Plus: Kartye Endorsement, Donskoi Retirement & Daccord's Mask
If anyone present knows of any reason that the Seattle Kraken in their third season should not ascend to even greater NHL heights, speak now or forever hold your pe- yes, E.J. Hradek of NHL.com?
"Everything fell into place (last season). I think it's hard to do that in back-to-back seasons. I think it's going to be a challenge in year three."
Those, the cautionary words of Hradek in a recent season preview. E.J. wonders if off-season free agent additions - defenseman Brian Dumoulin, and forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - are enough. "They haven't plugged in many new players," says Hradek.
He also has the same question as everyone else, about the Kraken's 2022 first round draft choice. "What's going to happen to Shane Wright? Is he going to be good enough to earn a spot in Seattle?"
Hradek does like Seattle's defensive corps. "Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson were one of a handful of top d-pairs last year. It'll be interesting to see how Dumolin fits in, longtime Pittsburgh Penguin, who's won before. At the end of the day, to win the Stanley Cup, you need that number one center, you need that number one defenseman to set everything else in motion. The question now for Ron Francis is, over time, will he be able to do that."
Hradek does see the Kraken returning to the postseason, but perhaps not much more. "I think they do benefit from being in the West, and specifically in the Pacific Division. I'm going to say they'll be in the playoffs, but it'll be more challenging and more difficult than the season before."
One Rookie Of The Year Endorses Another
Tye Kartye, who made an impressive debut for the Kraken in last season's playoffs, got an enthusiastic endorsement from Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers.
"Beniers loved playing with Kartye," says NHL.com's Pete Jensen. "He thinks he's a sleeper for the upcoming season. Kartye won AHL rookie of the year. If he sticks like he did in the playoffs with Beniers and Jordan Eberle, his upside is 50+ points."
Donskoi Says Goodbye
A concussion suffered by former Seattle Kraken Joonas Donskoi in last year's preseason has forced him to retire.
In 75 games with the Kraken in 2021-22, Donskoi scored two goals and 22 points. “I got to live my dream of being an NHL player, which I’m extremely blessed and grateful for,” he said in a statement. “I think I was able to reach my own potential, which was always my biggest goal.”
The "Stellar, Sweet, Sick" New Mask For Joey Daccord
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord has rewarded himself with a spiffy new helmet paint job.
He earned it, with a sparkling regular season for the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds, topped by an even better playoff performance.
Daccord is expected to battle for the Kraken number two goalie position with Chris Driedger at training camp next month.
Fans seemed to like the new design from Shifty Paint, judging from replies which ranged from "fantastic" to "tight" to "epic" and also included "stunningly cool," "rad," "brilliant," "dope," "amazing," "stellar," "sweet," and "sick."