Tag: Seattle Kraken

2023-24

Record: 34-35-13 81pts — 6th in Pacific

Playoffs: Did Not Qualify

Key Losses

Brian Doumalin, Chris Driedger, Tomas Tatar, Dave Hakstol (Coach)

Key Additions

Chandler Stephenson, Brandon Montour, Dan Bylsma (Head Coach)

2024-25 Preview

Last year was a tough one for the Seattle Kraken after making a surprise run to the Stanley Cup playoffs and knocking out the then reigning champions in the Colorado Avalanche the year before. Injuries and inconsistent play were the culprits. Winger Andre Bruakovsky was mostly unavailable last year due to his struggles to stay healthy in recent years. If he’s healthy, he can help out more pucks in the back of the net. Matty Beniers who won the Calder trophy the year before had himself a sophomore slump before he started to turn things back on towards the end of the season. The Kraken need him to be a playmaker and facilitator of the offense as the number one center. Picking up Chandler Stephenson in free agency should help as both are Stanley Cup champions with great experience and can add to both sides of the game offensively and defensively. Goalie Phillipp Grubauer needs to show why he was once a number one and was a big help in leading the Washington Capitals to a Stanley Cup championship back in 2018. If he can remain healthy and play consistent, he and Joey Daccord can be a formidable goaltending tandem.

It’ll be interesting to see how new head coach Dan Bylsma implements his most recent success as the now former Coachella Valley Thunderbirds. With that and having a Stanley Cup championship on his resume from when he was the Pittsburgh Penguins should be of help and provide good experience for the team to learn and draw from. I see the Kraken as a bubble playoff team that could maybe surprise us all and make it in.

New Additions

The big, new, shiny toys in town are Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour. Both players have each won a Stanley Cup with their former teams in the last two years. Stephenson is a good two way center that plays a full 200 foot game that has evolved into a solid offensive contributor as well. Montour has become a steady and reliable member on the blue line that can play a solid shutdown game. Technically he’s not new but, Shayne Wright is getting his chance to play with the Kraken full time this season. Currently slotted to be the third line center, Wright does have potential to be much more as he was a former high draft back (4th overall back in 2022). He had success under new coach Dan Bylsma in the minors, let’s see if he can replicate that and improve even more.

Returning Players

Wherever Matty Beniers goes, the Kraken will go. He definitely had his struggles in his second season and Seattle has high hopes it was just a sophomore slump and the best is yet to come. He did seem to find his game in the second half of the season so, there’s definitely hope there he can return to being the top center they need him to be. Forwards Jared McCann, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Jordan Eberle are some of the top producers on the team. Andre Burakovsky and the third line are a bit of a wild card. Burakovsky needs to stay healthy and when he is, produce and play consistently. This has followed him back to his days with the Washington Capitals. Jaden Schwartz needs to get back to the numbers he put up with the Blues, injuries and consistency has plagued him too recently. Shayne Wright is getting his chance to develop and play at the next level. He’ll get better with more experience. The fourth line is dependable and solid group of offense and defense headlined by Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev. Tye Kartye became a nice fit last year and hopefully he will continue to be a reliable member of this trio.

Projected Lines

(LW Jared McCann- (C) Marty Beniere- (RW) Oliver Bjorkstrand

(LW( Andre Burakovsky- (C) Chandler Stephenson- (RW) Jordan Eberle

(LW) Jaden Schwartz- (C)- Shane Wright- (RW) Eeli Tolvanen

(LW) Tye Kartye- (C) Yanni Gourde- (RW) Brandon Tanev

Extra forwards: Logan Morrison, John Hayden

Defense

(D) Vince Dunn- (D) Adam Larsson

(D) Jamie Oleksiak- (D) Brandon Montour

(D) Ryker Evans- (D) William Borgen

Extra D: Josh Mahura

Goalies

Joey Daccord

Philipp Grubauer

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After making an impressive run during the 2022-23 season, the Seattle Kraken aim for continued success in 2023-24.

2022-23

Record: 46-28-8 (100 pts) – 4th in Pacific (Wild Card 1)

Playoffs: Lost to Dallas in Second Round

Key Losses

Daniel Sprong (F – DET), Carson Soucy (D – VAN), Morgan Geekie (F – BOS), Ryan Donato (F – CHI), Martin Jones (G – TOR)

Key Additions

Brian Dumoulin (D), Kailer Yamamoto (F), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (F)

2023-24 Preview

Seattle was a nice surprise last season by making it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. They made some noise by knocking off the previous champions in the Colorado Avalanche in round one before pushing the Dallas Stars to the limit before losing in game seven of the second round. Overall, last season was a huge success and provides hope for this young franchise going forward.

The Kraken look to build on this and hope to take another step and keep making noise in the playoffs. Seattle brought in defenseman Brian Doumoulin who should be a big help on the backend, added Kaiser Yamamoto to the top and middle six forward group, and Pierre-Edourd Bellmare to the fourth line to bring some grit to that group. Winger Andre Burakovsky returns fully healthy after missing the remainder of the regular season and playoffs due to injury. If Burakovsky can stay healthy and produce, the two-time Stanley Cup champion can be a big factor in helping this Kraken make more noise in the regular season and especially in the postseason. Let’s not forget about Calder trophy wining center Matt Beniers. He had a phenomenal rookie season and was a big part of why Seattle had such a successful second year in the league. Wherever Beniers goes, this team will go to as he drives the play very well. I see the Kraken returning to the playoffs but still need a high end scoring piece if they want to go further in the playoffs.

Read our other 2023-24 Team Previews: ANA, ARI, BOS, BUF, CAL, CAR, CHI, COL, CLB, DAL, DET, EDM, FLA, LA, MIN, MON, NAS, NJ, NYI, NYR, OTT, PHI, PIT, SJ

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2021-22

Record: 27-49-6 60p (8th in the Pacific)

Playoffs: Did Not Qualify

Key Losses

D – Haydn Fleury (TB), F – Riley Sheahan, F – Victor Rask, F – Daniel Sprong

Key Additions

F – Andre Burakovsky, D – Justin Schultz, G – Martin Jones, F – Oliver Bjorkstrand

2022-23 Preview

The very first season in Seattle Kraken team history didn’t go as well as many had thought and hoped, with unrealistic expectations that they would repeat what the Vegas Golden Knights did in year one. Clearly that was not the case as they were out of the playoff picture early on. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t any bright spots at all. Jared McCann was a key pickup in the expansion draft, and former first round draft Maty Beniers showed he has a lot of promise and potential as a top two center on the team. This season will definitely be one for more development but will be much more competitive with the additions GM Ron Francis made at the draft and in free agency.

Seattle will definitely be a much better and improved team. However, they’re still not ready for the playoffs just yet. I think they may push for one of the last wild card spots but will not qualify.