Simmer’s Holiday 9 – Legitimate fan arguments, a remembrance, and some nifty odds and ends from the Kraken and Canucks.
1) I tossed out a quick Kraken poll question the other day on multiple ‘socials’. “If you’re a Seattle sports fan, when do you start caring about the Kraken?”
It would appear hockey fans were most anxious to respond. With a few dozen inputs, the numbers turned out like this:
— October, start of season — 70%
— After Thanksgiving — 0%
— After the NFL playoffs — 16%
— Call me in April — 14%
2) This note comes in response to a comment from a reader who brings up a valid point. On our ‘Threads’ account, Drew asked “Can you explain why the far more versatile (Eeli) Tolvanen was let go, but they sign (Jacob) Melanson to a 3 year deal for the same dollars NY signed Tolvy?”
“Tolvy” just signed with the New York Rangers for $1.5-million for a season. Melanson’s three-year deal with the Kraken will pay him an average of $1.45-million. So let’s call that salary comparison a wash, other than the fact you’d probably want a 16:03 guy over a 9:22 guy for the same amount of money.
The legitimate question is; what are the two clubs actually looking for and what will they be getting for their investment?
Kraken management can argue that Melanson is 23-years-old, four years younger than Tolvanen, who at 27, should be in his prime. Maybe they’re expecting more offensive upside from the younger player moving forward.
Regardless of whether or not the Finn lives up to his full potential with his Rangers opportunity, isn’t he likely generating more production and value?
The Kraken bosses want to go young with their line-up. Mission accomplished it appears, but at what cost. I’m a big fan of Melanson and his old school style of play, but Drew’s query is a legitimate one.
By the way, we get some interesting notes and questions on our Threads account, but our heaviest interaction and conversations happen on Facebook. Follow us, you’ll get all the stories and videos dropped there, at Pacific North Hockey on FB.
3) Another signing that’s brought plenty of attention and some serious questions; the Vancouver Canucks signing defenceman Zeev Buium to an eight-year deal worth almost $9.4-million per season.
Wow! Yes, he has obvious upside, but has he proven himself enough with 26 points through 76 NHL games? I reckon they’ll find out a bit more this next season as he plays out his entry-level deal that pays him $966,000. The new contract kicks in for 2027′-28 and runs him well into unrestricted free agency (UFA) at age 29.
It’s a rebuild, the Canucks still have close to $18-million in cap space, and the club has a legitimate puck moving defenceman.
I love the comparison to Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens. The latter has proven himself, with 78 points in 82 games last season and 146 points in 166 career NHL matches. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie-of-the-year in 2025.
Hutson is 22. Buium is 20. Starting next season, Buium will be making $500,000 more than Hutson. The Habs D-man’s eight-year deal kicks in this October.
Montreal appears to be getting a great deal/value well into the next decade. How soon before we find out if the Canucks are getting the same thing, or if they sort of screwed themselves?
4) The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, added a couple of more names to the roster in the past five days.
Jack Randl, age-26, joins the Firebirds after recording a career high 23 goals and 26 assists last season with the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Kansas City Mavericks. The Mavericks won the Brabham Cup as the ECHL’s regular season champs before losing in the Kelly Cup Final. Randl earned ECHL Player of the Week honors twice during the regular season.
Two days earlier the Firebirds added goalie Connor Murphy. Yes, same name as the 33-year-old Edmonton Oilers defenceman and 2013 World Junior Gold Medalist. The younger “Murph”, also an American, split time between the AHL and ECHL last season. He has 26 AHL games under his belt with the Calgary Wranglers.
5) The Kraken have released their rookie camp and training camp dates. Rookie camp begins this Friday, September 11th at Kraken Community Iceplex. The key dates for fans; two Prospect Showcase games taking place against the Vancouver Canucks up-and-comers in Abbotsford, BC on Saturday at 4 pm and Sunday at 1 pm.
Abbotsford is the same distance north of the border as Vancouver, just further east, for Kraken fans wanting to make the trip.
