The Kraken need to reestablish an identity.
It’s a word often heard in hockey, because character, chemistry and commitment are such important elements to finding success in a sport that possesses the ultimate firehouse mentality.
Teams that share a common goal and thread are teams that win. More often than not, regardless of how much the game has changed or softened in recent years, that identity includes a certain level of physicality and even nastiness.
The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are a perfect example. As Hockey Hall of Famer and icon Gordie Howe once said, “I prefer to give, rather than receive.”
The Panthers dole it out. Seattle Hockey Insider had an exclusive off-season chat with Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, who just happens to be 7th all-time on the NHL penalty minutes list and won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues in 2019. Berube (full video at bottom of page) touches on Florida’s success. (Florida’s captain is Aleksander Barkov).
Berube's Maple Leafs took the Panthers to Game-7 this past spring in round-2. The Panthers were steadfast and relentless, while at home the Leafs folded under the pressure of that winner-take-all game.
The next round, the Carolina Hurricanes, a team designed similarly to the Kraken playoff team of 2023 — with a relentless forecheck and pressure in all three zones — succumbed to Florida's physicality and nastiness in just five games.
Two springs ago the Kraken weren't the nastiest, but they didn't need to be. Applying pressure and always being on the puck and in their opponent's space was their form of nasty. They were well balanced while being a complete pain in the ass. They ultimately didn't have the scoring talent to get over the hump.
Now's the time to reassert that pressure, that personality, that identity, especially for a team that still doesn't possess high-end offense. Identity is the first and foremost goal of new head coach Lane Lambert.
Find an identity, build on it, and get everyone to buy in. With that, the battle is half won.
Earlier Kraken:
— No Shockers In The NHL’s Official Kraken Preview
