It is finally the Christmas season, and with that comes the time to write out any wishes for the holiday. With the way the Seattle Kraken have played the last month, they will need all of the help they can get. Let’s look at what would be on the Kraken’s holiday wish list.
A Healthy Team
Like many teams this season, the Kraken have been plagued by the injury bug. It seems like after each game, another player has gone down. They currently have five players out with an injury, not including players in the minor leagues.
- Jared McCann
- Jaden Schwartz
- Brandon Montour
- Vince Dunn
- Matt Murray
The Kraken’s all-time leading goal scorer, Jared McCann, has been out twice this season with an injury, which has been a devastating blow. He was first injured back in October with a lower-body injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He missed 17 games and returned on Nov. 26. He played six games and then re-aggravated the previous injury.
Jaden Schwartz was another huge blow to the Kraken’s offense. He has been out since Nov. 26 and is expected to miss six weeks with a lower-body injury. Before he was injured, he was the Kraken’s leading point scorer for the season. That honor has since been bestowed upon Jordan Eberle with his 23 points in 35 games. On the plus side, we should be rounding the corner for Schwartz’s injury. Six weeks since he was placed on injured reserve (IR) would take us to the first full week of January. With two more weeks to go, the Kraken need his offensive power back.
Not only did the offense take a huge hit, but the blue line has as well. The Kraken just announced that defenseman Brandon Montour will be out for the next four weeks after undergoing successful hand surgery. He sustained his injury in the game against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 16. With the announcement occurring just this week on Dec. 22, we will likely not see him back on the ice with the Kraken until the end of January.
On the same day as the Montour announcement, Vince Dunn was injured in the game against the Anaheim Ducks. He was hit hard by Ross Johnston and left the game in clear physical discomfort and emotional distress, since none of his teammates came to his defense. He didn’t play in the next game on Tuesday against the Kings, with coach Lane Lambert ruling him out with an upper-body injury. Hopefully, it is nothing serious, and Dunn will be back in the lineup following the Christmas break.
As if it wasn’t enough that the blue line and the offense are missing players, the goaltending has also taken a hit this season. Matt Murray sustained an injury in the Kraken’s game against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 15 and had to leave the game early. He was expected to miss six weeks, and this Saturday will be the six-week mark since his injury. Hopefully, this means we could see Murray back in the lineup soon.
The Option to Use the Three-Goaltender System
With Murray out on injured reserve these past few weeks, the Kraken have not been able to utilize their new three-goaltender roster they anticipated using at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, with Murray injured, this has put a damper on this plan.
Related: Seattle Kraken Should Carry 3 Goalies on Their Roster
Last season, it was clear the Kraken overplayed Joey Daccord, and Philipp Grubauer didn’t have the greatest performance. Seattle’s signing of Murray during the offseason was a way to combat that. However, even with two extra goaltenders on the roster, Daccord has played in 23 of Seattle’s 35 games this season. So much for keeping Daccord rested over the course of the season.
Luckily, Grubauer has stepped up his performance this season. He was a big part of the Kraken’s win on Tuesday against the Ducks, making 40 of 41 saves. In his 11 games this season, he has earned a record of 5-3-1. As the Kraken wait for Murray to return, Grubauer has definitely stepped up and erased some of his poor performance from the 2024-25 season.
Continue the Winning Momentum
Ahead of the Christmas break, the Kraken finally snapped a huge losing streak. Ever since their game on Nov. 23 against the New York Islanders, they dropped 10 of their 11 games before their California road trip. Once they hit those three games before the break, they won all three, including their first set of back-to-back wins since March 2024.
The Kraken are now on a three-game winning streak. They are nowhere near the playoff spot they were in at Thanksgiving, but it is an improvement since their month-long slide. While Seattle is nowhere close to a playoff spot at this point in the standings, the fact that they are finally on a winning streak is a huge step in the right direction.
Kraken Will Be Back in Action After the Holidays
The Kraken will be back on Sunday, Dec. 28, following the Christmas break, as they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
