Nothing we hadn’t already told you about the Kraken showed up in the official NHL team preview a couple of days ago.
That’s not surprising when you consider the issues with the club and the direction it’s trying to head are very clear cut. It’s a young team, possibly getting a bit younger, trying to improve on a 7th place finish in the Pacific Division.
Special teams were a weakness for Seattle last season, 23rd in the NHL on the power play and 21st on the penalty kill, as was keeping the puck out of their own net in general. The Kraken will attempt to improve on all of this with their third head coach in five years, Lane Lambert. The former Toronto Maple Leafs associate coach and New York Islanders assistant coach, among other gigs, will have his hands full.
The “three questions for the Seattle Kraken” that my NHL.com and InGoal Magazine writer buddy Kevin Woodley came up with were interesting takes on existing issues. One focused on the presence of recently acquired power forward Mason Marchment, an interesting choice, while the others covered Philipp Grubauer’s struggles in net and the disappointing special teams.
By the way, Woodley is the go-to writer for all things NHL goalies.
While on that topic, he reminds us that the Kraken signed former two-time Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray as insurance in net. He’s been on a rocky road the last few seasons, an issue we brought up here earlier this summer.
There’s really no mysteries as to what Seattle needs to improve on and what they need to accomplish. It’s not quite ‘playoffs-or-bust’ in the Emerald City, but we’re getting close, especially with competition coming from an NBA franchise not that far down the timeline.
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken’s Villeneuve Is One To Watch
