With the new year coming, this is the time to start writing New Year’s Resolutions. There are several players on the Seattle Kraken who should take this time to turn a new leaf and pick up their point totals.
The First Draft Pick: Matty Beniers
At the beginning of the offseason leading into the current 2024-25 NHL season, Matty Beniers received a huge contract. He signed a seven-year contract for an average annual value (AAV) of $7.14 million. After the stellar first season he had, he had a bit of a sophomore slump in the 2023-24 season.
In the 2022-23 season, Beniers played in 80 of the 82 games. He scored a total of 24 goals and earned 33 assists for 57 points. For his first season in the NHL, this was a pretty incredible feat. It gave fans hope for the season to come. He also helped the team in their first-ever playoff run. He played in all 14 games, scoring three goals and four assists. He was a great asset in the second round, scoring all three of his playoff goals against the Dallas Stars.
Last season he dropped his point total by 20 points, putting up only 37 amongst 15 goals scored and 22 assists. Although his point totals were not nearly as impressive as they were the season prior, Beniers still put up a decent fight.
Perhaps management thought that giving him such a large contract would light a fire under him. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. So far in 37 games, Beniers has only scored five goals and earned 14 assists for a total of 19 points. He was on a point drought for a little while, ending his seven-game streak without a point with an assist on Jaden Schwartz’s goal when they hosted the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 1. Despite losing the game, this was a big win for Beniers. However, this one little personal victory is not nearly enough.
He received another personal victory when he scored the first goal of the game against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 28. He was able to break his 19-game goalless streak by putting the puck into the back of the net. For one of the star players on the Kraken, Beniers needs to pick up the pace.
With the size of the contract that he received, and based on him being a first-round draft pick, Beniers should be performing at a much higher level than he currently is. Hopefully, he shakes himself out of this junior-year slump and starts putting pucks in the back of the net.
A New Face to the Team This Season: Chandler Stephenson
Chandler Stephenson is another member of the Seattle Kraken team who received a high-paying contract. He was picked up as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at the beginning of the offseason. The Vegas Golden Knights did not re-sign him, so the Kraken were able to pick him up. The Kraken were quick with it, picking him up the first day that free agency opened. He signed for seven years, $6.25 million AAV.
So far this season, Stephenson has played in a total of 36 games. The amount of assists he has recorded so far is fairly impressive, with the total currently sitting at 20. However, it is the total number of goals scored that brings about concerns. He has only scored three. With a contract of his size and being in the league for as long as he has, more is to be expected of Stephenson. This is now his 10th year in the league, and he is not performing as well as he should be.
Related: Seattle Kraken’s 2025 New Year’s Resolutions
The length of his contract brings out another concern. Stephenson is currently 30 years of age. It gets to be around this point where players start considering whether or not to retire. Unfortunately, not everyone can be Alexander Ovechkin, still playing at almost 40. With a seven-year contract, that would bring Stephenson to age 37. It raises the question of if he will even be able to play in the league for this long. It’s something to consider with a contract that large in both time and money.
One of the Original Members: Brandon Tanev
One of the few remaining members of the 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft, Brandon Tanev has become a fan-favorite player. He was picked up by Seattle from the Pittsburgh Penguins. He quickly established himself in the 2022-23 season, scoring 16 goals and earning 19 assists. These 35 points were an all-time career-high season total for him. This season, not so much.
Tanev currently has seven goals and seven assists, for a total of 14 points. His last point was earned on Dec. 12 against the Boston Bruins, where he recorded an assist on Jared McCann’s empty-net goal. In the last five games, he has earned himself a giant goose egg in the points column.
Having a nickname like “Turbo”, one would expect him to be quick on the draw. However, when he gets the puck towards the front of the net, he looks more like his iconic headshot photo. Instead of shooting the puck, it appears he is unable to put on the brakes fast enough. Perhaps that’s where the name Turbo comes from.
Either way, Tanev will be a UFA at the end of the season. The Kraken will have to make a decision on whether to re-sign him or let him go. With the way he has been performing lately, that decision might be clear if he doesn’t step up as the season progresses.
Another OG in a Slump: Yanni Gourde
Another one of the original members of the Kraken and a fan favorite, Yanni Gourde is another member of the Kraken team seeing a slump. He is in a similar boat to Tanev, as he will also be a UFA at the end of the season if the Kraken choose not to re-sign him.
Gourde currently stands at five goals and 10 assists for the season. For 33 games played, that’s just about a point every other game. Even though he missed three games due to a lower-body injury he sustained against the Florida Panthers earlier in the month on Dec. 10, this is no excuse. In the last five games he has earned two assists; one in the Panthers game previously mentioned and one right before the holiday break against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 22. There was a large stretch at the beginning of the season where he recorded no points, from Oct. 19 until Nov. 12, when he finally broke that streak against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
As trade rumors begin to swirl, let’s hope that these point droughts are fewer and far between for Gourde.
Let’s Hope for a Better 2025
The Kraken have one more game in 2024, when they face off against the Utah Hockey Club for the first time on Dec. 30. If things don’t turn around there, hopefully, a new year brings a fresh face to these players in 2025.
