Seattle Kraken 2023-2024 Season Team Preview

The Kraken have the deepest forward group in the NHL

Top to bottom the Kraken can beat you so many ways and get scoring from so many players. Last season (and no this is not going to be a living in the past post) the Kraken had 6 players score 20 or more goals.

Jared McCann led the team with 40. The team had 13 players score 13 or more goals. Contributions up and down the roster. What made this unit so special is that head coach Dave Hakstol could put any of his 4 lines out at any time given their ability to contribute. This is a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches.

Out of the 13 players who scored 13 or more goals, 11 return to build on last season. Daniel Sprong and his 21 goals headed to Detroit and Ryan Donato (14 goals) signed with Chicago. I believe that both players will have solid seasons with their new teams.

Barring injuries, the team will only get better as forward André Burakovsky returns from injury and will add a powerful dimension to the team’s second line and balance the top two lines. Burakovsky scored 13 goals in 49 games last season. When healthy, he was leading the team in scoring with 39 points. His return is massive and I think a lot of hockey folks are forgetting about his role with the team.

The team signed hometown favorite Kailer Yamamoto to replace Sprong and Donato. His signing is a massive upgrade. Though currently slated to have more of a depth role, Yamamoto should quickly establish himself as one of the integral parts of the Kraken machine and see regular minutes on the third and fourth lines. He is going to make it difficult for the coaches to not play him.

This is a good problem to have.

The three biggest developments to watch this season will be the role/impact that Shane Wright has on the team, the return to health of forward André Burakovsky, and the roles of Kailer Yamamoto and Tye Kartye. How these three stories play out will be the difference between the Kraken being elite or just another really good team. Keep an eye on the Oliver Bjorkstrand renaissance.

Forward group grade: B+ 

Matty Beniers is the only real star on this team (I say this even with Jared McCann and his 40 goals last season). The forwards all play a solid two-way game and contribute on the score sheet. Individually they look below average, but they are one of the best in the NHL and tough to matchup against as a whole. Alex Wennberg and Brandon Tanev are massively underrated. 

The Kraken defense can shut down any team on any night

When the Seattle Kraken built this team through the expansion draft, they had the right idea in mind; sticking to a defense first approach. It was no surprise that the team was playing the long-game and building things the right way- not the Vegas way. When Vegas went through the expansion draft they found a way to manipulate opposing GMs (forcing trades that would have not otherwise been done) into getting players that they wanted while stocking draft capital. I honestly had never seen anything like it.

Teams wanting to get out from under garbage contacts gave away players and draft capital in exchange for cap relief. The home run of the expansion draft was the Pittsburgh Penguins not protecting Hall of Fame/superstar goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Just wow. The list of players not protected was interesting.

The Kraken were smart and took top-end defensive talent and impactful forwards. It was clear after the draft that the team was not going to score a lot of goals (setting the stage early for the next offseason team needs).

Vince Dunn,  Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, Cale Fleury, and Will Borgen were all original expansion draft Kraken players. With exception to Fleury, they are the core of this team and the backbone of the roster. Nicely done by the team brass. Three years into the league and five of their 6 starting defensemen came from the expansion draft. I haven’t even discussed Justin Schultz and his role. Crazy deep defensive group.

The Kraken defense is great at shutting down the opposition and pushing the puck outside the house (the zone between the faceoff circles and net). They hit, they block shots, and they limit the quality shots given up. Dunn was drafted for his experience (won a Cup with the Blues) and offensive ceiling. Last season he broke out with14 goals, 50 assists, and 64 points in 81 games.

He was handsomely rewarded with 4-year/$29.4 million contract.

The team lost big bodied Carson Soucy to free agency (Vancouver) but upgraded significantly with the signing of Brian Dumoulin. He should fit right in with this team and will be a fan favorite in no time. Adam Larsson returns to lead this group and acts like a vacuum on the ice with his crazy shot blocking.

