Kraken’s Jessica Campbell To Explore Options This Summer
The Seattle Kraken could have a bench spot to fill this summer. Assistant coach Jessica Campbell is set to be a free agent for the first time since being promoted to the NHL in 2024. She is expected to take the chance to explore other options around the league, per a press release from Kraken general manager Jason Botterill. Botterill said:
Jessica has been an important member of our coaching staff for the past four years, demonstrating deep knowledge and a unique ability to connect with, and develop, players.
While this could likely result in Campbell moving on from the Pacific Northwest, it doesn’t appear Seattle has closed the door to bringing Campbell back next season, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kaplan adds that Campbell has generated interest from across the NHL.
Campbell became the first woman to fill a full-time, assistant coach role in the NHL. She accomplished the same feat in the AHL when she joined Dan Bylsma‘s staff on the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022. Campbell already had an extensive hockey resume at the time, with one World Championship silver medal, three NCAA conference championships, and one season as an assistant coach for the DEL’s Nurnberg Ice Tigers, part of Germany’s top pro league, under her belt. Coachella Valley raced to the Calder Cup Finals in both seasons under Bylsma and Campbell’s reign, though they lost to the Hershey Bears both times.
A pair of appearances in the championship series was still enough to earn Bylsma and Campbell a promotion to the NHL. It was a reunion for Bylsma, who spent seven seasons as an NHL head coach between 2009 and 2017. Unfortunately, that reunion quickly turned sour, with Bylsma being dismissed after leading Seattle to a 35-41-6 record and bottom-12 finish in both goals-scored and goals-against in the 2024-25 season. The Kraken opted to retain Campbell despite firing their top coach, a bode of confidence in the former professional skills coach.
Now one season later, the Kraken are continuing to speak praise towards Campbell’s ability to lead at the top level. She could be an intriguing candidate for teams looking to bring a bit more finesse to their lineup. The Columbus Blue Jackets recently fired two assistant coaches, opening the door for the NHL’s oldest head coach, Rick Bowness, to hire his own bench staff. The New York Islanders also recently parted with head coach Patrick Roy, in favor of free agent Peter DeBoer. Both clubs could use a jolt of offense after impressive seasons that still fell short of the postseason. Campbell, once a dynamic and intelligent playmaker at Cornell University and for Sweden’s SDHL Malmo Redhawks, could bring that jolt with an extra focus on developing some of the club’s burgeoning stars.
Blake Fiddler Commits To University Of Denver
Seattle Kraken prospect Blake Fiddler has committed to the University of Denver, shared in a post by College Puck NXT earlier today. The reigning National Champions (their third title since 2022) will bring in the 2025 second round selection out of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings.
Saarinen Assigned To Firebirds
- The Kraken have reassigned goaltender Kim Saarinen to AHL Coachella Valley, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 19-year-old spent the season on loan to HPK in Finland and played quite well at the Liiga level. In 38 starts during the regular season, Saarinen posted a 2.11 GAA with a .916 SV% and put up even better numbers in nine playoff appearances at 1.68 and .944, respectively. Saarinen was under contract with Seattle this season but since he didn’t get into ten NHL games, his deal is eligible to slide and will still have three years left on it heading into 2026-27.
The Kraken Need To Choose A Path This Summer
The Kraken missed the playoffs once again this spring, finishing with the sixth-worst point total in the NHL. They had the luxury of playing in the much weaker Western Conference, but still missed the postseason by 11 points, finishing with a 34-37-11 record and a -37 goal differential.
Seattle has made the playoffs just once in its short five-year history, and none of those appearances have come in the past three seasons. Now, with a team largely set to return next season, aside from a couple of veteran unrestricted free agents, it’s become a moment for general manager Jason Botterill to reflect and decide what direction he wants to take a club that looked lost this past season.
A perfect example of the Kraken’s lack of direction is Mason Marchment’s run with the team. Marchment was dealt to Seattle last June in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and the Stars’ 2025 fourth-round pick.
