could re-sign Wennberg and Jordan Eberle, or they might re-sign one of them, or they might do nothing. So, they could do anything.
We published a story on the topic a couple weeks ago, in case you want to read up on that and hear what the players themselves said about the situation.
There are three trade deadline scenarios that could play out:
A hard sell would be if the Kraken trade either Alexander Wennberg and/or Jordan Eberle.
A soft sell would be if the team traded Justin Schultz and/or Tomas Tatar
Holding would be doing nothing or moving a depth piece in the system.
The fate of what they do might come down to the back-to-back games to start this week. Two wins, and they might hold. Two losses, and I think a hard sell will be kicked into motion. I do think there is a way this team could make the playoffs even with a “soft-sell,” where maybe it trades only Schultz and has Ryker Evans slot in for him the rest of the way (just as an example).
Other Musings
After a successful goalie interference challenge last Monday against the Bruins, the Kraken are two for two in goalie interference challenges this season. The success rate for goalie challenges league wide is 63 percent.
The Boston game was the 17th overtime game of the season for Seattle. That tied the full-season total from 2022-23, so the next overtime game this season will mean the most OT games in a single season for the Kraken. Here is how overtime games have broken down by seasons.
If the Kraken start the week with two regulation losses, the season is probably cooked, and I would appreciate people checking in on me on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets will be the first time the Kraken square off against the Jets this season. Winnipeg is the only team in the league the Kraken have not faced this season, but they will play two in a row against them this week.
The Kraken are still winless at home on Saturdays this season. The loss to Edmonton pushed their Saturday home record to 0-5-2. The Kraken have two more Saturday home games remaining this season.
It is great to see Philipp Grubauer getting in a groove. He has a .942 save percentage with a 4-1-0 record since coming back from injury. Outside of last season’s playoffs, this is probably his best stretch of games he has played with the Kraken.
Player performances
Morgan Geekie (BOS) – The former Seattle Kraken and Tri-City American had his first career hat-trick against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. We continue to root for Geekie as long as he isn’t playing against the Kraken.
Philipp Grubauer (SEA) – Grubauer had a .944 save percentage and a 2-1-0 record on the week including a shutout against the Penguins, his first of the season.
Jagger Firkus (MJW/SEA) and Carson Rehkopf (KIT/SEA) – Both players might be the most mentioned players in the Monday Musings for the season. Both Seattle Kraken prospects are having outstanding years for their respective clubs, and both eclipsed the 50-goal mark on Sunday.
For those that might have missed it, we had two outstanding guests on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast this week with Piper Shaw and Alison Lukan in studio. The episode was packed with tomfoolery and hijinks, but there was also plenty of Kraken insight, so give it a listen.
One thing Alison called out was Andre Burakovsky’s actions that helped with the Vince Dunn goal against Boston. The breakdown is in her below tweet.
2-2
Dunn with the equalizer but Burakovsky is so critical here – this comes right after a shift where he dangled right in front of Ullmark…BOS knows they have to defend him – he draws two and Dunn has plenty of space to send in the shot that gets in net. #SeaKrakenpic.twitter.com/exF4UYDOH0
Also, on the podcast we discussed a different framing of shots and shot attempts, called ‘shots on target.’ It’s just shots on goal, but in context of shot attempts, you could widen the lens to evaluate how many shot attempts actually get to the goalie. So, naturally, I investigated it.
I originally started just looking at percentage of shots on target, and that showed Seattle had the second-lowest percentage of shot attempts that are on target. When I saw Carolina below the Kraken, I felt it needed additional context since Carolina is one of the better teams in the league this season. I then added total shot attempts per game to help add more color to the story.
This was pulled together in about 30 minutes on Monday morning, so there is still a lot more to dig into here, but it is an interesting perspective to start evaluating some of the shooting performances across the NHL.
The week ahead
I have been implying the Kraken’s situation (in terms of making the playoffs) has been dire for a while. They have been staying afloat, but the Predators have really started to separate from the rest of the pack and currently have a nine-point advantage on the Kraken for the last playoff spot. Seattle still has two games in hand but will need to climb over a few teams, even if Nashville starts to falter. I am also ready to lock the Kings into a playoff spot at this point, which only leaves that Nashville spot.
The first half of March has the Kraken facing some quality opponents, and that kicks off this week with a game Monday against an equally desperate Calgary Flames team and two games against the Central Division leaders, the Winnipeg Jets. Anything less than four points and at least one against Calgary might sink these Kraken playoff dreams in season three. The team has been playing well and still shows a lot of compete that has me clinging to a few last shreds of hope.
As always, thank you for making it this far. If you have questions, thoughts, or reactions, feel free to leave a note in the comments and I will do my best to respond and engage.
