The 2024 NHL offseason flew by, hey? Don’t look now, but the Seattle Kraken are scheduled to kick off the 2024-25 season with an opening-night matchup against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, October 8th.
A lot went wrong for the Kraken during the 2023-24 season, which leaves a great deal of room for improvement for the team’s newcomers, including a new-look coaching staff headlined by head coach Dan Bylsma and up-and-coming assistant Jessica Campbell.
The Kraken also made a splash in free agency, signing forward Chandler Stephenson (seven years, $6.25 million average annual value/AAV) and defenseman Brandon Montour (seven years, $7.14 million AAV) to hefty – and collar-tug-inducing – contracts.
Seattle waved goodbye to several veterans, including Justin Schultz (UFA), Brian Dumoulin (Anaheim Ducks), and Tomas Tatar (New Jersey), while likely promoting promising youngsters Shane Wright and Ryker Evans into full-time NHL roles.
As you will see below, I have taken an optimistic angle of the Kraken’s fortunes this season. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Prediction 1: Head Coach Dan Byslma is a Jack Adams Award Finalist
For better or for worse, it’s often easy to predict who will garner most of the vote share in the Jack Adams Award race for any given year.
A coach leads a dominant team that sets several previously untouchable NHL records? Pencil them in for at least a finalist nomination. A new bench boss for a talented but underperforming team helps them reach their potential? Lock them in for a Jack Adams nod. A coach takes an unheralded group to unexpected heights? You’ll see them in the conversation as well.
For new Kraken head coach Bylsma, his first season in Seattle will be defined by an attempt to rebuild his reputation after nearly a decade removed from leading an NHL bench. Bylsma’s resume will forever be highlighted by the fact that he led Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang to their first Stanley Cup win all the way back in 2009, but that doesn’t do much for public sentiment 15 years later and especially not after an uninspiring stint in Buffalo with the Sabres.
In his favor is the fact that Bylsma won 94 of 144 regular-season games in the American Hockey League (AHL) as the frontman for the Coachella Valley Firebirds and steered them to back-to-back Calder Cup Finals, though they lost both times. Both Wright and Evans learned under Bylsma’s tutelage in the AHL, and that familiarity could serve him well in his redemption arc if he lets the kids loose.
I predict Bylsma will help the Kraken improve on their 34-35-13 (80 points) record from last season and get back to the playoffs with around the 98 points it took the Vegas Golden Knights to qualify as the second wildcard team last season. Doing so will likely earn Bylsma a Jack Adams nomination and vault him back into the league’s good graces.
Prediction 2: Joey Daccord is an NHL All-Star
This prediction was almost a reality last season and would go hand in hand with Bylsma stacking up enough wins to earn respect in the eyes of the voting bloc.
Daccord took the reins from a struggling Philipp Grubauer last season and played 50 games while posting a .916 save percentage (SV%), ranking 10th among qualified goalies (minimum ten games played). His stellar play between the posts wasn’t enough to drag the Kraken into the playoffs or earn a last-minute All-Star Game invite, but he is well-placed to achieve the distinction this season.
There is no indication that Grubauer will ever recreate the form that saw him earn a Vezina Trophy nomination in 2020-21 (.922 SV%), and he’s set to turn 33 in November while never cracking the .900 SV% benchmark during his three-year Kraken tenure.
Daccord has the upper hand in the crease battle and will be insulated by a stronger supporting cast up front and on the back end. Of course, the journeyman netminder only has 69 NHL games to his name, so an abrupt fall back to Earth is just as likely an outcome. I’m betting that he takes another step next season.
Prediction 3: Shane Wright Scores 20 Goals and 50 Points
Although Wright’s second season in the Kraken organization was defined by more consistency than his turbulent rookie campaign, he was stashed in the AHL for most of the year. He tallied 22 goals and 47 points in 59 games with Coachella Valley. He earned a late-season audition with the Kraken and potted four goals and five points in eight games, flashing the tantalizing potential that made him the fourth-overall pick in 2022.
While there is room for Wright to play a regular role in the NHL lineup, his avenue to top-six deployment and primary powerplay usage is unclear.
The Kraken’s new acquisition in Stephenson fills up the open center spot in the top six, and veterans will likely take top powerplay deployment based on seniority to start.
I don’t think Wright will maintain his 41-goal pace from last season, and he’ll have to increase his shot rate (12 in eight games). Still, I can see him forcing his way into more playing time than the 13-odd minutes he averaged in his brief showing at the end of the season, at which point 20 goals shouldn’t be a problem.
Kraken Hoping for Positive Steps in 2024-25
While the enthusiasm of having a new team in a market after an extended time away (try nearly 100 years) can help cushion the blow of a few lean years, every fanbase has its breaking point.
The Kraken are heading into their fourth year of existence with only a single playoff appearance to show for their efforts. Historically speaking, the Kraken are one of the most successful expansion teams in NHL history through their first few seasons, but the recent success of their expansion cousins in the Vegas Golden Knights could become an unsightly source of frustration and envy.
That is all to say that there is a lot riding on this season for the Kraken as an organization, as exemplified by their offseason activity. Yet, their prospect pool should bear fruit before long, which ranked 12th in The Athletic’s rankings last season and eighth in The Hockey Writers’ 2024-25 preseason rankings.
Here’s to an entertaining and successful 2024-25 season on the ice for the Kraken!
Data courtesy of the NHL.
