Rogers Place in Edmonton is a rare location Bobby McMann failed to score since joining the Seattle Kraken at the trade deadline. The Oilers may try to make him feel more at home there this summer.
McMann has erupted for 10 goals in 16 games with Seattle. If the Kraken don’t lock him up with an extension by July 1, he’s set to become a much sought-after unrestricted free agent. “Bank on” Connor McDavid’s club being one of those suitors, says Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.
Part of the allure is geographic. McMann grew up in Wainwright, Alberta. Besides being the “Buffalo Capital of Canada,” the town of 6,600 is located 128 miles southeast of Edmonton. McMann rooted for the Oilers as a kid; one of his favorites was now-Kraken teammate Jordan Eberle.
Matheson appropriately used the word, “bank.” McMann’s expiring contract pays him $1.35 million this season. The Leafs blanched at his expected asking price of $5 million annually for a new deal. Given his scoring explosion since coming to Seattle, that $5 million number is quickly disappearing in the rear view.
Kraken Were Welcome Trade Destination
If he had to be traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs, McMann was glad it was to the Western Conference. “This is easier. This is a bit of a reset. I didn’t really know anybody on Seattle,” he said.
“If you get traded to a team in the East, a lot of times you don’t like those guys. I’m sure you gain the respect of them, but I can’t imagine going to a team like Montreal. That would be super weird. It’s almost better to go far away.”
The Three “S” Components To McMann’s Game
At 6-foot-2, 217 pounds, McMann’s calling cards are size, shot, and speed. According to NHL Edge, he’s one of the 10 fastest skaters in the league. He first began honing his skating as a boy with his father.
“I would do the five circles on the ice, the crossovers all the time,” McMann recalled. “My dad would be saying, ‘How’s your posture, are you sitting up? Is your head up?’ He was part of that.
“Then in junior and college, I took every rep seriously, every drill. I was always working on my footwork. In college, I thought I could be faster and in college you have time to work on it.”
McMann isn’t shy about calling his own number, a shoot-first mentality that the coaching staff wishes other Kraken would emulate. The winger is averaging more than three shots per game with Seattle, including a whopping eight against the Vegas Golden Knights on Apr. 9.
Botterill’s Choice: Pay Up Or Wave Goodbye
The Kraken have some advantages trying to retain the 29-year-old winger. For one, they have exclusive negotiating rights through June 30. For another, McMann has spoken glowingly about coach Lane Lambert, who he got to know when both were employed by the Maple Leafs last season. Clearly, McMann has thrived in the way Lambert has deployed him.
The knock on the forward in Toronto was that, like a lot of goal-scorers, he could be streaky. When the goals weren’t coming, the Leafs considered McMann a defensive liability. In the Kraken’s home loss to the L.A. Kings on Monday, he wristed home his 29th goal but was also on-ice for three Kings goals.
It’s somewhat similar to how the Kraken currently view Jani Nyman, their own big-bodied prospect with a booming shot (although McMann is a far superior skater).
Has McMann blossomed into a scoring machine the Kraken so desperately need? Or will he revert to the player who was accused of “disappearing” for long stretches in Toronto? And when he did disappear, was that more on McMann or the roles the Leafs placed him in?
General manager Jason Botterill and his analytics experts will have to make their best educated guesses before deciding how many millions and how many years they are willing to offer McMann. If they don’t deliver a satisfactory package, we know at least one division rival who probably will.
Earlier Kraken:
— 5 Ex-Kraken Failing To Thrive Elsewhere
