The Kraken have had more than their fair share of injury issues over the first six weeks of the season. Head coach Lane Lambert provided some updates on that front today, via team reporter Alison Lukan (Twitter link) and there is both good and bad news.
The good news is that center Frederick Gaudreau is getting close to returning from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him for close to a month while winger Jared McCann (lower body) is making progress and could travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. However, the bad news is that winger Kaapo Kakko is listed as out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Gaudreau is in his first season with Seattle after being acquired from Minnesota over the offseason. The 32-year-old was injured in the fourth game of the season and hasn’t returned since then. Gaudreau had an assist in those four outings but struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 18 of 51 draws. He has 61 goals and 92 assists in 414 career outings and should return to the bottom-six role he had last month once he’s officially activated off injured reserve.
As for McCann, he only lasted one more game than Gaudreau did, getting injured in the fifth game of the campaign. He was off to a strong start before being sidelined after tallying three goals and an assist while logging over 17 minutes per night. The 29-year-old has surpassed the 60-point mark in three straight seasons so getting him back potentially sooner than later would be a real shot in the arm to an offense that ranks 30th in goals scored heading into Saturday’s action.
Kakko, meanwhile, has had a rough first full year with the Kraken. After a solid showing in the second half of last season landed him a three-year deal over the summer, he broke his hand late in training camp, missing the first few weeks of the regular season as a result. The 24-year-old has struggled since returning, notching just one point – a goal – in seven games with that tally coming in his last outing against Winnipeg before departing with this injury. Now, he’ll be forced to sit for a while once again which certainly won’t help his chances of making Finland’s roster for the Olympics in February. He remains on the active roster for now but will likely be shifted to IR once Gaudreau is ready to return.