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Offseason Checklist: Seattle Kraken

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The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those eliminated in the first round.  Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Seattle.

Expectations were high for the Kraken heading into 2023-24, perhaps a bit too lofty after an impressive second season.  The team struggled, resulting in a new coach and some big free agent splashes.  That didn’t move the needle, however, as the struggles continued, leading to another coaching search while the front office has been shaken up.  Accordingly, new GM Jason Botterill has plenty on his checklist in the weeks and months ahead.

Find A New Coach

After Dave Hakstol was let go last year, the Kraken promoted from within, naming veteran Dan Bylsma as their new head coach.  Considering that he had some NHL success in the past with Pittsburgh and had fared quite well with AHL Coachella Valley, it was a reasonable decision.  But now, they’re on the lookout for a new bench boss again following the decision to move on from him quite quickly.

It would be a bit surprising to see recent history repeat itself with another promotion from the Firebirds.  Derek Laxdal took over from Bylsma this season in the minors and while he has a decent track record as a head coach there (and in the OHL where he was Coach of the Year last season), it feels like this is a situation where they’re going to be looking for someone more experienced that can get them back to the playoffs next season.

Rick Tocchet’s name has surfaced as a strong candidate.  He’s more than familiar with the division having been with Vancouver the last couple of years and he also has some familiarity with Botterill dating back to their days in Pittsburgh.  Last year’s Jack Adams Award winner, Tocchet is also a strong candidate for several other openings.  On the other side of the front office, Ron Francis has worked with Peter Laviolette before from their days in Carolina which could help his cause when it comes to being considered.

One under the radar option that has some ties to Seattle is Jay Leach.  He was one of the finalists for the top job last year and was an assistant with them until this season.  It would be a little surprising to see a first-time head coach get the job but Leach having worked with a lot of the team before could give him a leg up in discussions.  If management wants to go with a younger coach with some experience, Jay Woodcroft could be a fit as well.

With several openings around the league, the potential exists for this to drag out a bit, especially if teams have their eyes on assistants who are currently still working which could slow the market down.  But if Botterill and company have their eyes on someone who’s available now, they could move relatively quickly to get this hire done.

Decide Grubauer’s Fate

When Seattle signed Philipp Grubauer to a six-year, $35.4MM contract back in 2021, it looked like they might have their goalie situation settled for a while.  While there was some risk in signing someone coming off a career year with Colorado (one that made him a Vezina finalist), his overall track record was still pretty solid with a 2.30 GAA and a .920 SV% in 214 games up to that point.

Let’s just say things have not gone as planned for Grubauer since then.  Over the first half of the deal, he failed to post a save percentage above .899 and ultimately lost the starting job to Joey Daccord.  This season, it got even worse.  His GAA jumped to a career-high 3.49 while his SV% dropped to a career-low .875, numbers that were significantly worse than the league average.  By MoneyPuck’s Goals Saved Above Expected mark, he failed to crack the top-100 league-wide which also says a lot.  Unsurprisingly, he cleared waivers in late January and played in seven games with Coachella Valley where his numbers were a bit better but still below average.

With Daccord beginning his five-year, $25MM contract next season, Seattle is now primed to be one of the top-spending teams in goal.  Given their cap situation (they have over $21MM in space per PuckPedia), they can afford it.  On the other hand, that’s a lot of money to pay a goalie they don’t have much faith in, making a buyout a potential option.

Should Seattle buy Grubauer out this summer, they would take on dead cap charges of $1.983MM in 2025-26, $3.083MM in 2026-27, and $1.683MM in 2027-28 and 2028-29.  Still, that would free up nearly $4MM in space next season and $3MM the year after that before adding on extra money the following two seasons.  Meanwhile, unless he’s being moved as salary ballast to offset a pricey contract coming back the other way, a trade is probably an unrealistic outcome.

