The Seattle Kraken found themselves at the top of The Athletic’s latest list; however, it is not the list the team would want to be on. ​The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe wrote an article on Wednesday, July 8th, titled “Which of these 8 NHL fan bases should be most insulted by the offseason so far?” ​

Coming in at number one? The Seattle Kraken. ​

McIndoe’s reasoning can be found below. ​

What happened: For the second time in a few months, the Kraken tried to go all-in on a star winger, offering trade assets and big dollars to get them to come to Seattle. Like Artemi Panarin before him, Jason Robertson took one look and said “nope.” But unlike Panarin, who was quickly shipped to his preferred destination in Los Angeles, Robertson is still in limbo in Dallas. In other words, he’s not sure where he’ll play next; he just knows he doesn’t want it to be in Seattle — even if they were willing to make him the second-highest-paid player in the league.

The case for: You have to give the Kraken credit for trying. After five mostly lackluster NHL seasons, and with the specter of an NBA return looming over the market, the team seems to realize it can’t tread water forever. They’ve been trying to land a difference-maker and are willing to pay up to do so. The problem is, nobody seems to want to take their money.

That’s a tough look for a team trying to break through. And that’s especially true given the Seattle market should have plenty going for it, including being (for now) one of the fabled no-tax destinations players seem to love so much. Their expansion cousins down in Vegas always have a lineup out the door of players pleading for a chance to play there. But Seattle? They quite literally can’t buy a star.

The case against: At least they haven’t had any superstars demand a trade out of town. Then again, you could argue that five years in, they’ve never had one.

The insult-o-meter reads: 9/10, making the Kraken a somewhat surprising top pick for today’s list. But I think it makes sense — the only thing worse than having to say goodbye to a franchise icon is the realization that you can’t even get one in the first place.

The Full Article

​McIode highlighted the Kraken’s off-season moves, mostly citing the failure to acquire Jason Robertson. ​

However, failing to sign Robertson wasn’t the only move the team made this offseason.

The biggest move of the offseason was signing forward Bobby McMann to a six-year, $34.5 million contract (AAV of $5.75 million).​

Next, the team signed two more skaters to deals. ​

After they acquired forward Mackie Samoskevich from the Florida Panthers in exchange for the No. 25 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional 2027 second-round pick. ​They announced they had agreed to a three-year deal with Samoskevich on July 1st worth  $3.85 million annually. ​

The team also announced on July 1st that they had agreed to a two-year deal with forward Curtis Douglas.​

The team also drafted eight players in the 2026 NHL Draft. ​

The team selected defenseman Chase Reid with the seventh overall selection.

​In the following rounds, the team selected right wing Casey Mutryn (38th overall), center Viktor Fedorov (99th overall), defenseman Finn Kearns (131st overall), defenseman Hawke Huff (148th overall), defenseman Ola Palme (166th overall), defenseman Rylan Singh (198th overall), and center William Tomko (204th overall).

While the Kraken may not have been successful in acquiring Robertson, the team has made several offseason moves to improve its roster. ​

Fans may feel insulted that Robertson decided not to come to Seattle; several other moves must be considered when analyzing the team’s offseason.

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