We The Fans: Kraken Need to Be Realistic About this Season Before the Trade Deadline After Overtime Loss Against The Minnesota Wild

The Seattle Kraken struggled to put the puck in the net against Minnesota, but displayed a tremendous amount of grit to get a point out of a game that looked all but lost. A shortened game summary basically saw the Kraken down two goals after two periods of play to a faster team after some well screened shots on Phillip Grubauer who is the second best goaltender in the league through the first half of the season(.926 save percentage). The starting goaltender in Minnesota which they call “The Wall of St.Paul” in Jesper Wollstedt is the best goaltender in the National Hockey League with a .928 Save Percentage. The Kraken put a solid effort into the third period that looked dynamic and dangerous and made the game fun to watch finding two goals late. The Kraken only won 17% of their puck battles in this game and I wish I could clip in segments of the game where players were in the right places and for whatever reason chose not to try and make a play for the puck. The Kraken mailed in the first two periods and managed to steal a point and extend their point streak to ten games. The Kraken were outshot in this game by 6 shots (34-28), but it is interesting to note that the Kraken had at least 18 missed shots which makes it much easier for the best goal tender in the league. Taking the extra second to make sure we hit the other teams net and force the goalie to make a save has to be the next step this team take if they are going to continue to look to improve.

Adam Larsson (3) and Matty Beniers (8) were the goal scorers in this game for the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken sit at 48 points through 42 games played and maintain the third spot in the Pacific Division. Vegas has 50 points with 42 games played and Edmonton has 50 points with 44 games played above the Kraken; while below them sits San Jose with 47 points in 43 games and the LA Kings with 46 points in 42 games. Utah has 45 points through 44 games played and Nashville has 44 points with 43 games played. The point of all of this being stated is that this is an 82 game season and not all of these teams are going to make the Top 8 in the Western Conference, but the Kraken current spot in the Pacific is the best spot for them considering how tight this playoff race is going to be. The team has the goaltending, the team has defensive structure that is really good and a very well thought out system that relieves issues in game through utilizing strategic situations and real time goaltender feedback and preferences to put the goaltender in situations to be successful. With the Kraken winning it is harder to write and for people to understand things they could be doing better as it is easy to get caught up in what the scoreboard says.

This game was a learning moment for a young Kraken team that was without its Captain. Jordan Eberle isn’t going to be on the ice forever and at 35 it was interesting to see how much this team needs a leader. When you do it by committee someone sets the tone and no matter how skill you have; the team does seem to have an abundance of skill coming up, so it would have been nice to see one of the seasoned veterans or alternates step into that role and try get the team to settle in earlier, realistically after the conclusion of Eberle’s contract Stephenson or Montour seem like the most likely candidates for the next Kraken Captain barring a trade of either one of them. The Kraken have had to find ways to produce given adversity and now that adversity calls for a production of leadership from someone in the starting lineup as the team goes on a road trip that sees them play the Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Rangers, the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruinsand then Utah Mammoth. The Kraken have 2 find a way to get 6 points out of the 10 available points on this road trip. If you can get 60% of the remaining points for this season then we have a realistic chance of making the playoffs. Our young guys can benefit so much from the experience of a playoff series and getting them in the habit of winning earlier in their careers is how you build a championship culture within a professional sports environment. It hard not to want to go back once you’ve experience the playoffs at the highest level and every player on the roster should want to play in those games.

So the team is 8-0-2 over the last ten game but more importantly the things that Lane Lambert and Chris Taylor have done since taking over coaching has been phenomenal. Powerplay is Scary. Penalty Kill was terrible, but is improving. Offense was terrible and still lacks scoring depth, but it’s hard to argue that this team would be third in the Pacific if it wasn’t for the excellent coaching staff that has been assembled. Other teams fans do not see our team as a good team which in crazy given the record, but this team is finding ways to get excited when others succeed and it has built chemistry and you can tell how guys are starting to come together and believe in each other in the locker room and it is great to see if you are a Kraken. So we didn’t win this game and Coach Lambert said in his post game interview “don’t like the way we started the game, it was too slow, and he didn’t like the way we finished the game, but he did note a positive in the powerplay had nine scoring chances.” Coach also stated that he’s “not interested in getting in a measuring stick game, we believe this group can beat anybody, and I am worried about measuring this group.

Phillip Grubauer deserves a consideration to be the first and only other German Goaltender to win the Vezina since Olaf Kolzig in 2000 if he can keep this up for the Kraken. Kraken Gruuu! was the best player on the ice In the loss as he saved 31 of the 34 shots he faced and has been a huge part of the teams ten game point streak. He’s 3rd in expected goals against saved, 2nd in the NHL in save percentage, and he has to battle with a Goaltending Prodigy in Joey Daccord and son of one of the top goalie coaches of former and current NHL players. Grubauer is having what some might call “A freaking sick season” to say the least and Seattle is in the playoff race. Will Seattle Trade a pick and player to get these two men some goal support? Probably not, regardless the team has to find a way to force the other teams goalie to out play our goalie and the system we have built. Keep it simple and look for trades that can help you win in the future as fun as this season has been to watch you can not sell out on trades, however trading Jaden Schwartz and a 2026 3rd round or 2027 2nd round draft pick to the LA Kings for Kuzmenko and could be on notable consideration when he finally comes back. The Kraken could use another threat on the power play and any uptick in offense would greatly help this team, We have plenty of role position players, but the Kings could benefit from the way Schwartz plays defensively, roles he fills on the Penalty Kill and his veteran prescience, but he also led the team in goals before his injury. Trading for a forward to help provide more goal support and shows that you believe in the system and goaltending you have now. Andrei Kuzmenko would be help the Kraken to score as many goals as possible and would be able to slide into First Line Wing and Powerplay role for the Kraken as he is a great fit for this system and fierce competitor. Both Players are in the final year of their contracts, but both teams have different needs and a move like this would make both teams better Hockey Clubs.

Very Respectfully,

Caleb Nance