Could the Kraken find a better goaltender for the savings from a Grubauer buyout?  Even with a thin UFA market, there’s a good chance they could do so and potentially even free up a bit of space to put toward filling another spot on the roster.  Is that improvement enough to justify adding dead cap money in 2027-28 and 2028-29?  That’s what management will need to decide over the next six-plus weeks.

Re-Sign Key RFAs

A decent chunk of Seattle’s current cap space is going to be required to keep their RFA class intact.  Tye Kartye has earned a small raise off his entry-level deal which is pretty straightforward but their other two restricted free agents of note have a bit more complicated cases.

Last offseason, both the Rangers and Kaapo Kakko opted to kick the can down the road, so to speak, with the winger preemptively accepting what would have been his qualifying offer.  It was a chance for more evaluation time for both sides.  That evaluation eventually led to the 24-year-old getting a fresh start with Seattle, one that did him a lot of good.  After notching just 14 points in 30 games to start the season, Kakko was more productive following the swap, tallying 10 goals and 20 assists in 49 outings with the Kraken.

Notably, this is his final RFA-eligible year.  Kakko could simply opt to file for arbitration, go to a hearing, and probably get a $1MM or so raise from his $2.4MM qualifying offer while setting himself up to hit the open market next summer at the age of 25, an outcome we rarely see.  But if both sides are happy with how things went following the swap, a multi-year agreement could be worked out.  With Kakko’s inconsistency, a long-term deal feels unlikely for both sides but effectively another bridge contract that buys up a UFA year or two might make sense for both player and team.  In that case, the price tag could jump closer to the $4MM per year range.

Then there’s Ryker Evans.  The defenseman played his first full NHL campaign this season and fared quite well, notching 25 points while logging over 19 minutes per game while seeing a bit of action on both special teams units.  Already basically a top-four piece, he’s the type of player Seattle would likely want to sign to a long-term agreement.  A max-term deal could push the AAV past the $6MM range while a six-year pact that only buys out a couple of UFA seasons could start with a five.  Alternatively, if one side wants a bridge agreement, the price tag would probably land in the $3MM territory which would give them a bit more cap flexibility to add pieces this summer although they’d be paying a higher price tag for Evans down the road.  They’ll have to decide which is the better option over the coming weeks.

Look Into Moving A Forward

Considering that it appears the goal for next season is to make the playoffs, this might seem a little odd.  However, there aren’t many open roster spots (once Kakko and Kartye sign, they’ll have 10 forwards locked up) and it seems likely that management will once again try to add a piece or two on the open market.  On top of that, they have some forwards including Jani Nyman and 2024 first-rounder Berkly Catton who are close to being NHL-ready.  Integrating them into the lineup will also require some spots to be opened up.

The way to open up a spot or two will likely have to come through a trade.  Forward Jaden Schwartz is about to enter the final year of his contract and while he’s extension-eligible, it doesn’t feel like the Kraken would want to do an early extension.  He stayed healthy this season and finished third in team scoring with 49 points in 81 games but injuries plagued his first three years with the team.  Given that he has dabbled at center a bit in the past and is on a manageable $5.5MM cap charge, there could be some trade interest in him from a team looking just for a short-term addition up front that doesn’t want to commit to a longer-term deal on the open market.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Botterill look into moving Andre Burakovsky as well.  He has two years left at $5.5MM and like Schwartz, injuries have been an issue since signing that deal as he missed 33 games in each of his first two seasons.  However, he had a 37-point effort this year and had 39 points in 49 games in 2022-23 with them so there is still some offensive upside to work with.  Similar to Schwartz, a team looking for a shorter-term addition might be more interested in flipping something to get Burakovsky on a short-term deal.

Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen are on expiring deals but Eberle being their captain probably takes him out of consideration at this point while Tolvanen is someone that they may try to keep around.

Moving out a forward isn’t something they necessarily have to do but with two straight disappointing seasons now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to shake up their forward group while simultaneously making room for some new free agents and a prospect or two.

Photo courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.

