The Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season went down as one to forget. With plenty of promise for a respectable season going into the campaign, the Kraken quickly sunk to the bottom of the Pacific. Will the Kraken’s second season be better than the first?
2021-2022 Season Performance
Regular Season
The Kraken quickly took up residence at the bottom of the Pacific and made it their home for the season. They weren’t too far off a break even team in terms of expected goal rates for and against at 5v5. Strong team defense mostly made up for an offense that had difficulty generating chances of their own. It was abysmal goaltending that set Seattle back at 5v5 and poor special teams exacerbated their goaltending issues.
The lack of offensive weapons at the Kraken’s disposal last season becomes apparent when we look at the individual 5v5 leaders. Seattle had only one forward (Ryan Donato) in the top quartile among NHL forwards for 5v5 P/60 and not a single defenseman was in the top quartile for defensemen. The goaltending issues are more clear as well, with Phillip Grubauer and Joey Daccord having rough seasons. Chris Driedger looked much better, but his season was marred by injury limiting him to 27 games. Now recovering from a torn ACL suffered at the World Championships, he won’t be ready to start the 22/23 season either.
Looking Ahead to 2022-2023
Offseason Moves
The Kraken had plenty of cap space that they put it to use during the free agency period to add some significant pieces to their squad. Andre Burakovsky signed a 5 year, $27.5M deal with Seattle following his Stanley Cup win with the Avalanche. With a top line impact that includes top quartile rates for both 5v5 scoring and 5v5 primary assists, Burakovsky should help supplement a Kraken attack that was in desperate need of an upgrade.
The Kraken also used their cap space to their advantage on the trade market, acquiring Oliver Bjorkstrand from Columbus after the Blue Jackets ran up a cap hit well above the limit during the early part of free agency. For the cost of just a 3rd and 4th round pick, the Kraken added another top six forward.
According to CapFriendly, the Kraken have under $2M in available cap space with a full 23 player roster. That leaves the door open for a late offseason depth addition.
22/23 Roster
The Kraken look like a below average team heading into the 22/23 season but good enough that they may be able to stay in the playoff race. Team defense is a strength, as it was last season, while their offense looks like it has improved over the inaugural lineup. With some additions to the top six, the forward group looks competitive. The defense and goaltending look like potential areas of concern where the Kraken’s season could be defined.
Pacific Division Landscape
The Kraken have climbed out of the depths of the Pacific with some savvy additions this offseason but they still have work to do to catch the division leaders. A healthy Vegas team looks tough to beat, while the Battle of Alberta appears set to rage on near the top of the division. Seattle looks like a team that could push their way into the playoff race but is more likely than not to be on the outside of the playoff picture at the end of the season.
Long Term Outlook
The Kraken’s long term outlook has the look of a team past their prime. Many of their current players will be unrestricted free agents when their current deals expire and are on the wrong side of aging curves until then. Seattle will need to find a way to move out some of these players while they still have value and replace them with younger prospects.
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Historical player data from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