The three biggest developments to watch this season will be Dunn’s offensive input, the development of rookie Ryker Evans, and how defensemen Borgen and Fleury handle potential increased ice time. Evans has all of the talent in the world and the team is hoping his puck moving abilities translate in the NHL.

Defensive group grade: A-

Dunn’s offensive numbers and Evan’s potential push this group from a B/B+ to an A-. The pairings all play well together, they hit, they block shots, and they all have shown that they can jump into the rush at times, contributing on offense. Their ability to limit the opposition’s quality shots make them special. If Dunn can repeat last season’s success and Evans is a star, an A- becomes an A.

Philipp Grubauer can be a star

Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer has shown flashes of brilliance in his career. During his time on the Colorado Avalanche he was a favorite to win the Vezina trophy (runner up actually). When he signed with the Kraken it was believed that his amazing numbers with Colorado (33 wins-2018, 36 wins-2019, 39 wins-2020) would continue.

He had done enough to show that he was a franchise goalie, capable of carrying a team on his back, and deserving a massive paycheck. Seattle paid Gru a 6-year/$35.4 contract to be their franchise goalie. Colorado did not feel he was worth that and let him go (only to win the Stanley Cup the very next season with *cough* Darcy Kuemper *cough*).

I will be honest, there were times in the past 2 seasons that I believed in Colorado’s logic and that Grubauer’s elite numbers were the result of playing behind a superstar Avalanche team. Kuemper wins a cup and leaves for a massive payday, and he was subpar on the Capitals- the Avalanche are just a great team. My thinking changed when Gru carried the team on his back as the team went to Game 7 in the second round against a tough Dallas squad. I still believe we win that Game 7 if it were played in Seattle.

Grubauer was sensational most of the postseason. He renewed the team’s faith in him (as well as the fans) and the coaches and front office feel good about moving forward with him as their guy. They also don’t really have a choice, dude is under contract. A lot of ‘ifs’ regarding the team goaltending, but IF Gru picks up where he left off, and IF new backups Joey Daccord and Greatest-helmet-in-NHL-History-wearing goalie Chris Dreidger are able to play at least as good as last years guy Martin Jones, then the Kraken will be set in net. If they falter or struggle massively early in the season, look for the team to make a trade and upgrade.

The team is clearly in a win-now mindset.

Goalie group grade: B-

Grubauer’s amazing postseason gives him one more shot at being ‘the man’ for the Kraken. Daccord (go Sun Devils!) was sensational last season for the AHL affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds and will be looking to stick with the big club. Chris Driedger was out last season with injuries and prior to that was supposed to challenge/share the crease with Grubauer. If either one of these guys gets hot they could take Grubauer’s job. This scenario does not move the grade needle; goaltending has been and is the team’s weakest position group. 

The Kraken could make a splash

The Kraken have been pretty mild when it comes to free agency and trades. Sure, we signed Burakovsky and Grubauer the last 2 off-seasons, but the team has yet to make a splash with a big name player. I could see the Kraken going after Patrick Kane once he’s healthy or trading for a star goalie (Anaheim’s John Gibson or Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck) or center (Mark Scheifele) as the season rolls on. As I have mentioned in previous posts, no team has won a Stanley Cup without a star center and stud goalie. The Kraken may have one of the two already on the roster. Do not be surprised if they do something big this season.

Patrick Kane, though older and not in his prime anymore, would be a great fit on the Kraken and would be a blast to cheer for. Do not be surprised if we see a move like this.

Kane can still play too. His winning pedigree and those hands of his would have fans on fire in the Emerald City.

Overall team grade: B+

The Kraken are well coached, play great situational hockey (special teams- Power Play and PK), and got better with faceoffs and grit play (the addition of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Shane Wright to the roster). Last season was no fluke and the Kraken are no longer a mystery to the rest of the league. We have a target on our back now so it will be interesting to see how the team responds to the pressure.

Will we see someone wearing the ‘C’ this season? Could we see a player like Kane or a goalie like  Gibson or Hellebuyck land in Seattle? Are we be better than last year? The season starts Tuesday, Let’s go!

Fear the deep!