Julius Miettinen Signs ATO With Firebirds

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  • Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen has signed an amateur try-out with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the remainder of the season per the AHL Transactions Log. Miettinen sustained a lower-body injury at the World Junior Championship that held him out of a handful of games. Even through the injury, he managed a strong 11 goals and 39 points in 36 WHL game this season – a 0.06 point-per-game increase over his 67 points in 66 games last season. The six-foot-three Finn will bring a boost of heft and instinctive offense to the Firebirds lineup as they prepare for a series against the Calgary Wranglers.

Kraken Name Jason Botterill GM

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April 22: The Kraken confirmed Tuesday they’ve elevated Francis to president of hockey operations and named Botterill executive vice president and general manager.

April 21: It turns out that relieving head coach Dan Bylsma of his duties isn’t the only notable change coming for the Kraken today.  E.J. Hradek of the NHL Network was the first to report (Twitter link) that assistant GM Jason Botterill will be appointed as the team’s new general manager.  Meanwhile, Arthur Staple of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that current GM Ron Francis will now serve as the team’s president.

This will be Botterill’s second opportunity to serve as an NHL GM.  He spent three years running the Sabres before being let go in 2020 where he was quickly scooped up by Seattle a year before the Kraken officially joined the league.  He also spent several years working in Pittsburgh’s front office, primarily as an assistant GM so he was certainly one of the more experienced managerial options around the league.

Over his three years in Buffalo, the Sabres struggled, missing the playoffs in all three seasons.  They did, however, draft relatively well during Botterill’s tenure, landing Rasmus Dahlin first overall in 2018, Dylan Cozens seventh overall a year later, and starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the second round in 2017.  Other NHLers drafted by Buffalo under Botterill include Casey Mittelstadt, Jacob Bryson, and Mattias Samuelsson.

Botterill’s trade history showed that he wasn’t hesitant to make a big swing.  Among the notable trades he swung was moving Evander Kane to San Jose for Danny O’Regan and a pair of draft picks.  He also dealt Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis for a package that included Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, and Tage Thompson, along with a pair of draft picks; while Thompson has panned out well, the rest of the trade package hasn’t performed as well.  He also acquired Jeff Skinner from Carolina before signing him to an eight-year, $72MM extension that Buffalo exercised a buyout on last summer.

With his track record from before, Botterill had come up as a speculative candidate for GM openings in recent years and if another one became available this spring, he likely would have been considered for the role with that franchise.  With this move, Seattle gets in front of that hypothetical, ensuring that the Francis-Botterill duo will remain in place, just with different roles than before.

As for Francis, he had been at the helm of the Kraken since 2019 as he was also hired before the team officially joined the NHL.  It was his second role running a team as he also had a four-year stint as GM in Carolina among his many different roles with the Hurricanes.  Knowing for being a patient manager, Francis initially brought that same approach to Seattle, opting for what looked like a slower build than Vegas had when they joined the league last decade.

But a 100-point effort in the franchise’s second season increased expectations.  A step back the following season saw the team make a coaching change before handing out two of the biggest contracts in free agency as they looked to get back to playoff contention sooner than later.  Instead, the Kraken scuffled more this season, resulting in not just a coaching overhaul but a front office one as well.

During his time with Seattle, Francis brought in leading scorer Jared McCann and top blueliner Vince Dunn through the expansion draft while drafting a pair of young centers with high first-round picks in Matthew Beniers and Shane Wright so his fingerprints will be felt on this franchise for many more years to come.  Now, it will be Botterill handling more of the day-to-day operations as the Kraken try to get back to the playoffs next season.

Kraken Fire Dan Bylsma

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It was a tough year for the Kraken this season as they were among the worst teams in the Western Conference.  As a result, they have made a coaching change as the team announced that they have dismissed head coach Dan Bylsma after just one year with them.  No replacement will be named right away and a full coaching search will take place.

This decision means that Seattle will have three head coaches in as many years.  Last spring, Dave Hakstol was let go after serving as the bench boss for the first three seasons in franchise history.  Two of those resulted in missed playoff appearances but in between those was an impressive 2022-23 season that saw them record 100 points and make it to the second round of the postseason before losing in seven games to Dallas.

