Vince Dunn kept the Seattle Kraken’s blue line moving in 2025-26, and he did it with the kind of steady offense that makes a defenseman impossible to ignore.
Dunn appeared in 81 games and finished with 44 points, scoring 11 goals and adding 33 assists. The only game he missed came because of an upper-body injury, and it cost him just one night on the ice.
He wasted no time making his presence felt. In Seattle’s home and season opener on Oct.
9, Dunn scored the first goal of the game and the season, beating the Anaheim Ducks just two minutes in. A defenseman opening the scoring set the tone for how much he shaped the Kraken’s attack from the back end.
He followed that up with three assists over the next two games, two on Oct. 11 and one on Oct. 14, giving him a three-game point streak to start the year.
That wasn’t the only stretch where Dunn stayed hot. His longest point streak was three games, but he put together five separate streaks across the season. His best run came from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8, when he piled up five points in three games.
Dunn also continued to anchor Seattle’s top pair alongside Adam Larsson. The two have handled that assignment since the start of their time in Seattle, and the coaching staff briefly split them up in April for the first time since the 2021-22 season to experiment with other defense combinations. That didn’t last long, and the pair was back together before the season ended.
The fit still makes sense. Dunn brings the offense, Larsson brings the defense, and together they give the Kraken a veteran first pair with plenty of NHL experience and obvious chemistry.
There’s also a contract wrinkle here. This is the final year of Dunn’s four-year deal with Seattle, which means he could reach free agency after the 2026-27 season. He also just earned another sign of trust from the organization by being named an alternate captain, joining Larsson as a wearer of the “A.”
For the season, Dunn earns an A. He delivered consistent production, mattered on both ends, and remained one of the Kraken’s most important players. Across his five seasons in Seattle, he ranks third on the team in points, behind only Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle, and he’s been a clear asset ever since arriving.
Heading into 2026-27, the question is simple: can Dunn keep that level up and give Seattle enough reason to keep him around?
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Blackhawks Rebuild Still Has One Worry Fans Cant Ignore
The long view in Seattle has rarely looked more interesting than it does right now, with the Kraken part of an early conversation about which NHL teams could be staring at a premium 2027 draft slot. The piece surveys a handful of clubs still sorting out their rebuilds and points out that roster depth, prospect development and injuries can all shape how quickly a team gets out of the league's lower tier.
For the Kraken, the concern is less about a single headline weakness than the overall shape of the lineup, especially in the middle of the forward group. Even with bold talent bets around the roster, there is still a sense that the team has not fully closed the gap up front, which is why this kind of projection has Seattle in the same breath as other clubs that could be spending more time looking upward in the standings than forward to spring. [Read more 🡒]