Seattle Kraken Grades: Adam Larsson
Next up in Seattle Kraken grades, we look at Adam Larsson. How would you grade his 2023-24 performance?
Fresh off of signing a brand new contract extension, defenseman Adam Larsson is staying in Seattle for another four more years. This all comes before what would have been his contract year, and to me, I thought it was gonna be his last with the Kraken.
So, with that said, let's look at how he did in 2023-24.
Season Recap
The 2023-24 season was a rough one for the Kraken, as nearly every member had down years. Larsson is among those, as he disappointed many last season. He had been solid in his first two seasons with the newly formed Kraken, but this past campaign was a black-mark on his long career.
In 81 games, the blueliner was absent for a good majority of the season. Larsson potted four goals and added 14 assists for 18 points. For a defenseman, this is not terrible. But, comparing it to his career averages per season, it was very low. Especially since he has turned up the notch on his offensive output since being selected by the Kraken in the 2021 Expansion draft, by scoring eight goals per year in back-to-back seasons.
Another area where he was lacking, was the physicality and toughness departments. Larsson, who has notoriously been regarded as a hard player to play against, saw significant decreases in both hits and blocks. His totals of 151 blocks and 162 hits were still respectable, but not up to par with his usual performances.
Adam Larsson. C. . . Adam Larsson
His final season grade is a C. It was an underwhelming season for Larsson, which remains true with much of the rest of this defensive core. Up and down the three defensive lines, the negatives severely outweigh the positives in terms of performance last season. His pairing, alongside Will Borgen, should be a solid duo in 2024-25.
With a new contract in hand, the Kraken have faith in the 31-year-old Larsson to be a dependable second-pair d-man. He, along with new defenseman Brandon Montour, should make last year's abysmal defensive performance a distant memory. For the Kraken to have any kind of success, Larsson must improve, and if possible, have a career year in 2024-25.
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