After seeing their point total drop by 19 last season, now-former GM Ron Francis opted to make a change, promoting Bylsma who had been serving as head coach of their AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley, a team that made the championship final in each of his first two seasons behind the bench.  The hope was that he’d be able to turn things around and get them back into playoff contention.

However, that didn’t happen.  While they went from being one of the worst offensive teams in the league the year before to one that finished in the middle of the pack this season, the Kraken also saw their defensive play and goaltending take steps back, offsetting the offensive improvement.  In the end, they actually had five fewer points than in 2023-24 while finishing seventh in the Pacific Division and clearly, Francis has decided to shake things up again.

This was Bylsma’s third stint running an NHL bench but his first in quite a while.  He spent six years behind the bench with Pittsburgh, winning a Stanley Cup in his first one back in 2009.  But after the Penguins failed to make it past the second round in four of the next five years, he was let go in 2014.  However, it didn’t take long for him to land another chance as the Sabres hired him in 2015.  That tenure was much shorter, however, as he was fired after just two seasons with them after a pair of sub-.500 seasons.  Now, this latest opportunity was even shorter, lasting just one year and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll get a fourth shot at running an NHL team or if his ceiling moving forward might be best suited as an assistant coach, a role he has held previously with the Red Wings and Islanders.

Francis was particularly active in free agency last summer, handing out two of the biggest contracts to defenseman Brandon Montour (seven years, $50MM) and center Chandler Stephenson (seven years, $43.75MM).  With more than $21MM in cap space to work with this summer, per PuckPedia, and only a pair of impact RFAs to try to re-sign (Kaapo Kakko and Ryker Evans), new GM Jason Botterill will be well-positioned to be a big shopper in free agency.  But before then, they’ll be shopping around for a new bench boss.  Seattle joins the Ducks and Rangers as teams who have recently let go of their head coaches and will be conducting a full search for a replacement while other teams will evaluate the interim coaches they finished the season with against other options available.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that Bylsma was being let go.

Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

Kraken Notes: Francis, Mahura, Grubauer, Hayden

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While this season was certainly a disappointing one for the Kraken, there won’t be a big change coming in the front office.  Team CEO Tod Leiweke confirmed to reporters including Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times (Twitter link) that GM Ron Francis will return for his fifth season in 2025-26.  Seattle has missed the playoffs in three of its first four seasons which generally isn’t abnormal for an expansion franchise but the early success Vegas had increased expectations.  Their lone playoff year came in 2022-23 when they had 100 points but they managed just 76 this season despite handing out two of the bigger deals in free agency last summer to Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson.  The team projects to have more than $21MM in cap room this summer, per PuckPedia, so Francis could be a big spender once again.

More from Seattle:

  • Defenseman Josh Mahura is hoping to re-sign with the Kraken this summer, Shefte relays. The 26-year-old signed a one-year, $775K deal last year after being non-tendered by Florida back in June.  Mahura had a decent season in a limited role, playing in 64 games where he had nine assists while logging a little under 14 minutes a night.  It’s likely that his next contract should check in once again at or near the league minimum and it wouldn’t be surprising if Seattle looked to bring him back in a similar role for next season.
  • Goaltender Philipp Grubauer will play for Germany at the upcoming World Championship, Shefte notes in the same column. It was another rough year for 33-year-old, whose 3.49 GAA and .875 SV% were the worst marks of his career and saw him limited to just 26 games, plus seven more in the minors after clearing waivers.  He has two years left on his contract at a $5.9MM AAV, making him a speculative buyout candidate this summer.
  • The team announced (Twitter link) that center John Hayden was assigned to AHL Coachella Valley. He cleared waivers last week in advance of being returned to the Firebirds for their playoff run.  The 30-year-old had a goal and an assist in 20 games with Seattle and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Kraken’s Jared McCann Scheduled For Surgery

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Despite playing all 82 games this season, Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann has been dealing with a lingering undisclosed injury and will have surgery in the offseason, per Seattle Times Reporter Kate Shefte.

