Seattle Kraken season preview Will Kraken improve on 100-point total from 2023-24?

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In Seattle, there is optimism, indeed, excitement, for the coming 2023-24 NHL season.

Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Seattle Kraken

The Kraken made it to the post season and acquitted themselves well in two rounds.

Seattle ousted the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the season, before dropping Game 7 to the Dallas Stars in the second round.

All that success was after securing 100 points in the regular season. There was no sophomore jinx in Seattle.

“We’re not going to be a surprise to any teams coming into next season,” Seattle’s Vince Dunn said on NHL.com. “We’re going to get everyone’s best, and we know we need to be prepared with that.

“So, for us, I think having the goal to make the playoffs again is very reasonable and very achievable. We’ve lost some pieces, but we’ve definitely added some really good parts to the team.”

Maybe not surprised, but certainly intrigued some new looks on the roster.

The off season has not been without change. The Kraken lost several of the stalwarts from the last campaign including Martin Jones, Carson Soucy, Ryan Donato, Morgan Geekie, and Daniel Sprong. All departed the Kraken via free agency.

The Kraken did not sit back in free agency. They signed Brian Dumoulin, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Kailer Yamamoto.

Yamamoto is a native of Washington state.

“I always wished that they would get a team, and thank goodness they got one,” Yamamoto said. “Now that I’m on the team, it’s definitely a dream come true.”

The quaint ideas of what an expansion team is stepped to the open window when the Vegas Golden Knights went to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year. It stepped out out into open air when the Kraken hit 100 points in their second year. Smart management, good coaching, and free agency have improved over the generations to get here.

If only certain long-time franchises would learn the same lessons.

“I really want our guys to have a sense of pride in what they were able to accomplish last year and what we were able to build, and I sense that,” coach Dave Hakstol said on NHL.com. “I feel that in the conversations with our players. But the other piece that I feel, and the part that is really important, is our guys are very disappointed in losing Game 7 in Round 2.

“So, that combination, my hope is that is brings us into camp with our feet on the ground, with a highly motivated group and a group that understands each other a little bit better than we did at this time last year. We understand our formula a little bit better, and that’s our platform to work off of and show advancement this year.”

Pride, that’s another lesson those old teams need to instill in their players across the bench, not just a select one or two.

Despite the 100 points in the regular season, goalie Philipp Grubauer was not spectacular in the regular season. He changed that in the post season and nearly carried the Kraken to the Conference Final.

His regular season record was unremarkable 17-14-4 and a 2.85 GAA and .895 save percentage.

Grubauer went 7-7 with a 2.99 GAA and .903 save percentage in the playoffs.

“I found my rhythm there,” Grubauer said on NHL.com. “But there’s always stuff to improve. You can always be a better teammate, a better player on the ice, and grow as a person.”

For the Kraken to build on their second-season momentum, they will need Grubauer to step it up one more level.

Seattle’s top prospects including Forwards Shane Wright and Tye Kartye, and defenseman Ryker Evans, are expected to step up the Kraken roster this season.

All three iced for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League. All three benefited from invaluable experience competing for the Calder Cup trophy in the AHL, losing to the Hershey Bears in seven games.

The Kraken enter the season still riding a high from 2023-24. If their prospects slide into their roles and perform well enough, and their standouts including Andre Burakovsky and Vince Dunn reprise their efforts from last season, the Kraken are close to hitting the post season for their second straight season.

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