It was a decent little move for the Kraken and showed they were looking to make additions. Fast-forward six months (plus a day), and the Kraken sent Marchment to the Blue Jackets for a 2027 second-round pick and the New York Rangers’ 2026 fourth-round pick.
It was a decent turn of events for the Kraken, as they upgraded one pick from a third to a second and got a look at Marchment for a few months. It would have been a tidy piece of work had it ended there.
A few months later, at the trade deadline, Seattle acquired Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a second-round pick in 2027 and a 2026 fourth-round pick. The deal, in a vacuum, was good.
McMann has been a steady scorer over the past couple of years and added a lot to the Kraken lineup. However, he is a pending UFA and is set to cash in big time this summer. Seattle likely believed he could help with a playoff push, but with the Kraken’s underwhelming lineup on paper, it was a bit of a fool’s errand and could leave the team holding the bag if he jumped ship in July.
What could be a worse outcome for Seattle is if McMann re-signs long-term. The Kraken already have a number of undesirable long-term deals with veteran players, and McMann is sure to be overpaid when he hits free agency. Seattle has to resist the urge to extend McMann, but it’s hard to say whether they will, given the team’s lack of direction in recent years.
That being said, there is a glimmer of hope for Seattle and a fairly obvious direction the team should take. The Kraken have the seventh-ranked prospect system in the NHL (according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic) and should be able to rebuild their roster sooner rather than later if they can avoid the urge to sign overpriced veterans, or, in the case of McMann, trade for them when they aren’t playoff-bound.
Ultimately, the Marchment/McMann fiasco cost the Kraken only mid-tier draft picks, which is forgivable given that the Kraken thought they had a playoff push, though it ultimately flopped. But the work in free agency needs to be scrutinized and scaled back if Seattle wants to have any hope of building and keeping a core.
In the past two summers, the team has signed UFAs to deals that were panned at the time and look even worse in hindsight. Ryan Lindgren was signed last summer to a four-year deal worth $4.5MM per season and has not been a good fit with the team.
The Kraken were outplayed whenever Lindgren was on the ice this year, and he was a turnover machine, coughing up the puck more than ever before in his NHL career. He also toned down his hitting dramatically, which didn’t really correct some of the other issues with his game.
If the Lindgren deal was bad, the Chandler Stephenson contract from 2024 is atrocious. On the surface, it looks fine, as he put up 49 points (16 goals and 33 assists) last season in 80 games.
But he has five years left on the deal at $6.25MM per season and gets absolutely crushed at even strength, posting a 40.8 CF%, meaning he is a drag on his teammates from a possession perspective. Sure, he takes a lot of the tough defensive assignments, but there is an argument that he could be among the worst 5-on-5 forwards in the entire NHL, and, in turn, one of the worst contracts in the league as well.
There is also the signing of defenseman Brandon Montour in July 2024. That deal hasn’t been a disaster, and Montour has been fairly productive offensively while continuing to struggle defensively.
Heading into year three of a seven-year, $50MM contract, the back half of his deal could be a huge problem for the Kraken as they enter the competitive window with the young group of players they have drafted and developed. At 32, Montour hasn’t shown an obvious decline, but if his skating begins to deteriorate, there will be major issues with his game both offensively and defensively.
With such a weak UFA market and so many teams with a pile of cap space, this could be the best opportunity for Seattle to commit to a short rebuild and start trimming some of the older, more expensive players, such as Lindgren, Stephenson, and Montour, from their roster, in the hopes of not boxing themselves in when they are ready to contend with the elite young players in their system.
Time will tell whether they have the stomach for the short-term pain, but if they do, they could create the kind of flexibility in two to three years that teams dream of when they try to tear down and recalibrate their rosters.