While the exact procedure isn’t known, McCann told reporters on Monday that the surgery is something that will keep him on the shelf for approximately six weeks. That timeline should easily allow McCann to be ready for training camp next season. McCann and the Kraken will look to build upon their 35-40-6 record this season, which of course resulted in missing the playoffs. For his part, the soon-to-be 29-year-old put led the Kraken in points with 22-39-61 stat line. He added a plus-eight rating, 50 hits, and 47 blocked shots on 17:13 minutes of ice time per game.

Since coming to Seattle after being left exposed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2021 expansion draft, McCann has become a legitimate top six forward. In 315 games with Seattle, he has registered 118 goals, 125 assists, and 243 points. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals, points, shots, and shooting percentage, and only trails Adam Larsson in games played. He has scored at least 20 goals in each season with Seattle, and his 39 assists this season set a career high.

Selected 24th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2014, McCann has two years remaining on a team-friendly $5MM AAV contract. That pairs him with forwards Matthew Beniers, Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, Andre Burakovsky, and Jordan Eberle for at least another season. Kaapo Kakko, who thrived in Seattle after being traded by the New York Rangers, is set to become a restricted free agent. It stands to reason the Kraken will be interested in retaining Kakko’s services, although he will be due a large raise on his current $2.4MM contract.

Kraken Recall Ville Ottavainen

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The Seattle Kraken recalled defenseman Ville Ottavainen late Monday night. It is the first call-up of Ottavainen’s career. He will have a chance to make his NHL debut in Seattle’s final game of the season on Tuesday.

Seattle originally drafted Ottavainen in the fourth-round of the 2021 NHL Draft. His draft selection came after he left the OHL to make his professional debut in Finland’s Liiga and recorded three points, 10 penalty minutes, and a minus-15 in 22 rookie games. Ottavainen followed his draft selection with two more seasons in the Liiga, and grew to a career-best 16 points, 30 penalty minutes, and plus-two in 51 games played in the 2022-23 season. He moved to North America at the end of the year, and had a breakout performance as an AHL rookie last season. Ottavainen recorded 34 points, 30 penalty minutes, and a plus-27 in 70 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023-24 – good for third on the team’s blue-line in scoring.

Ottavainen’s hot start in the AHL hasn’t stuck this season, though. He’s still performing well – with 15 points, 41 penalty minutes, and a plus-eight in 66 games – but his role has become far more defense-oriented. That may be fitting for the six-foot-five, 225-pound Finnish defender, though. So long as he can stay on top of the goal differential, he should continue to find success in the Kraken pipeline. With one game left on the docket and little to gain, Seattle could use this as a chance to narrow down Ottavainen’s role ahead of a prove-it season next year.

Winterton Assigned To Coachella Valley

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  • The Kraken have returned forward Ryan Winterton to AHL Coachella Valley, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 21-year-old picked up an assist in a dozen games with Seattle and will now return to the Firebirds to get ready for their playoff run.  Winterton has 18 goals and 19 assists in 55 AHL contests this season.

John Hayden And Cale Fleury Clear Waivers

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Saturday: Unsurprisingly, both players have cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Friday: According to a team announcement, the Seattle Kraken have placed forward John Hayden and defenseman Cale Fleury on waivers. The team will reassign them both to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, should they go through waivers unclaimed.

Hayden is in his third season with the Kraken organization after signing as an unrestricted free agent before the 2022-23 NHL season. He’s primarily been an AHL talent in that stretch but has registered 19 games for the Kraken this season, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging 8:29 of ice time per game.

He’s been a valuable veteran presence with AHL Coachella Valley, helping the team secure back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances. Throughout his tenure with the club, Hayden has scored 43 goals and 86 points in 155 AHL appearances, with another 10 goals and 15 points in 28 postseason contests.