Full Kraken training camp runs from September 17th through September 26th and features four preseason games. Find that schedule right here.
6) Trivia Time! One for each club:
1t} Who scored the first preseason goal in the history of the Kraken? (Hint: it came against the Canucks in Spokane)
2t} Who scored the first “real” goal, the first regular season tally, in Vancouver Canucks history?
7) Before becoming a full-time lawyer, a member of Canadian Parliament, an NHL team president, and the author of “The Game”, considered by many to be the greatest hockey book of all time, Ken Dryden was a Hockey Hall of Fame honoured netminder.
He was an NCAA champion at Cornell and a Stanley Cup champion six times. That’s out of a total of eight NHL seasons played with the Canadiens.
I was fortunate to cross paths with him on a few occasions, on camera and off. One fun example is at the bottom of this page. The best summary for a true renaissance man who passed away one year ago today: First Class.
8) Two fascinating intangibles in the Canucks line-up, guys who don’t necessarily get much attention, especially for a club that won’t be getting a ton of notice league-wide as they start through a full rebuild, are center Marco Rossi and winger Paul Cotter.
Centerman Rossi, like Buium, was acquired in the Quinn Hughes trade with the Minnesota Wild last December 12th. Following two straight 20-plus goal seasons with the Minnesota Wild, both in which he played all 82 games, last season was a bit of an injury nightmare. An October foot injury, coupled with a fracture to the same foot after blocking a shot against the Flyers in January, led to a 50-game season.
The Austrian was selected 9th-overall by the Wild in 2020, is just 24-years-of-age and still has tremendous upside. The Canucks hope he lives up to and exceeds his potential. He has two seasons remaining at $5-million per.
The other fun wild card is Cotter. If dude had stronger hockey sense, he might be a superstar. He’s big, 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, brings great energy, and shows occasional flashes of brilliance offensively. He’s fast, abrasive, and tenacious on the forecheck. Who knows, at age 26, maybe he’ll take everything up another notch.
A 2018 4th-round NHL Draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, who spent the last two seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Cotter has 82 points across 296 NHL games played.
He signed a one-year deal with the Canucks on July 1st for $2.15-million.
Keep an eye on both of these gent’s.
9) “Simmer’s 9” is originally in honor of the greatest player of all-time, number-9, Gordie Howe. Just ask Wayne Gretzky if you don’t believe me.
Nine is the most famous number in hockey and the most productive all-time. Howe set NHL scoring records, longevity records, and got plenty of room on the ice by being nasty. Meanwhile, as scary as he was on-ice, he was the ultimate gentleman, generous and kind, off of it.
The number-9 list covers the Original-Six with distinction, a who’s who of Hockey Hall of Famers. The great Maurice “Rocket” Richard with the Canadiens, Bobby Hull, who worshipped Howe, with the Blackhawks, Johnny Bucyk with the Bruins, and to a somewhat lesser extent, although with great distinction in their respective towns, Andy Bathgate of the New York Rangers and Ted “Teeder” Kennedy of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the case of the Blueshirts, Adam Graves came along later and wore the number with pride, while Kennedy’s predecessor Charlie Conacher lived up to the nine as well.
Thank you for jumping on board. Enjoy the Hockey Action!!!
Earlier Kraken:
— Big Time Kraken – NHL Talk With TV’s John Forslund
Earlier Canucks:
— Goalie’s Hard Luck Grind From Kraken To Canucks
Trivia Answer:
1t) Riley Sheahan scored the first ever preseason goal for the Seattle Kraken on September 26th, 2021. You’ll be hearing more about that crazy evening in a few days.
2t) Defenceman Barry Wilkins scored the first ever regular season goal for the Canucks on October 9th, 1970 against the Los Angeles Kings.
VIDEO: Simmer’s Leafs TV 3-minute All-Star chat in 2003 with the great Ken Dryden:
BONUS: Last week’s video with TV’s John Forslund on the Kraken off-season.
