New Additions: F Mason Marchment (from DAL), F Frederick Gaudreau (from MIN), D Ryan Lindgren (4yr x $4.5M AAV), G Matt Murray (1yr x $1M)

Subtractions: F Andre Burakovsky (to CHI)

Retentions/Extensions: D Josh Mahura (2yr x $907.5k AAV), D Cale Fleury (2yr x $890k AAV), F Tye Kartye (2yr x $1.25M AAV), F Kaapo Kakko (3yr x $4.525M AAV), D Ryker Evans (2yr x $2.05M AAV)

When the Seattle Kraken came into the league in 2021, they had a tough task of following the most recent expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, who made the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season, and were a competitive team instantly. In their inaugural season, things went closer to how people expect an expansion team to perform, as the Kraken went 27-49-6, and finished 30th in the NHL. It was not until year two where things got interesting, as the team jumped up to 12th in the league with a 46-28-8 record, making the playoffs for the first time in team history. Seattle drew the defending champs in round one, the Colorado Avalanche. In one of the more shocking series results in recent memory, the Kraken defeated the Avs in seven games. Against the Dallas Stars in round two, they were one win away from a Vegas/Seattle Western Conference Finals, but unfortunately the team lost in game seven to the Stars. Vegas won the Cup that year, but it felt like if they kept trending in the right direction, Seattle had a chance to win one of their own. The team dropped back down to earth the next year, missing the playoffs, in fact, they have yet to make it back to the postseason.

One of the reasons the Kraken were so successful in 2022-23 was the Calder Trophy Winner, Matty Beniers. The first pick in franchise history played the majority of the 2021-22 season for the University of Michigan, before playing in 10 games at the end of the year, where he flashed potential and recorded 9 points in the small stint. Beniers was ready for his first year as a full time NHLer, as he was immediately one of the team’s top forwards. He scored 24 goals and added 33 assists for 57 points in his rookie season, taking home the award given to the best rookie that season. The sophomore slump hit him hard, as he was not able to replicate his rookie season, and only had 37 points in 2023-24. Last year, he was underwhelming yet again with 43 points in a full 82 game season, at least he was able to hit the 20 goal mark for the second time in his young career. This season, Seattle needs the former number two pick to take a step towards being a true top line center, as the team still has high hopes for him, and has him under contract until 2031.

Another young forward the team is hoping can contribute in the top six is 2022 4th overall pick Shane Wright, who was once seen as one of the top prospects in the game of hockey. From Burlington, Ontario, Wright was one of the best U16 players since Connor McDavid, and was awarded ‘exceptional status’, which meant he was able to the OHL a year early. For much of the process leading up to the 2022 NHL Draft, Wright was seen as the future number one pick, but he ultimately slid to the fourth overall selection, and the Seattle Kraken. Between 2022-2024, he mostly played in the OHL and AHL, with only 16 games in the NHL. In the modern day, people are quick to call someone a bust, especially when they were so hyped coming into the league, the noise surrounding Wright was loud. But the young forward shut out the noise, and played the entire season in Seattle, where he had 44 points across 77 games. I think last year was massive for him, as he proved he can play, and deserves to be in the NHL. I do not think he will ever be a 100+ point player, but I have full faith that he can grow into an elite two-way center, with great hockey sense, and the ability to put up 60-80 points.

Seattle lacks a star player, their all-time leading scorer is Jared McCann, who has been with the team since the beginning, and had a career high 40 goals and 70 points in the year they made the playoffs. While McCann is no scrub, he is no star, and that is a theme for a lot of the players on this team.

On offense, they have a few names that have been around the league for a while, two former Stanley Cup Champions in Chandler Stephenson and Jaden Schwartz, as well as their captain Jordan Eberle. The three of them are great complimentary players, but in this league, it really takes elite talent to make a difference. The team continues to add great complimentary players, Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau are two depth pieces that were brought in this offseason. They are a couple breakouts away from being a solid forward group. Other than Beniers and Wright, a name that the team is hoping can become the player he was drafted to be is Kaapo Kakko. The Finnish forward was taken 2nd overall in 2019 by the New York Rangers, but was buried in the lineup and never given the chance to properly develop. The Kraken traded for him in December 2024, and he seems to have found a new home in Seattle, playing the best hockey of his career, with 30 points in 49 games. The team did the same with Eeli Tolvanen, as he was a former first round pick in need of a change of scenery, he has grown into a solid scoring forward with the team, and had 23 goals last season.

It is not a guarantee that he plays in the NHL this year, but a name to look out for is Berkly Catton, a young forward from Saskatoon (same hometown as Stephenson). Catton was taken 8th overall in 2024, and remained in the WHL last year where he put up 109 points in 57 games in the regular season, and an insane 42 points in 20 playoff games for the Spokane Chiefs. He could be the future star the team is looking for.

Defense may be the team’s best group, at least on paper. Two elite puck moving defencemen in Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour, two big shutdown guys in Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak, and a solid 5th and 6th defenceman to round out the group in Ryan Lindgren and Ryker Evans. All six of them are capable of playing top two pairing minutes and can all provide different elements that compliment one another. Montour was a big addition last offseason in free agency, coming off a Cup win in Florida. He struggled in his first year with the team, only managing 41 points across 81 contests, both him and the team are hoping he can put up numbers closer to his career high of 73, than what he did last season.

Behind the defense are goalies Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer. For whatever reason, Grubauer has never found his footing in Seattle, as the German netminder had never had a save percentage below a .915 in his first nine seasons, yet he has never managed a .900 SV% in four years with the Kraken. Daccord has firmly taken over the starting role, having played 107 games over the previous two seasons. In those two years he has a combined record of 46-41-16, with a .911 SV% and a 2.61 GAA. He is one of the more underrated goalies in the league, but fans in Seattle know how solid he is. He looks to have another solid year and hopes to lead the team back to the playoffs.

A lot of things need to go right for the Kraken to get back into the playoffs, and they will not be a popular pick to make it. The benefit of being an expansion team and being a collection of, for the most part ‘used goods’, is that there are not many egos on this team, and they play for one another each and every night. They need the best out of all of their players, especially their two young forwards, Beniers and Wright. It is difficult to say how this season will go, I am up in the air on how I think this season will go, because I think this team is just as capable of being a bottom five team as they are of making the playoffs. If anything I think they will fall somewhere in between, and it will be another year outside the playoffs in Seattle.