I don't know about you but there are a couple guys skating in the state of Washington who I'd rather have skating in the building on Seventh Avenue.
One is Kaapo Kakko and the other is Ryan Lindgren. Neither were troublemakers and both were admired for one reason or another by the Faithful. Some us are wondering how they feel about Seattle and how the Kraken media feel about them
For an answer, I contacted my buddy and Kraken beat reporter Glenn Dreyfuss. Here's what he has to say about our former heroes. Take it away. Glenn:
"Seattle signed Kakko to an offseason three-year bridge deal worth $4.5 million AAV. This is a clear indication that the former 2nd overall pick is betting on himself to have enough offensive impact in Seattle to warrant an even bigger payday down the road.
"He produced 10 goals and 20 assists in 49 Kraken games after the Dec., 2024 trade for Will Borgen. (Interestingly, the Blueshirts signed Borgen for five years at an almost identical $4.1 million AAV. Which player would you have invested that money in?)
"Kraken general manager Jason Botterill predicts an even better 2025-26 season from Kakko. 'He knows (now) what to expect here in Seattle, he has familiarity with our players,' says Botterill. "Center Matty Beniers is one linemate Kakko already knows. “He showed really good chemistry with Matty (Beniers), them reading off each other.'
"Botterill freely admits Kakko exceeded expectations. 'Once you get a player, it’s always a little different from what you see evaluating him up in the pressbox. We knew he had the size, we knew he was strong on pucks. But some of the little plays he made in the neutral zone, or finding teammates in the offensive zone, that vision and playmaking skill was even higher than we originally thought.
“'I was shocked at how good a playmaker he was. He’s so strong on pucks in the offensive zone. He has a net-front presence, but he also has the ability to pop out in the slot and utilize his shot.”
"The other ex-Ranger new to the Kraken is defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who signed a four-year, $18 million free agent deal. New York had traded Lindgren last March to the Colorado Avalanche as part of a multi-player and draft choice deal.
"The NHL doesn’t keep 'bruises caused by pucks' as an official statistic, but if it did, Lindgren would surely be among the league leaders. Ryan had 128 blocks in 72 games for the Rangers and Avalanche last season, and 593 in his career.
"Try this Q and A I did with Lindgren:
Glenn Dreyfuss: “When a puck’s flying our way, most mere mortals like us would do everything we could to get out of the way. You make it your business to get in the way. How do you learn to do that, and isn’t it a painful way to make a living?”
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Not to worry about Artemi Panarin; he'll get his bundle and become a $uper Breadman. (It ain't worth a paywall penny.)
Ryan Lindgren, Kraken defenseman: “Maybe it's because I come from a family of goalies. My dad was a goalie, my two older brothers both played goal.. Just might be in my blood a little bit.
“It can be painful at times, but I just try to do anything I can to help the team. I spent a lot of time on the penalty kill over the last couple of years. I think that’s a big part of (the PK), too, is getting your body in front of the shot and doing whatever you can to help the goalie.”
Postscript from Dreyfuss: "What Seattle didn’t need more of was offense from its defense – Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn have that covered. They needed what Lindgren provides – more defense from their defense, and improvement on the penalty kill.
'It’s worth noting that $4.5 million was the AAV of Lindgren’s last contract as well. Given that teams always need to pay more to sign a free agent – because it’s a blind bidding situation – this is a solid pickup for the Kraken, if Lindgren can stay healthy."