The Kraken are staring at a very different kind of offseason, and it’s hard to avoid the bigger question: are they actually worse now than they were when the season ended?
Not in some distant future when Kraken 2026 first-rounder Chase Reid and next summer’s top-5 NHL Draft pick arrive. Right now. Today.
Mackie Samoskevich was a solid pickup, but he’s not the kind of move that flips the roster on its head. He makes the middle six younger, sure, but he is not stepping in for Jaden Schwartz, Elie Tolvanen, and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. Those three unrestricted free agents are walking away this week for nothing.
That leaves a pretty obvious question hanging in the air: who exactly is replacing them?
Curtis Douglas?
Oh wait. Bobby McMann.
He was already there at the end of the season anyway, and he had a hot scoring run for a team that faded badly down the stretch, finishing 5-11-and-2 over his 18 games. Next season will tell whether he really fits the “streaky” label.
Management keeps pointing to the young prospects who are supposed to be ready soon, but that still raises another issue. Are any of them true top-line or first-pair difference-makers?
At this point, the answer looks a lot like a rebuild, even if nobody wants to say it too loudly. Year six for the 2021 expansion franchise, and the duck is waddling and quacking like a duck.
Goaltending isn’t exactly a settled strength, either. Joey Daccord is the No. 1, and while he dipped at times, he can be excellent.
Philipp Grubauer, now 34, has rediscovered some form and is in the final year of his contract. Behind them, Nikke Kokko and Kim Saarinen are waiting, but nothing is guaranteed in net.
The bigger roster-building problem is just as clear. Star NHL players are turning the club down as a destination, which means the Kraken need to lean on the draft and, perhaps, use draft capital more aggressively in trades.
That would be a lot easier if they still had the low first-round pick and the two or three second- and third-round picks they might have gotten for those in-demand, savvy veterans on expiring contracts at the trade deadline.
You know, the ones they had all the leverage with.
Oops.
Enjoy the rebuild. Or, since it’s only year six, maybe just call it the build.
In Other News...
Ron Francis Just Reopened A Painful Kraken Debate
Ron Francis is back in Pittsburgh in a front-office role, and the move has naturally sent his thoughts drifting to the expansion project he left behind in Seattle. Hired June 19 as a senior advisor to Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, Francis has already been involved in draft decisions and development camp, while also reflecting on the years he spent helping build the Kraken from the ground up, from the arena and locker room to the practice facility and the Palm Springs minor-league rink.
For Seattle fans, the reunion carries an extra layer because Francis once tried to bring Dubas to the Kraken before Dubas eventually landed with the Penguins. Francis also revisited his path through Carolina before returning to Pittsburgh, a reminder that his NHL rsum stretches well beyond one franchise. The part that lingers, though, is what his return says about the unfinished feelings around Seattle, where early promise gave way to a rougher stretch and a front-office change that still invites debate. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Are Quietly Building Something Bigger Than Just The Roster
The Kraken are spending part of the summer on something bigger than roster construction, once again serving as host for the NHL Coaches Association development camp. It is the fourth straight year Seattle has welcomed the event, and this time the staff includes Seattle Torrent head coach Christine Bumstead and Jr. Kraken AAA 16U head coach David Min, giving local hockey a front-row seat to a gathering built around teaching, sharing ideas and helping younger coaches move forward.
Bumsteads path to the camp says plenty about how the Kraken have widened their network around the organization. She was invited by assistant general manager Alex Mandrycky, and her coaching ties run through the Seattle ecosystem as well, including past connections with Coachella Valley Firebirds assistant coach Brennan Sonne and Kraken goaltending coach Colin Zulianello. For a franchise still carving out its identity, the camp is another sign that Seattle is trying to build depth in more places than just the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Prospects Left Fans With One Big Stucky Cup Takeaway
The Fourth Annual Stucky Cup gave Kraken fans a final look at development camp with a fast, loose 4-on-4 scrimmage that had the prospects playing for keeps in an exhibition setting. Team Blue came away with the win behind goals from William Tomko, Will Reynolds, and Zeb Forsfjall, while Team White got on the board through Ola Palme in a game that was more about pace, skill and a chance to see who stood out than the final score.
Even without piling up points, several names helped make the afternoon feel meaningful for Seattles future. Hawke Huff, Clarke Caswell, Ollie Josephson, Nathan Villeneuve and defenseman Rylan Singh all drew notice for strong showings, and the lineup also offered a glimpse of the organizations draft pipeline with Jake OBrien and Chase Reid on opposite sides. For a camp-ending scrimmage, it was the kind of showcase that left plenty for the Kraken to sort through once the ice was cleared. [Read more 🡒]