Belated congratulations to Kraken forwards Ben Meyers and Ryan Winterton, who both signed two-year contract extensions with the club, announced on February 24th.
Meyers is a 27-year-old organizational depth player, a forward who’s not afraid to do whatever is necessary to help the team win. Winterton is a 22-year-old forward who developed as one of the franchise’s top prospects coming out of the 2021 NHL Draft.
While more is expected from Winterton in the long run, both need to help the Kraken with scoring. It’s that simple.
Long gone are the days of fourth line productivity from the likes of Morgan Geekie, Ryan Donato, and Daniel Sprong. Those three combined for 44 goals and 105 points as fourth-liners on Seattle’s one and only playoff team in 2023.
Feel free to add up the goal total this season from four different players who’ve played in the bottom six / on the fourth line. Between Winterton, Meyers, Freddie Gaudreau and Kaapo Kakko, the four have a total of 19 goals with 24 games remaining.
Jacob Melanson is another guy you’ll see at the bottom of the forward line-up; another pest who will do absolutely anything to help the club win while pissing off opponents. He has one goal, three assists and 23 penalty minutes over 23 games.
We saw both Melanson and Meyers drop the mitts earlier this week against the Stars. While Meyers and Dallas’s Justin Hryckowian picked up fighting majors, Melanson and Adam Erne of the Stars somehow managed to just get roughing calls, despite Erne punching Melanson in the back of the head three or four times.
While the aforementioned Kraken are good for Seattle’s team identity, bringing grit and determination to a league that seems to get a little softer with each passing season, they still need to help with scoring.
If one were to grade Seattle management on these signings and the overall bottom six depth, it would make the most sense to give them an incomplete; much like with their top-six forwards but in a different way.
We’re wrapping up year five and the Seattle bosses continue to peck at this roster, with mediocre results.
(Along those lines, forward Tye Kartye, feisty but with limited skill and value, was waived by Seattle and claimed by the New York Rangers.)
Right now the Kraken making the playoffs seems like a distinct possibility, not so much because of Seattle’s consistency or productivity, but because the Western Conference is so weak below the top three or four clubs.
Ultimately that’s not a winning formula. Let’s see if they pull a trigger or two before the March 6th NHL trade deadline.
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Drop 2 In A Row Coming Out Of The Break
