The Seattle Kraken are going to be short on national TV shine this season.
Out of TNT’s 72-game NHL package, only one Seattle game made the cut: the Jan. 28 trip to Minnesota, set for 6 pm PT. ESPN and ABC are splitting a 53-game slate, and ESPN has just two Kraken appearances there - Dec. 10 at home against Washington at 6:30 pm PT, and Feb. 19 at Utah at 6 pm PT.
There’s also ESPN’s exclusive streaming inventory, which includes 47 games that will only be available on ESPN+, Disney+, or Hulu. Four of those involve Seattle: Utah Mammoth at Seattle on Thu., Oct. 22 at 7 pm PT; Dallas Stars at Seattle on Thu., Dec. 3 at 7 pm PT; Seattle at Los Angeles Kings on Tue., Jan. 19 at 7 pm PT; and Los Angeles Kings at Seattle on Thu, Mar 11 at 6:30 pm PT.
That means the bulk of the Kraken’s schedule will still land on Kraken Hockey Network. The NHL has stretched the regular season to 84 games, and after removing the seven national exclusives, 77 games remain for free over-the-air TV on the network’s third season.
In Seattle, KONG 6/16 is the TV home for the team, with select games also simulcast on KING 5. John Forslund is back on play-by-play, with J.T.
Brown as analyst, and Eddie Olczyk is out.
One other date stands out: Tuesday, Oct. 13, when Seattle is in Philadelphia for ESPN’s annual “Frozen Frenzy.” All 32 teams are scheduled to play that night, and while the Flyers game is tentatively listed for 4 pm Pacific Time, the “Frenzy” setup has all 16 games starting in 15-minute increments, so the exact puck-drop time could shift.
ESPN will also run a triple-header that night, and according to a press release, “ESPN2 will provide a whip-around show with live look-ins on every game, showcasing the best plays, hits and goals of the night.”
In Other News...
Kraken Add Intriguing Forward With More Upside Than Fans Realize
The Kraken quietly added another young piece to the pipeline this week, landing Ryden Evers after the undrafted forward from Burnaby, British Columbia, put pen to paper on a three-year entry-level deal. Seattle has made a habit of looking for players who can grow into bigger roles over time, and Evers fits that mold as a center with enough size and skill to make him more than just an organizational depth move.
General manager Jason Botterill sounded encouraged by the path ahead for Evers, pointing to the forwards two-way game as a trait worth developing. The early plan is for him to get his next reps in the American Hockey League with Coachella Valley, where the Kraken can see whether the raw tools translate into something more substantial down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Why The Kraken Identity Still Hits Different For Seattle Fans
Five seasons into the franchises life, the Seattle Kraken are still carrying a name that feels built for this market. The identity landed in the summer of 2020, and it gave hockey in Seattle something more than an expansion label: a look and feel rooted in the citys connection to the water and its place in the sports history.
For fans, that matters because the Kraken have never had to pretend to be something else. The brand reaches back to Seattles maritime past while also nodding to the Seattle Metropolitans, the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup, which gives the whole operation a sense of lineage. Now entering their sixth season, the challenge is making that identity mean even more with a stronger playoff run. [Read more 🡒]