The Seattle Kraken come into just their third season in the NHL with a lot of high hopes. After qualifying for the postseason for the first time in franchise history and winning their first playoff series, the team is looking forward to reaching even greater heights this upcoming year. There will certainly be a ton of predictions made about the Pacific Northwest team. Below are my top five for the Kraken for the 2023-24 campaign.
Kraken Will Win the Pacific Division
The Pacific Division was certainly one of the more impressive divisions last year. All four teams who made the playoffs, including the Kraken, finished the season with 100 points or more. That ended up being the only division of the four that had each qualifying team achieve that mark. Seattle themselves had a tremendous season and was without question one of the biggest surprises in 2022-23. While only finishing in fourth place in the division and seventh overall in the Western Conference, the team set a ton of franchise records in just year two.
With the likes of the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights as well as teams such as the Connor McDavid-led Edmonton Oilers and the up-and-coming Los Angeles Kings, things won’t get any easier for the Kraken. However, they will once again surprise not just their division foes, but the entire league by winning the Pacific Division.
With the breakout seasons for young players like Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers and the addition of more playoff experience with the signings of Brian Dumoulin and Kailer Yamamoto, the Kraken are faster and stronger than last season. They also still have the leadership of head coach Dave Hakstol which should provide stability and confidence. When building a Stanley Cup winner, you have to take steps for growth and this season will be a major step forward to bring a championship to the Emerald City.
Matty Beniers Scores 40 Goals
It was a very impressive season in 2022-23 for the Kraken’s rookie sensation. Beniers registered his first 20-goal season and ultimately won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year (from ‘NHL rookie of the year Matty Beniers, son of Broadway actress, takes the spotlight’, Seattle Times, June 26, 2023). That being said, the soon-to-be 21-year-old is going to have an even more impressive Year 3. I predict that not only will he achieve his first 30-goal season, but he’ll go several steps further and produce the first 40-goal mark in the short history of the Kraken.
Related: 2022-23 Kraken Report Card: Calder Trophy Winner Matty Beniers
Beniers’ shot continued to improve exponentially as the season rolled on and he’ll take his game to another level in just his second full year in the NHL. He’s the franchise piece and the Kraken drafted him with the intention that he would be their go-to scorer. I think he will not only become the leading scorer for Seattle but cement his name as one of the best young snipers that we have in our game today.
What’s going to help the Hingham, Massachusetts native accomplish this is another season of playing with a healthy André Burakovsky as well as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jaden Schwartz, and Brandon Tanev. General manager Ron Francis wanted to provide his young phenom with reliable, consistent support and it will just continue. The skies are the limit for Beniers and it will lead him to go from a good player into a great player.
Kraken Record 1st Shutout in Winter Classic History
Back on New Year’s Day, the NHL announced that the third-year franchise would get the distinct honor of playing in the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic. On top of that, the Kraken will be the ones hosting the game at the Seattle Mariners’ home stadium, T-Mobile Park. Their opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights, is also a big deal for a couple of reasons. The first is the most obvious one in that Seattle gets to host the defending Stanley Cup champs in this major event. The second is, this will be a matchup of the two most recent expansion teams, the first time this has happened since the Winter Classic became part of the NHL’s schedule every year.
There will be tons of hype around this game and it will be a major opportunity for the whole hockey world to see what the city of Seattle and its hockey team have to offer. What they will offer will not only be celebratory but historic. My prediction is that the Kraken will not only win their first-ever outdoor game, but they will record the first shutout in Winter Classic history. While there have been shutouts in previous outdoor games, there has not been one in a Winter Classic matchup. That’s gonna change on Jan. 1, 2024.
In every outdoor game, there’s always something unexpected that happens. In this one, we are going to have the defending champions, with their high-powered offense, be stymied by the Seattle defense. Expect also an unlikely hero to emerge to carry the Kraken offensive attack. For me, my money is on Eeli Tolvanen. He’ll end up with a two-goal performance in the Kraken’s 3-0 win in front of nearly 50,000 fans. It will truly be a Winter Classic to remember for Seattle.
Kraken Acquire Connor Hellebuyck at the Trade Deadline
One major question mark that still has yet to be answered is what will Kraken do at the goaltending position. While Philipp Grubauer was able to have a ton of success in the playoffs, it’s a cause for concern how much he’s struggled in the regular season since moving to Seattle. In two seasons, he has posted a 35-45-9 record, a 3.00 goals-against average (GAA), and a .892 save percentage (SV%). Grubauer and the goaltending in general have to be better. While I do think there will be somewhat of a turnaround, the Kraken will want to make an upgrade during the year and they’ll do just that at the 2024 Trade Deadline.
Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is in the final year of his contract. He is a former Vezina Trophy winner and finished in second place in the voting this past season. He also has a ton of playoff experience and success. The 30-year-old has also reportedly made it clear that he has no intention of re-signing in Winnipeg following the conclusion of his current deal. He would like to move to a contending team. While the Kraken aren’t quite there yet, they will get the opportunity to acquire the netminder at the deadline and Ron Francis will pull the trigger.
The Kraken will have more than enough cap space to have Hellebuyck’s contract on their books for the rest of the season. How they go about signing him long-term is a discussion for another day. What the Michigan native will bring to the Emerald City is a top-flight goalie that can steal games not just in the regular season, but in the postseason as well. By acquiring Hellebuyck, the Kraken will not only have playoff success, I believe they will go on a long run.
Kraken Make a Run to the Western Conference Final
With the improvements of the team as well as others taking major steps forward, the Kraken are ready to make their first long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It will culminate with them reaching their first Western Conference Final in franchise history. Seattle is slowly but surely building itself into a consistent playoff contender. They will build off last season’s success with an even more magical run this year.
In just their short time in the NHL, the Kraken have built an exciting, entertaining brand of hockey. They are liked by not just their fans, but many hockey enthusiasts around the world. They also have had a ton of success in just a short period of existence. The upcoming 2023-24 season will lead to even more of that. It will also be the beginning of what will truly be a special time for hockey in the “Queen City of the Pacific.”
