There is a new team in the NHL. Having officially formed in April, the Seattle Kraken is now the 32nd team in the NHL, despite not having had any players. On May 12, 2021 they made history when they signed centre Luke Henman to a 3-year entry level contract. Since then, they have gained 28 more skaters and 3 goalies.
In the expansion draft, many were surprised by the selections that the Kraken made, as they did not select the big names that were left unprotected, such as goalie Carey Price, right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, left wing Gabriel Landeskog and centre Matt Duchene. After leaving all those huge names on the table, people were wondering what the Kraken was going to do in free agency.
In free agency, they ended up signing talented players such as forward Alexander Wennberg who had spent last season with the Florida Panthers before deciding to sign with the newly formed Seattle Kraken team. Also signing was forward Jaden Schwartz, who has played his entire 10-year career with the St. Louis Blues, even winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. After 2 years of first round exits and being swept last postseason, Schwarts decided to change the logo on his sweater and signed with the Kraken. The Kraken’s biggest signing - one of the biggest signings in the NHL this off season - was their new goaltender and Vezina trophy finalist, Philip Grubauer. Grubauer has spent the past 3 seasons with the Stanley Cup contending team, the Colorado Avalanche. After winning the President’s Trophy this past season, the Avalanche had looked almost unstoppable. However, they lost a key component in Grubauer who could become a great asset for the Seattle Kraken.
Now that this team has all of its players, fans can start making predictions on their performance this upcoming season. Most people believe that what the Vegas Knights were able to accomplish in 2018 is impossible to reach once again and the Kraken will be one of the worst teams this season, not even making the playoffs. Personally, I think that the Kraken will be a playoff team this season. I don’t believe that they will be nearly as good as the Golden Knights were in their inaugural season, but they will still make the playoffs. I believe that they will be eliminated in the first or second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs but, I guess, no one will know until it happens. Will they come 32nd in the NHL just as many people expect them to? Will they fall just short of a playoff birth? Will they be eliminated in the playoffs? Or will they defy the odds and dethrone the Tampa Bay Lightning and become the first NHL team ever to win a Stanley Cup in their inaugural season?