Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright (51) controls the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/eeaf4efa-e694-44b7-8125-b85d492c5c61.jpeg] Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright (51) controls the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images The Seattle Kraken don't just rank below the NHL average; they rank dead last in the NHL in average contract discounts. Unsurprisingly, the Florida Panthers [http://thn.com/florida] rank first in The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn's model, averaging a $1 million discount on contracts signed in the last five seasons. The Kraken, on the other hand, are another team without state income tax, but average a -$1.3 million discount on their contracts. There are several reasons why the two teams differ, the most glaring being that the Panthers are Stanley Cup contenders with players like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart headlining their lineup. The Kraken are in a bit of a weird spot. They aren't completely indulging in a rebuild but are looking to incorporate younger players into their roster, which means when they chase free agents, they need to cough up extra money, like they did with Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour. Of the six teams that don't pay state income taxes, the Kraken and the Nashville Predators [http://thn.com/nashville] are the only two teams on the negative half of Luszczyszyn's model, but the Predators nearly break even, losing out on about $100,000 on average. Luszczyszyn posted this chart in his article and on his X account, illustrating how each of the 32 NHL teams fare. (Dom Luszczyszyn, The Athletic) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b1bd9377-1918-4475-943f-1dab5bad8b09.webp] Luszczyszyn posted this chart in his article and on his X account, illustrating how each of the 32 NHL teams fare. (Dom Luszczyszyn, The Athletic) Until the Kraken become playoff contenders, signing free agents on cheaper deals will be a task deemed near impossible. What the Kraken need to do is win their negotiations with their homegrown talent. Kaapo Kakko [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken/latest-news/kraken-s-kaapo-kakko-files-for-arbitration] and Ryker Evans are next up to sign contracts, and the Kraken need to find a way to keep them on team-friendly deals. Next on the menu will be Shane Wright, Berkly Catton [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken/latest-news/who-does-berkly-catton-need-to-compete-with-to-make-the-kraken-roster], Jani Nyman and possibly other young Kraken prospects like Jake O'Brien, Jagger Firkus, Carson Rehkopf and Ryan Winterton. Team-friendly deals play a huge role in the success of franchises in today's game, and the Kraken haven't been all too great at it early on in their franchise's existence.
