When people start daydreaming about the Seattle Kraken’s path out of the NHL middle, the conversation quickly turns to one thing: landing a true franchise-changing talent. If the 2026-27 season ends without a playoff berth, the reward could be a shot at exactly that in the 2027 NHL Draft, with defenseman Landon DuPont emerging as the name to watch.
DuPont is already being talked about as the kind of player who can change the direction of a team from the blue line. NHL.com described him as “The next great franchise-defining piece on defense for the NHL club holding the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.”
That kind of buzz makes sense once you look at what he’s already done. DuPont was a key part of the Everett Silvertips’ 2026 WHL championship run and their trip to the Memorial Cup Final. He also arrived in junior hockey early as an “exceptional status” player, good enough to jump in at 15.
Over the past two seasons with Everett, DuPont scored 35 goals. He’s now 17 and set to play this coming season at the University of Michigan, though the expectation is that he won’t stay in Ann Arbor for long.
“He’s been able to process the game at an elite level from a very young age,” says David Gregory of NHL Central Scouting. “Very few prospects can do this, playing against bigger, stronger and older opponents.
He combines this with elite skating ability. He can make a play from anywhere on the ice.”
For the Kraken, the appeal is obvious. DuPont is from Calgary, but his path has already included Western Washington, and the idea of him eventually returning to the Puget Sound is the kind of long-range dream that gets a fan base thinking bigger. In that scenario, he could one day anchor a top pairing with 2026 first-round pick Chase Reid.
Seattle’s blue line already has some pieces in place for that future. Blake Fiddler is expected to join the group, while veterans Brandon Montour and Adam Larsson remain part of the picture. That kind of mix gives the Kraken a defensive foundation that could look very different a couple of years from now.
The current state of that unit also adds to the intrigue. As Simmer wrote this week, “Top guy Vince Dunn turns 30 and will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at season’s end. 32-year old Montour has five years left on his Seattle contract; 33-year-old Larsson has three remaining. Jamie Oleksiak, the “big rig”, who turns 34 in December, has already departed, signing as a free agent this summer with the Canucks.”
Bleacher Report also pointed to how much DuPont could matter for the organization’s timeline, noting that “DuPont’s arrival would significantly accelerate that group’s development. Up front, Matty Beniers, Berkly Catton and newcomer Mackie Samoskevich headline a young core that could drive the franchise forward in the coming years.”
In Other News...
Flyers Rumor Reignites Familiar Question About Their Next Real Upgrade
Rumors around the Flyers have a way of circling back to the same basic idea for Seattle: if the Kraken ever decided to listen on a real difference-maker, Vince Dunn would be one of the first names to surface. The broader market has been busy with its own moving parts, from Jason Robertson settling in on a one-year deal in Dallas to Ottawa keeping its focus on adding a scoring winger and a right-handed defenseman, but for Seattle the conversation still keeps landing on whether its blue line has the kind of upgrade other teams would covet.
For now, though, the Kraken are operating like a team trying to compete rather than a club ready to strip things down. That matters, because it keeps Dunn in a very different category than the kind of player who gets shopped just to see what is out there, even as Seattle continues to sort through its roster decisions and weigh where the next changes might come. The Flyers interest is a reminder of how often these questions resurface around the same core names, but it does not mean the answer is close to changing. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Blue Line Could Be Headed For A Franchise Defining Shift
The Krakens blue line is heading toward a real turning point over the next couple of seasons, with the front office facing a roster puzzle that goes well beyond the usual depth-chart shuffling. Brandon Montour, Adam Larsson and Ryan Lindgren would still be in the picture barring a trade, but the rest of the group is much less settled, and names like Cale Fleury and Josh Mahura look more like placeholders while Seattle sorts out what the defense is supposed to become.
Ryker Evans adds another layer to the uncertainty, since he is due for a major bump after making just two million dollars over the last two seasons, and the organization also has young talent waiting in the wings. Chase Reid, Seattles 7th-overall pick, and Blake Fiddler, a 2025 second-rounder, could eventually join the mix, giving the Kraken several different paths to a revamped back end. The bigger question is whether that future gets shaped by internal growth, a major contract decision, or the kind of draft luck that can change a franchises timeline in an instant. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Fans Can Feel What This Offseason Still Failed To Fix
Seattles offseason has brought a few familiar kinds of transactions, the sort that suggest activity without quite changing the shape of the roster. Bobby McMann is back, Mackie Samoskevich arrived in a trade and got extended, and the departures of Jaden Schwartz and Jamie Oleksiak only sharpen the sense that the Kraken have been shuffling pieces more than upgrading the lineup.
The bigger issue is what still feels unresolved beneath the surface. Seattle remains older than an ideal team on the rise, and while there is a promising wave of young talent coming behind Matty Beniers, the near-term outlook still points more toward fringe playoff territory than a true leap forward. Until the front office finds a way to address the missing impact up front, the offseason will look less like a reset and more like another missed chance to change the ceiling. [Read more 🡒]