Simmer’s Weekend-9
1) What’s going on with the Seattle Kraken’s franchise-wide audit? Not sure. We do know the club’s various staffs are hard at work these days, in meetings, planning for next season. For the hockey op’s staff and GM Jason Botterill, that would mean preparing for the NHL Draft at the end of this month and figuring out who’s going to fill out the coaching staff. There’s also free agency coming up on July 1. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything or everything.
2) The NHL lost a big name this past week with the passing of former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher. “Trader Cliff” was never afraid to pull the trigger on deals, most famous for the huge trade in January of 1992 that sent enforcer Craig Berube, defencemen Alexander Godynyuk, Gary Leeman, and Michel Petit and goalie Jeff Reese to the Calgary Flames in exchange for future Hockey Hall of Fame center Dougie Gilmour, D-men Jamie Macoun and Rick Nattress, forward Kent Manderville, and goalie Rick Wamsley.
Prior to that the 2004 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee managed the Calgary Flames to a 1989 Stanley Cup championship. Following his years running the Leafs, he became a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the GM of the then Phoenix Coyotes. He returned to Toronto to act as an advisor for the Maple Leafs up until his death at age 90 on Friday.
Fletcher’s son Chuck followed in dad’s footsteps, managing both the Minnesota Wild and the Philadelphia Flyers for extended periods.
3) Less famous, but nearly as impactful in many other ways, the NHL also lost former Buffalo Sabres captain and general manager Gerry Meehan on Friday at age 79.
The league announced his passing on Saturday and included this:
“Chosen by the Sabres in the 1970 Expansion Draft, he assisted on the first goal in franchise history and captained the Club to its first playoff appearance in 1973. Upon retirement after a 10-year NHL career with six teams, Meehan earned his law degree and became the Sabres’ assistant GM under the legendary Scotty Bowman. He succeeded Bowman as GM in 1986; made a series of blockbuster trades to acquire Dale Hawerchuk, Pat LaFontaine and Dominik Hasek and was instrumental in bringing Alexander Mogilny to Buffalo upon his hockey-altering defection from the Soviet Union in 1989.”
Drafted by the Maple Leafs as a left wing in 1963, Meehan played just 25 games for the club in a career that saw 670 NHL games for six different teams, including the Vancouver Canucks.
4) The Seattle Kraken presently pick 7th-overall and 25th-overall in the first round of the upcoming NHL Draft on June 26th. That first pick is a result of their final place in the standings combined with the NHL Draft Lottery, while the later pick was acquired in March of 2025 in a three-team deal that ultimately sent Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Kraken also have a conditional first-round pick from Tampa in 2027.
Will the Kraken stay put and take one of the highly touted defenseman that should be available at number-7, or will they package picks/assets and try to move up to grab centerman Caleb Malhotra of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs?
Seattle needs depth on D and help up the middle more than anything else.
The NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo wrapped up on Saturday. It was a chance for Kraken brass, along with all the other NHL team managements, to interview and evaluate the top prospects.
5) On Friday, former Kraken assistant coach Jay Leach was named the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Rangers. Leach spent three seasons behind the Kraken bench alongside head coach Dave Hakstol. When the group was relieved of its duties, Leach moved on as an assistant with the Boston Bruins.
The former collegiate hockey player at Providence College went on to play a dozen professional seasons of mostly minor league hockey as a defenseman. He played in a total of 70 NHL games with five different clubs; his lone NHL goal came with the San Jose Sharks during the 2009-’10 season.
6) Trivia Time! — Where did Dave Hakstol coach last season? (Answer at bottom)
7) For intense or even just casual fans of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and the Seattle Torrent, know that we’ve continued our regular coverage of the club this off-season. The franchise has been busy lately and will continue to be so right up through the PWHL Draft later this month.
The league recently added four more teams as part of the next wave of expansion and the Torrent have already lost three players to the new teams. We’ve also covered captain Hilary Knight being left off the protected list, and where team GM Meghan Turner is headed with her roster plans.
8) Seattle Hockey Insider / Pacific North Hockey provided you an exclusive update not too long ago on the contract talks between the Kraken and prize winger and unrestricted free agent (UFA) Bobby McMann. We’ll give it another look this coming week. The team needs a deal prior to the start of NHL free agency on July 1st.
It looks for now like sniper Eeli Tolvanen, veteran forward Jaden Schwartz, and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak are all moving on. That’s not confirmed for the first two men on that list and we’ll try to ascertain details on that this week as well.
9) The Stanley Cup Final has been a dandy so far; a great, tight, physical battle between two big, veteran, hard-working clubs in the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights. If you haven’t tuned in yet, I urge you to do so. It’s “big-boy hockey” and entertaining as hell. Game-3 is Saturday night in Vegas.
Enjoy the Hockey Action!!
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Forgotten Footnotes; And Paw Notes
Earlier Canucks:
— Canucks Leaders On Drafting The Coach’s Son
Trivia Answer: Dave Hakstol was an assistant coach with the Presidents Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche this past season. He took a year off — why not, he was still under contract and getting paid — for the 2024-’25 season between his departure from the Kraken and then joining the Av’s.
