The Seattle Kraken might be the most improved team in the Pacific Division this summer other than the Edmonton Oilers. After missing out on last year’s playoffs, the Kraken made a significant effort to climb back with some major off-season signings. 
Welcome to a new Oilersnation summer series called Off-Season Review, in which we’ll take a dive into what’s going on with the other 15 teams in the Western Conference. So far in the series, we’ve looked at the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, and the Vegas Golden Knights (link at the bottom of the article. In this one, we’ll take a look at the Seattle Kraken.

The Seattle Kraken 2023-24 Season in a Nutshell

The Seattle Kraken are the newest team in the National Hockey League, and made the postseason for the first time in franchise history in 2023, making it all the way to Game 7 of the second round.
They fell short and regressed quite a bit in 2023-24, missing the postseason with a 34-35-13 record, tied with the Calgary Flames for the fifth-worst record in the Pacific Division. By the trade deadline, the Kraken were out of the race for the postseason, as they had 63 points, six points behind the Golden Knights.
Deciding to re-tool, the Kraken traded expiring unrestricted free agent Alexander Wennberg to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Another notable transaction around this time came in a re-signing, as they locked up former Oiler Jordan Eberle to a two-year deal worth $9.5 million ($4.75 million annually).
When all was said and done, they finished with the eighth-overall pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft, the definition of mediocre.

Some Notable Statistics

It was a story of regression for many players on the Kraken. Lacking a true superstar, the team featured a “scoring by committee” approach during the 2022-23 season, and it worked… for that season. One of the biggest drop-offs was their first ever draftee, Matty Beniers, who went from 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games to 15 goals and 37 points in 77 games in 2023-24.
Their top goal-scorer and point-getter in 2022-23, Jared McCann, went from 40 goals and 70 points to 29 goals and 62 points while still leading the team. For the second consecutive season, defenceman Vince Dunn finished top three in scoring, potting 11 goals and 46 points in 59 games.
Oliver Bjorkstrand was their most improved player, equalling the 20 goals he had scored in 2022-23, but scoring a career-high 59 points compared to the 45 he had in 2022-23. After a rough start, Jordan Eberle turned it around and scored 17 goals and 44 points.
Waiver claimie Eeli Tolvanen had a career-year, scoring 16 goals and 41 points, slightly less than the 18 goals he had scored in 2022-23, but a definite improvement. Spark plug Yanni Gourde scored 1 goal and 33 points in 80 games, while Jaden Schwartz scored 13 goals and 30 points in 62 games.
As for the former Oilers on the team that weren’t mentioned, Justin Schultz scored seven goals and 26 points in 70 games, Adam Larsson scored four goals and 18 points in 81 games, and Kailer Yamamoto scored eight goals and 16 points in 59 games.
One player the Kraken can look forward to is netminder Joey Daccord, who posted a .916 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average in 50 games played, with a 19-18-11 record. Philipp Grubauer, their de facto starter, had an .899 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average in 36 games played. Expect them to share the crease in 2024-25.

Off-Season Transactions

The Kraken weren’t that active at the draft in terms of trade, making a minor move to trade down. They did select Berkly Catton with the eighth overall pick, one of just three draft-eligible players in the 21st century to score 50+ goals and 115+ points in the Canadian Hockey League. The other three players were Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Connor Bedard, with Connor McDavid just missing the cut, scoring 44 goals and 120 points in 47 games in 2014-15.
Jul. 1 saw the Kraken sign two key players for the upcoming years, as Cup-winning defenceman Brandon Montour signed a seven-year deal worth $50 million, with an annual cap hit of $7.143 million. Moreover, they signed 2023 Cup winner Chandler Stephenson to a seven-year, $43.75 million deal worth $6.25 million annually.
Montour scored eight goals and 33 points in 66 games, as well as three goals and 11 points in 24 postseason games with the 2024 Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. The season prior, he scored a career-high 16 goals and 73 points in 80 regular season games, as well as eight goals and 13 points in 21 postseason games.
Stephenson won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, and he scored 16 goals and 51 points in 75 games last season. His career-best in points came in 2022-23 (where he also scored 10 goals and 20 points in 22 games), while he scored 21 goals in 2021-22. The 30-year-old is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, having won the cup in 2018 as his Washington Capitals knocked off Vegas.
The Kraken also locked down Tolvanen, signing him to a two-year deal worth $6.95 million, or a cap hit of $3.475 annually. They brought in Montour’s teammate, Josh Maura, signing him to a one-year deal at the league minimum.
On the opening day of free agency, the Kraken also signed Ben Meyers, Mitchell Stephens, Brandon Biro, Nikolas Brouillard, and Maxime Lajoie to two-way deals at the league minimum, except for Stephens, who signed a two-year deal.
The following day, the Kraken traded defenceman Brian Dumoulin to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. With the emergence of Ryker Evans, as well the presence of Vince Dunn and Jamie Oleksiak on the left side, Dumoulin and his $3.15 million cap hit were redundant. Moving that cap will give them room to sign restricted free agent Matty Beniers.
As for who they’ve lost, Connor Carrick signed with Edmonton, netminder Chris Driedger signed with Florida, Cameron Hughes signed with Dallas, as did Kole Lind, while Andrew Poturalski signed with San Jose, along with Jimmy Schuldt. Devin Shore signed with Minnesota, while Tomáš Tatar signed with New Jersey.
It’s also worth noting that former Oiler, Kailer Yamamoto, wasn’t tendered meaning that he’s an unrestricted free agent, as is Justin Schultz. 
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Previously in this series…