We know that Jared McCann has a good chance to be the Kraken’s top scorer for the fifth consecutive season, so he’ll be off the board first. At 0.77 points per game, he remains the Kraken’s safest and best option. Only three other Kraken forwards average more than 0.60 points per game: Chandler Stephenson (0.65), Jordan Eberle (0.63) and Kaapo Kakko (0.61).
It’s worth noting that the franchise record for points in a single season is still McCann’s 70, set in 2022-23 when the Kraken had an absurd shooting percentage that led the league. They predictably fell back to Earth the following season, and throughout their existence have been a very average to below-average team with a cadre of 50-60 point scorers.
The upside lies in Shane Wright, who scored 44 points in 79 games in his first full season and seems poised to take over as the top center. Matty Beniers is a solid player, but he’s turning into a dependable, two-way type who scores 60 points in a good season, and that’s just not particularly exciting in fantasy, especially when he offers middling peripherals with low shot volume and less than 50 percent face-off wins.
There is some intrigue with Kakko, who will likely play with Beniers in a 1A scoring line while Wright is the 1B option, but he’s yet another complementary player that tops out at around 60-70 points in a good season. It’s doubtful that any Kraken forward gets taken in the top 75, unless you’re looking for a specialist such as Eeli Tolvanen who can get you 20 goals and 200 hits.
Take your pick – Beniers, Kakko, Tolvanen, Eberle, Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz and even newcomer Mason Marchment – it’s doubtful any of these players are anything more than depth players or streaming options. Given who interchangeable some of these pieces are, it’s also frustrating for fantasy managers to pick a player to stream because, on any given night, each of them could play the hero. THN Yearbook & Fantasy Guide has projected Wright to be the Kraken’s leader at a paltry 63 points, which would barely crack the top 100, while six (!) other forwards are projected to score between 40 to 50 points.
The gems for the Kraken are on defense, highlighted by Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn. The latter is the slightly better fantasy option for points because he’ll likely quarterback the top power play, while Montour is better in banger leagues due to his shot volume and blocks. There are only about 20 defensemen every season who can score double-digit goals and Montour and Dunn are both pretty good bets.
In net, I think Joey Daccord is a solid goaltender. Based on ability alone, I’d put him in the top 20 and, generally speaking, he’s very consistent. He ranks 11th in quality starts percentage (min. 30 GP) and in back-to-back seasons has finished above 60 percent. That’s even more impressive when you consider he faltered at the end of the season, likely due to a career-high workload, where his save percentage dipped below .890 and his GAA ballooned to over 3.00 in the last two months.
I think he can be a good option for volume with around 50 starts. Philipp Grubauer was banished to the AHL and, truthfully, I think he’s one of the worst goalies in the league, but there’s no denying that he performed far better following his AHL stint. There will be competition for the backup spot between Grubauer and Matt Murray, but that’s just an indication to me that Daccord is the undisputed No. 1. I think getting 30 wins from Daccord will be tough because it’s a tough division and his team doesn’t provide him with good goal support, but he can rack up the saves.
Prediction:
Wright emerges as the team’s No. 1 center but fails to raise the overall ceiling of the Kraken by an amount significant enough to make them a playoff contender. It’s a group of solid NHL-caliber players, but no game breaker up front or on the back end.
Lane Lambert fails to coax much more out of this lineup than Dan Bylsma even though there are improvements. When Lambert was head coach of the Islanders, they also relied heavily on generating scoring chances from the point and couldn’t do much in the slot and high-danger areas of the ice. Even though the Kraken offense should improve by trying to get more of those high-danger shot attempts, that Dunn and Montour are their best players means they’re forced to keep the same strategy.
The Kraken once again suffer middling results and the fanbase verges on exhaustion waiting for something exciting to happen as the Kraken miss the playoffs yet again.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.