Off-season review: the Seattle Kraken spent a lot of money this summer

The Seattle Kraken might be the most improved team in the Pacific Division this summer, aside from the Edmonton Oilers. After missing out on last year's playoffs, the Kraken made a significant effort to climb back with some major off-season signings.

Welcome to a new Oilersnation summer series called Off-Season Review, where we dive into what's happening with the other 15 teams in the Western Conference. So far, we've looked at the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, and the Vegas Golden Knights (link at the bottom of the article). In this installment, we'll focus on the Seattle Kraken.

The Seattle Kraken 2023-24 Season in a Nutshell

The Seattle Kraken, the newest team in the National Hockey League, made the postseason for the first time in franchise history in 2023, advancing to Game 7 of the second round. However, they fell short and regressed significantly in 2023-24, missing the postseason with a 34-35-13 record, tied with the Calgary Flames for the fifth-worst record in the Pacific Division. By the trade deadline, the Kraken were out of the playoff race, with 63 points, six points behind the Golden Knights.

Deciding to re-tool, the Kraken traded expiring unrestricted free agent Alexander Wennberg to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Another notable transaction around this time was re-signing former Oiler Jordan Eberle to a two-year deal worth $9.5 million ($4.75 million annually).

Ultimately, they finished with the eighth-overall pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft, a clear indicator of their mediocre season.

Some Notable Statistics

The 2023-24 season was marked by regression for many Kraken players. Lacking a true superstar, the team employed a «scoring by committee» approach during the 2022-23 season, which worked well for that year. However, one of the biggest drop-offs was their first-ever draftee, Matty Beniers, who went from 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games to 15 goals and 37 points in 77 games in 2023-24.

Their top goal-scorer and point-getter in 2022-23, Jared McCann, saw a decline from 40 goals and 70 points to 29 goals and 62 points, yet still led the team. For the second consecutive season, defenseman Vince Dunn finished in the top three in scoring, with 11 goals and 46 points in 59 games.

Oliver Bjorkstrand was their most improved player, matching his 20 goals from 2022-23 but achieving a career-high 59 points compared to 45 the previous year. After a rough start, Jordan Eberle turned things around, scoring 17 goals and 44 points.

Waiver claim Eeli Tolvanen had a career year, scoring 16 goals and 41 points, slightly less than his 18 goals from 2022-23 but still an improvement. Spark plug Yanni Gourde scored one goal and 33 points in 80 games, while Jaden Schwartz netted 13 goals and 30 points in 62 games.

As for the former Oilers on the team, Justin Schultz scored seven goals and 26 points in 70 games, Adam Larsson had four goals and 18 points in 81 games, and Kailer Yamamoto scored eight goals and 16 points in 59 games.

One player the Kraken can look forward to is netminder Joey Daccord, who posted a .916 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average in 50 games played, with a 19-18-11 record. Their de facto starter, Philipp Grubauer, had an .899 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average in 36 games. Expect them to share the crease in 2024-25.