The Seattle Kraken for the next 10 weeks will be without the forward who led them in goal-scoring each of their first three seasons, and has never dipped below 20.
Jared McCann sustained a lower body injury Thursday against the Utah Mammoth.
After practice Monday, coach Lane Lambert said, “It’s a blow to us for sure. His ability to put the puck in the back of the net, his shot on the power play, and certainly a veteran presence out there.
“He makes plays under pressure, an element of poise we’re going to miss.”
Injuries limited McCann to 52 games last season, and in exit interviews in April said he hadn’t been at 100% all year. He started his offseason with a medical procedure, and reported to training camp in September in good health. The team hasn’t officially said whether the 30-year-old winger sustained a new injury or aggravated the old one.
Prior to that, he’d been a warrior through nagging ailments, playing 315 of 328 regular season games in his first four Kraken seasons. The Stratford, Ontario native holds the team single season record of 40 goals in 2022-23, and followed that up with 29 in 2023-24. His five year, $25 million contract expires at the end of this season.
Opening For Nyman
Jani Nyman was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley, but didn’t dress in Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild. He started the season as the hottest Firebird, scoring five goals in the team’s first two games and being named league player of the week. The Finnish forward has nine goals and two assists through nine games at CV.
Defense-first coach Lambert seemed to sour on Nyman last March after his line (with Ben Meyers and Jacob Melanson) was on-ice for three goals in a dispiriting late-season loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. “The fourth line can’t get scored on three times,” Lambert said at the time. “We need more out of those guys in that situation.”
At the AHL level, Nyman has since reportedly improved his play without the puck. “Last year was a good learning year for him,” said Lambert. “He’s had a great start to the season at Coachella Valley. He’s moving his feet, he’s going to the net, using his shot. Now he has to translate it up here in the NHL.”
For those wondering why a Danish Firebirds teammate, Oscar Fisker-Molgaard, didn’t get the promotion, he couldn’t. Coachella Valley announced Oct. 23 that Fisker-Molgaard would be out “approximately six weeks with an upper body injury.”
To Have A Shot, Kraken Need More Shots
The Kraken rank 23rd in the NHL in shots on goal per game, 26.2. This continues an unwelcome trend from last season, when the Kraken averaged 25.5, tied for 27th. (Like any statistic, this one isn’t perfect; one of the teams with fewer SOG than Seattle last year was the 50-win Dallas Stars.)
Despite the lack of shots, the Kraken still rank seventh in scoring, 3.58 goals per game, ahead of Vegas, Tampa, and Minnesota, among others. How can that be? Credit a 13.7% shooting percentage, 5th best in the league.
Count the Denver Post among those who think that percentage is unsustainable. “Seattle does not have the top-end players to sustain anything close to that. The Kraken are 28th in the league in expected goals for % (xGF%) at 5-on-5 and have a 70% penalty kill (70.6% to be exact). One or both of those things needs to improve very soon, or Seattle will almost certainly drift into the 20s in the league standings where everyone projected the Kraken to be.”
Earlier Kraken:
— Two Wild Breakaway Goals Too Much For Kraken
Earlier Canucks:
— The Canucks Are On Their Own Sad, Little Planet
BONUS VIDEO: Weekend recap … “Kraken Reaction!”