Jared McCann To Undergo Surgery
- Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann told the media today at the team’s exit day that he had a surgical procedure yesterday to “clean some things up” and address the injury that he had been managing over the course of the 2025-26 season. He added that the surgery was related to something he has been also dealt with last offseason, and noted that he expects to be available for the start of next season. Injury took its toll on McCann, who is typically Seattle’s top scorer. The 29-year-old was still productive, scoring 40 points, but was limited to playing in just 52 games. Next season is the final year of his $5MM AAV contract, placing greater stakes on his recovery and ability to author a healthy, productive platform season before potentially hitting unrestricted free agency.
Kraken Recall Jani Nyman; Reassign Two
The Seattle Kraken are making a slight change to their forward corps with two games remaining in the regular season. The Kraken announced that they’ve recalled forward Jani Nyman from the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds and reassigned Jacob Melanson and Oscar Fisker Molgaard in a corresponding roster move.
Nyman has already spent a decent chunk of the season in Seattle. The 21-year-old was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Kraken and has spent the last two years playing in the organization.
He’s been fairly engaged during his appearances this season. Nyman has registered four goals and six points in 26 games with 22 hits, averaging just over 10 minutes of ice time per game. Additionally, his possession and defensive metrics rank well on the team. However, it’s important to note that Seattle is currently one of the league’s poorest teams in controlling shot attempts at even strength this season.
Still, despite his less-than-ideal scoring output in the NHL so far, there is plenty of hope that Nyman will become a consistent contributor in the near future. He’s been one of the Firebirds’ best forwards the past two years, scoring 49 goals and 77 points in 96 games with a +22 rating.
Meanwhile, unlike Nyman, Melanson has played more games with the Kraken this year than the Firebirds. Still, he has almost exclusively been a fourth-line player with Seattle, scoring two goals and five points in 36 games, averaging 9:22 of ice time. He’s understandably performed better in the AHL, albeit in fewer games, registering seven goals and 16 points in 26 games this season.
Lastly, Fisker Molgaard has spent most of the year in the AHL, where he has performed quite well. In 46 games, the 21-year-old has scored 10 goals and 32 points, good for seventh on the team in scoring in his first professional season.
Kraken’s Jared McCann To Miss Rest Of Season
The Seattle Kraken announced today that forward Jared McCann will miss the final three games in the team’s 2025-26 season due to a lower-body injury.
The 29-year-old has been limited to just 52 games played this season as the result of injury. He dealt with a lower-body injury early in the season, one that landed him on IR. He left a game in December with a lower-body injury, one that put him out of commission on a week-to-week basis. He also missed three games in March as the result of a lower-body injury.
It’s unclear at this time whether those lower-body injuries are connected, and since nothing has been confirmed, all one can do is speculate. But the persistence of McCann’s lower-body injuries this season lends credence to the idea that this may be something he has had to manage over the course of the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite the nagging injury trouble, McCann was his usual self when healthy. He was Seattle’s most productive scorer on a points-per-game basis, scoring 20 goals and 40 points in 52 contests.
That’s a 63-point 82-game scoring pace, a total that would have cleared the team’s current team scoring leader, captain Jordan Eberle, by eight points.
This is the first year in Kraken franchise history that McCann has not finished the season as the team’s leading scorer.
With Seattle eliminated from playoff contention, the move to shut him down for the rest of the season won’t have any major on-ice implications. Missing McCann will make it more difficult for the Kraken to collect points in the final three games of the season, a factor that could improve their draft lottery odds. The team sits at 79 points as of writing, good for 27th in league standings.
The Kraken could conceivably drop as low as 30th in the standings, giving them the third-best odds in the draft lottery, though that would take very favorable out-of-town results. A far more realistic possibility is Seattle drops below the Toronto Maple Leafs (78 points) for the No. 5 slot in the lottery. That would be particularly relevant for the Maple Leafs, as their first-round pick for 2026 is owned by the Boston Bruins unless it falls within the top five selections in the draft.
