Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2024-25 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken.
2024-25 Seattle Kraken
2023-2024 Season
The Seattle Kraken followed their first-ever playoff series win in 2023 with a rather deflating season in 2o24, as things just did not go their way. They missed the playoffs by 17 points, and never really felt like they were in the race after a slow start to the season. Going 34-25-13, they finished with 81 points, sixth in the Pacific division, and 12th in the Western Conference.
Starting the year with just two wins in their first nine games, the Kraken found themselves in a hole early that they couldn’t respond from. This led to the team selling off Alex Wennberg at the NHL Trade Deadline, which was the only move they made. However, one bright spot for the Kraken was their goaltending. Their team save percentage was eighth in the league at .909%. They were one of only two teams in the top 14 in save percentage not to make the playoffs.
This strong performance was led by a breakout from Joey Daccord, who had a career-high 0.916 save percentage in 50 games. Prior to last season, he had never played more than eight games in a season, and had never had a save percentage above .900. The 2024-25 Seattle Kraken will hope he can repeat that strong performance.
2023-24 Offseason
After such a disappointing season, the Kraken made it clear that they were not happy with those results. They have had an incredibly busy offseason, both bringing in new names as well as re-signing current core players to longer deals. During Free Agency, they brought in veterans Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour to help provide some depth in their lineup. Both of these players have won a Stanley Cup in recent years, and have been very critical parts of their respective teams.
Factor that in with a long-term Matty Beniers extension, and re-signing Eeli Tolvanen, and the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken start to shape up to be a very interesting team. Before training camp, they also re-signed Adam Larsson to a new contract that will keep him in Seattle for four more years after this one.
To make room for all of these new contacts, they moved Brian Dumoulin to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round draft pick. This cleared up some much-needed cap space.
2024-25 Projected Lineup
Forwards
Jared McCann – Matty Beniers – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz – Chandler Stephenson – Andre Burakovsky
Eeli Tolvanen – Yanni Gourde – Jordan Eberle
Tye Kartye – Shane Wright – Brandon Tanev
Top Six
On paper, this 2024-25 Seattle Kraken forward group is certainly interesting. The biggest thing that stands out, is that at this point they still lack that alpha number one player. There is hope that Beniers may be able to be that. However, his time in the NHL so far has been slightly below that level. Instead, the Kraken will likely once again focus on a balanced attack up and down their lineup. The depth they have amassed could make this a very effective strategy.
The biggest need for the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken will be some positive regression from top players. Beniers, McCann, Schwartz, etc. all had regression last season which saw less points than in 2022-23. The Kraken will need to hope that two years ago was closer to what they will be.
The other factor that they need is health from Burakovsky. He has played just under 50 games in each of the last two years, which causes an issue when you need to rely on even more depth. Health from him mixed with the addition of Stephenson should hopefully give the Kraken a reliable 2nd line, and let the third line score more goals against easier matchups.
Bottom Six
That brings us to the bottom of the forward group which is arguably just as intriguing. The thrid line we have outlined here for Seattle does have some high-end talent. Eberle has a tough year last season and still put up 44 points, and Gourde is one of the more underrated players in the league.
However, the real question will be what can some of Seattle’s younger players upfront do? Wright has not panned out to be the player they had hoped when they drafted him fourth overall in the 2o22 NHL Draft. However, an overall strong year in the AHL last year means there is a shot with the big roster once again. And due to Seattle’s strong depth, playing with someone like Eberle or Tanev in the bottom six will give him legit opportunities.
The other interesting thing to watch when some injuries inevitably happen is who the Kraken turn to. They have names like Mac McCormick, John Hayden, Mitchell Stephens, and Ben Myers to help fill in a pinch. However, Jagger Firkus is a name that may have a chance to make the team right out of camp. Add Eduard Sale, Carson Rehkopf, and Caton Berkley to the list of intriguing players for future seasons as well.
Defence
Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak – Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans – Will Borgen
Top Four
The defence core of the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken team will be an interesting one to watch. They have a lot of familiar names on paper. However, it is a costly group that, for the most part, isn’t very young. Montour, Oleksiak, and Larsson are all 30 or 31 and even Dunn is 27 now. They will need to hope that age isn’t a concern for this season, as plenty of NHL defencemen tend to slow down into their 30s.
The biggest question will be what can Montour bring? During his two deep playoff runs, he was a PP specialist who was elite at moving the puck with the Florida Panthers. The Kraken will gladly take his expertise there, as their power play percentage has only been league-average, and their total goals per game was among the worst in the league last season.
If Montour can help Dunn bring some offence to this blueline, the team may see themselves rise in that category.
Depth Defence
The depth for the 2o24-25 Seattle Kraken on defence will also be interesting. Mahura and Borgen are both guys who have spent time in the NHL, and are more than serviceable options. However, it will be interesting to watch the 22-year-old Evans develop. The 35th overall pick from the 2021 draft put up some very impressive numbers over the last two seasons in the AHL, which saw him get the call for 36 big league games where he had nine points. No doubt the Kraken will hope he can keep developing on that third pair, so he can take a bigger role if needed going forward.
Ty Nelson is an intriguing piece moving forward, but may not be NHL-ready at this time. Maxime Lajoie and Cale Fleury have both seen NHL action and are guys who can step in if any injuries do occur.
Goalies
Joey Daccord
Phillip Grubauer
While Grubauer is making more than Daccord, after last years season it would seem foolish not to have Daccord as the starting 1A for this tandem. It may end up being just that, a tandem. However, Daccord had a much stronger season last year and got more of the starts.
Having Grubauer as a secondary option may be important, as Daccord’s highest games played was last year. There is a good argument for keeping him as rested as possible to get the best version out of him. Look for a similar 50 / 33 game split from the duo this year.
Players to Watch
Matty Beniers
The 2024-25 Seattle Kraken campaign doesn’t solely fall on any one person. However, the most important person may very well be Beniers. The second overall pick from 2021 had a breakout season in 2022-23, scoring 57 points in 80 games during his first full NHL season. However, last year that dropped to 37 points in 77 games. If this Kraken team wants to step back into the playoff mix, it has to come from the high-end talent that Beniers showed he has.
For his age, his defensive game is already very strong. This gives him a high floor to start at when trying to become that true 1C the team needs. However, in the offensive zone, he needs to continue to improve. The raw point totals would be nice, but the Kraken also need him to start driving play at a strong rate too.
Brandon Montour
The massive offseason addition for the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken was Montour. Keeping an eye on him to see how he thrives outside of a very talent Panthers system will be key. He has high-end talent, especially in the offensive zone which is something that is much-needed. However, the Florida Panthers system has also been excellent at putting defencemen into places to succeed. Watching if Montour can take what will absolutely be an expanded role and run with it, will be a key factor for this year.
Prediction for the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken
Seattle is maybe the biggest wild card out of any team in the NHL. They both have their fair share of question marks and reasons for optimism. On one hand, if everything clicks like they hope, the depth at forwards and new additions will mean a team that is much higher up the scoring charts, with Daccord solidifying himself as a true number-one goalie.
On the other hand, if last year was closer to reality and some of their key players can’t repeat seasons from 2022, they may find themselves in a similar spot. No doubt they should be closer to the playoff bubble this year. Look for them to be competing for a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Main Photo: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
