Dear Santa,
How’s it going? I’m a big fan. I hope the Christmas preparations are running smoothly. Are all the train sets and doll houses ready for shipment? Do kids still ask for those? Apparently, 12-year-olds have smartphones these days, so what do I know?
Listen, we know the Seattle Kraken team at The Hockey Writers is sending you this later than expected. It’s also come to our attention that 31 other teams have sent in wish lists, so you’re probably quite busy already. We don’t want to burden you too much, but you work, like, once per year, so I’m assuming you can squeeze in a little overtime. After all, this is for the Kraken, not the Nashville Predators. I shudder to think of all the things they need this Christmas.
But I digress. Our wish list is fairly simple. I’ll even make it easier for you by laying the full names of certain statistical categories before venturing into head-spinning acronyms. So, without further ado:
Get Chandler Stephenson Going
You can’t make a trade out of thin air, but Seattle isn’t asking for one. Yes, Chandler Stephenson is costing the team $6.25 million per season with a no-movement clause. On the positive side, he’s third on the team with 21 points – most of those are courtesy of assists with 18. You know a thing or two about assists, what with those little people helping you and those reindeer pulling the sleigh. It’s not all bad – we need to make that clear.
But the man has only scored three goals this season. Players can get unlucky, snake-bitten if you will. However, that’s not the case with Stephenson. He not shooting the puck. I’m not going to make you visit Money Puck – I know you’re short on time – so I’ll give you the gist of it here. He ranks 14th among forwards on the team in expected goals (xG) per 60 minutes with 0.35. He’s also 15th in shot attempts per 60 and 14th in shot attempts per game.
You might think he’s making his linemates better with those assists. Yes and no. Stephenson has spent 92:19 playing with Jaden Schwartz and Oliver Bjorkstrand, and they have an xGF% of 31.57% The coach has put him with Schwartz and Andre Burakovsky for 68:54, and that trio’s xGF% is 39.47%. Although the xG% when he’s lined up with Burakvsky and Jared McCann is better (50.00%), the Corsi and Fenwick take a tumble: 43.06% and 36.36%, respectively.
Related: 3 Takeaways from the Kraken’s 5-1 Loss to the Lightning
Look, we like him. He brings Stanley Cup experience to the locker room. To be clear, not these Stanley cups, this Stanley Cup. I admit, the first time I heard a twentysomething lifestyle influencer talk about her Stanley cup, I was confused.
Maybe whisper something in his ear while he’s sleeping, small words of encouragement: be bolder and play like there’s no tomorrow. Fortune favors the bold. Something like that. He’s from Saskatoon. Maybe leave some Berry pie under his Christmas tree as an incentive.
A Stable Kraken Goalie Situation
Here’s another one that’s not as bad as it sounds. Honestly, the Kraken seem to be turning their goalie situation around. Things were looking a little wonky in October and early November. As I write this letter to you (Dec. 17), the team’s collective goals against average (GAA) 2.97 ranks 14th in the NHL. Far from great, but it was worse not long ago. Still, there is no hiding from the fact that last season, it was 2.83, which was good for ninth overall.Gru
Joey Daccord is having a decent season. He’s 12-6-2, with a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.42 and a save percentage (SV%) of .916. We’re worried about Philipp Grubauer. Our veteran torwart has taken a step back in 2024-25. Just look at his 3-9-0 record, 3.50 GAA and .879 SV%.
Daccord is looking solid, ranked 16th among all netminders with a goals saved above expected per 60 minutes of 0.464. However, Grubauer is way behind in 68th with -0.470. He’s also 68th with a GAA better than expected of -0.47. It’s not always his fault. He played okay in a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Nov. 17. We were so proud when he earned the game’s first star on Dec. 12 when Seattle beat the Boston Bruins 5-1. But games like Nov. 29 (an 8-5 loss to the San Jose Sharks) and Dec. 8 (a 7-5 win over the Rangers) are brutal.
The team could always call up Ales Stezka or Niklas Kokko from the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the American Hockey League (AHL). Then again, it would be nice if Grubauer was just a tad more consistent. He doesn’t need to make Daccord second-guess his status as the number-one, but at least reassure the team that when they give Daccord a break, they have a dependable second option.
I mean, can you imagine making a goalie who costs $5.9 million per season a healthy scratch or sending him down to the AHL? Surely, you know a thing or two about the pains of spending a big budget on big dreams. The heating cost alone for your operation in the North Pole must be astronomical.
Improve the Kraken’s Power Play
Okay, one last little favor. Could the power play continue to improve? I say “continue” because there have been some strides over the past weeks. But, overall, things aren’t looking great. Seattle operates at 18.8% efficiency when on the man advantage, which ranks 21st league-wide. The power play units’ xG is 17.36, with ranks 13th. The Corsi and Fenwick are neither terrific nor disastrous at 87.45% and 85.93%, good for the 17th and 15th spots. Things are worse in the goals above expected department: -2.36, ranked 23rd.
Since the week that led to American Thanksgiving (which for some is as significant as Christmas. Can you imagine?), the Kraken have gone 8-for-32, which translates to 25% efficiency. It helped that the units cashed in on the few power play opportunities they were awarded. On Nov. 30, Dec. 3, Dec. 5, Dec. 6, Dec. 8, and Dec. 14, they only had two in each game but at least scored five times. As you can see, it’s getting better. But being a middle-of-the-pack power play won’t cut it in the end.
There you have it, Santa. Wishes for three areas where the team can continue to improve. I don’t know how you’ll go about accomplishing these – for that matter, we don’t even know if the team is on the naughty or nice list. We’ll leave that up to you. But with John Forslund calling the game, the Kraken must be in your good book, no? Hey, hey, what do you say?
We’re happy to leave something for you when you stop by Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle is a great town for seafood. Have you ever seen our players “yeet” the fish into the crowd after a win at home? We can get some Sockeye salmon for you from the Pike Place Market. Do you want us to get someone to “yeet” at you? We’ll do it, we swear.
Be safe when travelling.
Thanks, Santa.
P.S. Do not get too close to the Gum Wall.
