The Seattle Kraken have spent 2026 taking rejection after rejection, with Jason Robertson, Artemi Panarin, Jordan Kyrou, and Morgan Rielly all reportedly turning them down. Against that backdrop, Jordan Eberle is the rare counterpunch.
The Kraken captain chose to stay, and in March he signed a two-year extension without any drama attached. He made it clear why.
“I love this city. My wife, my family, we love being here.
I love the fan base. I love being on the West Coast.
Snce day one, it’s felt like home. I didn’t really have any aspirations of leaving. it’s always nice to to know that you’re going to be here the next year.
“My preparation is for the summertime is always kind of the same. As you get older, this league, it’s exponentially faster and you try to maintain your foot speed so you can keep up and then hope you learn as you go along.
The biggest motivation factor for me is just winning and having success and as a team and trying to get this team to where I know it can be. So that’s what drives me and it’s made the game more enjoyable.”
There’s more organizational continuity on the way from Coachella Valley, where Gustav Olofsson also signed a new deal in March. This one matters differently than the last: it’s an NHL contract, not an AHL one, which means the 31-year-old Swedish defenseman is eligible to play for Seattle again.
Olofsson’s new contract is for one year and $775,000. The former second-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2013 has already logged NHL time with Minnesota, Montreal, and Seattle, where he appeared in four games between 2022 and 2024.
After the Firebirds were knocked out in the third round of the AHL playoffs, Olofsson said, “I feel like the obsession in me will kind of start to creep in,” Olofsson said after the Firebirds were eliminated in the 3rd round of the AHL playoffs. “I’ll kick into gear and be ready mentally to get ready for training camp next season.”
He’s been part of Coachella Valley in all four of the team’s seasons, and that includes two runs to the Calder Cup Finals. “The challenge is coming up to the standard that you have as an organization.
Here, it’s excellence and winning and being in contention and in playoffs. I do feel very proud to wear this jersey and what we’ve accomplished.”
The Kraken’s ECHL pipeline is also taking a hit. Goalie Dylan Wells, who helped the Kansas City Mavericks reach the Kelly Cup Finals, is headed to Austria next season to play for Black Wings Linz.
Wells, 28, was sharp in the playoffs, winning seven games with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. In the regular season, he went 9-3-0 with a 1.85 GAA and a .928 save percentage.
He’s had a winding pro career, too. Since Edmonton drafted him in 2016, he’s played for six ECHL teams and five AHL clubs, with some of those stops coming more than once.
He also spent one NHL period in relief for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022, stopping 12 of 13 Winnipeg shots. And for a little trivia: in a 2017 OHL playoff game for the Peterborough Petes, Wells scored a goalie goal into an open net.
His father, Rob Wells, is a Canadian drummer and music producer who was part of two singles that went platinum.
As for the human side of all these offseason moves, Matty Beniers put it plainly when talking about teammates who don’t get retained, sign elsewhere, or get traded.
“You build connections with those guys and they’re your teammates and your friends. So obviously, you don’t want to see anyone leave.”
In Other News...
Kraken Schedule Is Out And One Stretch Will Grab Every Fan's Attention
The NHLs 2026-27 schedule landed with a few details that will matter immediately to Seattle fans, starting with a new 84-game format and a division setup that keeps every Pacific opponent on the calendar four times. For the Kraken, that means plenty of familiar matchups with Vancouver, a team they handled well last season by winning three of four meetings, and a slate that begins earlier than usual across the league, with regular-season games in North America arriving before October for the first time.
There are also the kind of marquee dates that jump off the page for a traveling fan base, including a trip to Finland to face the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in November. The schedule gives Seattle a clear rhythm from the start, with an opener in Calgary and a home opener against the Flames a few days later, but the real intrigue is how the league has packed in the long homestands, road swings and back-to-backs that can shape a season before winter fully settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Prospects Just Got A Meaningful Boost Behind The Bench
The AHL coaching carousel around the Kings top affiliates picked up another layer this week, with Ontario, Henderson and Coachella Valley all making additions behind the bench. Mike Haviland is joining the Reign as an assistant, Alex Loh is headed to the Silver Knights on Joel Wards staff, and the Firebirds brought in Scott Ford to work under Derek Laxdal, giving each club another voice with pro experience as the development calendar starts to take shape.
For Seattle, the Firebirds move is the one worth watching most closely. Coachella Valley has become a key part of the organizations pipeline, and adding another seasoned coach to that environment only sharpens the stakes for players trying to earn NHL attention. Ford brings a different kind of background to the job, while Lohs rise through the coaching ranks is a reminder that these staffs are being built with a mix of old-school experience and newer paths into the profession. [Read more 🡒]