The summer sun is beating down, the golf courses are packed, and for most NHL cities, the hot stove talk is simmering down to a low boil. But here in the Pacific Northwest, as we head towards the 2025-26 season, the air around the Seattle Kraken feels different. It’s not the frantic energy of a rebuild or the confident swagger of a defending champion. It’s the tense, electric feeling of a team at a crossroads.
After their storybook playoff run in 2023, the Kraken have spent two seasons finding their footing in the league’s brutal middle class. They’re good, but are they great? They’re structured, but are they dynamic? GM Ron Francis has built a respectable club, but respectability doesn’t get your name engraved on the Stanley Cup. As training camp inches closer, a few key questions will determine whether Seattle takes the next step or remains stuck in neutral.
The Blue Line and the Bottom Line
Let’s start with the good news, because there’s plenty of it. The Kraken’s greatest strength is their foundation. Defensively, this team still bears the hallmarks of a well-coached, disciplined group. With Vince Dunn quarterbacking the power play and logging huge minutes, they have a bona fide #1 D-man in his prime. Dunn has that elite ability to transition the puck from defence to offence in a blink, and his offensive instincts are crucial to the team’s success. Alongside him, the veteran presence of players like Adam Larsson ensures that opponents have to fight for every inch of ice, especially in the dirty areas around the net. This isn’t a team that’s going to get pushed around.
The other major positive is the enviable position Ron Francis has put the team in. While other clubs are navigating salary cap hell, Francis has remained patient and prudent. The Kraken have cap flexibility, which is the most valuable currency in today’s NHL. This allows them to be opportunistic, whether that’s weaponizing their cap space to acquire assets at the trade deadline or making a significant play in free agency without mortgaging the future. This financial health, combined with a solid defensive identity, gives them a high floor. They’re almost guaranteed to be competitive every night.
Wanted: One Game-Breaker
Competitiveness is one thing; dominance is another. The Kraken’s single biggest concern remains the same one that’s plagued them since puck drop in 2021: a genuine lack of elite, game-breaking offensive talent. For years, their scoring-by-committee approach has been both a blessing and a curse. It makes them difficult to match up against, but it also means that when the game is on the line, there isn’t one guy everyone in the building knows is getting the puck.
Matty Beniers is a fantastic two-way center, a future Selke candidate who can chip in 60-70 points. Shane Wright is carving out his role and showing flashes of the brilliance that made him a top prospect. But Seattle lacks a pure sniper. They don’t have that player who can take a half-chance from the top of the circle and bury it. They don’t have the 40-goal threat that terrifies opposing goalies and forces coaches to adjust their entire game plan. On the power play, you see a lot of solid puck movement but not enough killer instinct. Until they find or develop a player whose primary skill is simply putting the puck in the back of the net, they will continue to struggle in tight-checking playoff series where one goal can be the difference.
The Goalie Question Looms Large
The other massive question mark hangs in the crease. The Philipp Grubauer era, with its $5.9 million AAV, is in the rearview mirror, and the organization is betting on its future. Whether it’s a promising prospect they’ve patiently developed or a younger tandem they’ve acquired, the pressure is immense. We’ve seen it time and time again: a team can look great on paper, but if they don’t get consistent, top-tier goaltending, it all falls apart.
Is the new goaltender, or tandem, ready for the grind of an 82-game season as the undisputed starter? Can they steal a game the team has no business winning? Can they make that five-alarm save in overtime of a must-win game in March? Relying on a young or unproven netminder is a high-wire act. If it pays off, it’s a stroke of genius that sets the franchise up for a decade. If it fails, it can single-handedly sink a promising season and put a GM squarely on the hot seat. For the Kraken, their 2025-26 playoff hopes may rest squarely on the shoulders of the man wearing the big pads. The foundation is there, but the finishing touches—a goal-scorer and a bona fide #1 goalie—are what separate the good from the truly great.
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