In any case, that’s unlikely to be McCann’s focus. What’s more important to him is next season for the Kraken, who will be under considerable pressure to return to the postseason after three straight playoff misses. McCann is also entering the final season of his $5MM AAV contract, and could line himself up for a big new contract with another consistent, productive campaign.
Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Kraken Recall Victor Ostman From AHL
Already without Philipp Grubauer who was recently injured and Matt Murray who has been out for most of the season, the Kraken now have starting goalie Joey Daccord sidelined with a lower-body injury as well. As a result, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled netminder Victor Ostman from AHL Coachella Valley.
The 25-year-old has made just one NHL appearance in his career, that coming last April when he made 12 saves on 12 shots in mop-up duty of a late-season game against Utah. Beyond that, his professional experience has come exclusively in the minors.
Last season, Ostman spent most of the year at the ECHL level, only getting into five AHL outings. This season, he has seen regular action with the Firebirds, getting into 37 games where he has posted a 2.77 GAA with a .907 SV%. This is his first recall to Seattle this season.
While Seattle finds itself in a bottom-five spot in the standings, they technically enter play today against Calgary with a slim chance at a playoff spot. For that to happen, they’ll have to win out and hope a whole lot else goes their way. But they’ll be turning to Niklas Kokko – Ostman’s platoon partner in Coachella Valley – to help get that victory; he’ll be making his first NHL start tonight.
With Daccord’s injury, Ostman’s recall qualifies for emergency circumstances. Accordingly, his promotion won’t count against their post-deadline recall limit.
Daccord Banged Up, Getting Evaluated
- Already missing Philipp Grubauer, the Kraken could be without their other netminder as they look to keep their very faint playoff hopes alive. Team radio host Mike Benton relays (Twitter link) that Joey Daccord was feeling sore after Thursday’s game and was undergoing evaluation today. If he’s unable to suit up Saturday against Calgary, the team will have to recall someone (likely Victor Ostman) from AHL Coachella Valley with Niklas Kokko probably in line to make his first NHL start in a must-win game if they want to avoid elimination from the playoffs. Daccord has a 3.03 GAA with a .896 SV% in 47 games this season.
Kraken Recall Nikke Kokko, Matt Murray Away From Team
The Kraken announced that goalie prospect Nikke Kokko has been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley under emergency conditions. He’s replacing third-stringer Matt Murray, who’s taken a leave of absence for a family matter. He will serve as the #2 behind Joey Daccord, potentially for all of Seattle’s five remaining games if Murray is away for that long. Usual backup Philipp Grubauer is unavailable after leaving his start on Tuesday with a lower-body injury.
Kokko was a second-round pick in 2022 and is in his second season with Coachella Valley after logging parts of three seasons in Finland’s Liiga with Kärpät and Pelicans. He made his first NHL appearance in relief last season but allowed two goals on six shots against the Blues in an eventual 7-2 loss. He’s spent all of this season in the AHL, where he’s split the crease evenly with undrafted 25-year-old Victor Östman. Kokko’s come out with the worst numbers of the two, logging a .903 SV%, 3.10 GAA, two shutouts, and an 18-10-2 record in 34 outings.
The 22-year-old Kokko is the #15 prospect in Seattle’s pool and the second-ranked goalie behind #13 Kim Saarinen, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He’s had flashes of elite play here and there in Finland and in the minors, but his year-to-year inconsistency to date and subpar one-on-one reads mean he could very well top out as a third-string option long-term.
Murray’s absence will, for now, prevent him from getting back between the pipes for the first time since November. He missed over half the season with a lower-body injury before being activated from injured reserve back on March 10, but he’s yet to see game action since, with Daccord and Grubauer handling all of the starts and relief appearances. The 31-year-old veteran was excellent in a brief look at the beginning of the season, earning a .922 SV% and 2.21 GAA in five appearances despite a 0-2-1 record, which should be enough to land the pending unrestricted free agent another offer this summer.