Meanwhile, Fleury hits the waiver wire one day after he qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency. Fleury can sign with any organization this upcoming summer since he is older than 25 and has yet to reach 80 games played throughout his NHL career.

Still, he shouldn’t expect anything more than a two-way agreement. He’s tallied one assist in 14 games with Seattle this season while averaging 12:52 of ice time a night and has registered six goals and 24 points in 36 AHL appearances. Plenty of teams will want solid AHL options on hand should they need defensive depth throughout the regular season, meaning Fleury should feel safe in securing a new contract in a few months.

Afternoon Notes: Seguin, Orlov, Hutson, Ostman

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The Dallas Stars may take inspiration from their Central Division rival, the Colorado Avalanche, when it comes to easing a star player back into the lineup. Head coach Pete DeBoer shared that the team is deciding whether or not to place winger Tyler Seguin on an AHL conditioning loan as he eases his way back from a hip injury, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. Seguin has missed Dallas’ last 55 games with injury. He is expected to be back to full health in time for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but may not be up to full speed in time to contribute to must-win games. Colorado recently assigned team captain Gabriel Landeskog to an AHL conditioning loan. Neither Seguin nor Landeskog have played any AHL games in their careers.

Seguin was a major piece of the Stars lineup at the beginning of the season. He scored nine goals and 20 points in 19 games to start the year, good for third on the team in points and fourth in goals at the time of his injury. It was an offensive explosion for Seguin, who has struggled to cross the 50-point mark in each of his last four healthy seasons. Regardless of a minor-league conditioning stint, Seguin will soon return to a very different Stars lineup – with feisty youngster Logan Stankoven replaced by high-upside veterans Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund. Adding another flashy winger to that mix could make Dallas a sneaky favorite to win games this postseason.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov is set to hit unrestricted free agency this season, and seems unlikely to receive a confident extension from the cap-strapped Hurricanes. Speculation has connected Orlov to his native KHL for much of the season, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman dispelled those rumors in his recent 32 Thoughts article. Orlov is instead expected to stick in the NHL, where he’ll no doubt get plenty of attention from needy teams this summer. Orlov fills a premium, well-rounded role in Carolina. He has scored six goals and 26 points in 71 games this season, averages 20 minutes of ice time each game, and leads the Hurricanes defense with 97 hits. Those marks fall closely in line with how Orlov has performed throughout his 13-year career in the NHL – maintaining the role of well-rounded bruiser through tenures with the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. Orlov signed a two-year contract with Carolina in the summer of 2023 – his first time entering unrestricted free agency.
  • Friedman also reported that there’s plenty of Western Conference interest in Boston University forward Quinn Hutson, with the end of his collegiate career in sight. Hutson has been a major contributor to the Terriers offense over the last three seasons. His scoring has improved in every year – growing from 28 points, to 36, and to 50 this year. Those improvements have been coupled with clear growth in his game. He’s become a stronger skater and more confident in finding space in the middle of the ice. Those improvements – and his scoring track record – lend themselves to clear pro upside. Hutson, who had a late start to his juniors career, went undrafted through the 2020, 2021, and 2022 NHL drafts. With this news, a team could soon reverse their mistake in looking past him and award the third of four Hutson brothers with his pro hockey debut.
  • Finally, the Seattle Kraken have reassigned goaltender Victor Ostman to the minor leagues. Ostman made his NHL debut in relief of Joey Daccord on Tuesday, after the latter allowed seven goals on 22 shots through the first two periods. Ostman saved all 12 of the shots he faced in relief. The 24-year-old netminder is playing through his first season of professional hockey, after spending the last four years at the University of Maine. He’s spent the bulk of the year in the ECHL, where he’s recorded a 21-7-4 record and .903 save percentage in 32 games. Ostman has also contributed a stout 2-1-1 record and .927 save percentage in four AHL games this season. He will head back to the AHL with this move, and could get a chance at plenty more ice time with a clean sheet in the NHL under his belt.

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