Kraken 2024 Offseason chatter

[Bear of Bad News]

Geoff Baker is leaving the Seattle Times and joining the Kraken as Vice President, Editorial.

Source:Geoff Baker.

 

[gstommylee]

Geoff Baker is leaving the Seattle Times and joining the Kraken as Vice President, Editorial.

Source:Geoff Baker.

Now that he's an employee of the team. He can no longer be mr negative doom/gloom anymore.

 

[majormajor]

Alex Nylander and Oliver Kylington are still available. Those are good upside players.

Are the Kraken done?

Given how many oft injured players we have, I expect there to be lineup space by game 1. Have a look at Schwartz, Burakovsky, and Tanev. We should market ourselves as the prime destination for PTOs. Come to our camp.

 

[Scomerica]

Alex Nylander and Oliver Kylington are still available. Those are good upside players.

Are the Kraken done?

Given how many oft injured players we have, I expect there to be lineup space by game 1. Have a look at Schwartz, Burakovsky, and Tanev. We should market ourselves as the prime destination for PTOs. Come to our camp.

I think someone would have to go first. People on here have mentioned tanev maybe

 

[The Marquis]

Isn’t Kylington in the player assistance program?

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Alex Nylander and Oliver Kylington are still available. Those are good upside players.

Are the Kraken done?

Given how many oft injured players we have, I expect there to be lineup space by game 1. Have a look at Schwartz, Burakovsky, and Tanev. We should market ourselves as the prime destination for PTOs. Come to our camp.

I'd rather give one of the young/prospects forward a chance instead of signing Alex Nylander and we already have seven guys under contract on defense.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

Isn’t Kylington in the player assistance program?

Was in the player assistance program...seems odd that GMConroy didn't sign him but I guess he knows something all of us don't and that maybe Kylington isn't worth the Headaches...guess that's what happens when a player plays every other year and seems to get injured a lot

 

[kihei]

Sprong signs with the Canucks, one year, $975,000. Pretty good value for a depth forward who will pot some goals.

 

[majormajor]

Was in the player assistance program...seems odd that GMConroy didn't sign him but I guess he knows something all of us don't and that maybe Kylington isn't worth the Headaches...guess that's what happens when a player plays every other year and seems to get injured a lot

Per Flames fans here the Flames made him an offer and Kylington turned it down. So he's either asking for too much or is looking for a new home.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

Per Flames fans here the Flames made him an offer and Kylington turned it down. So he's either asking for too much or is looking for a new home.

Well good Luck to him he might have to sit until someone gets injured cause most Rosters are set...I thought Kylington would be a good pick up except for his injuries and mental problems

Sprong signs with the Canucks, one year, $975,000. Pretty good value for a depth forward who will pot some goals.

Sprong is going to score 30 goals in Vancouver

 

[The Marquis]

I hate late July and all of August. lol.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I hate late July and all of August. lol.

Couldn't have said it better ..

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Well foks, it's August, the most exciting month of hockey.

Here's my post to celebrate the consistant news and excitement expected for this month.

 

[The Marquis]

We’ve got one thing to look forward to over the next 4 weeks. My trip to Ecuador.

 

[majormajor]

Couldn't have said it better ..

Well foks, it's August, the most exciting month of hockey.

Here's my post to celebrate the consistant news and excitement expected for this month.

We’ve got one thing to look forward to over the next 4 weeks. My trip to Ecuador.

Prospect polls this year?

 

[shaner8989]

What are the lines looking like for next year? Do the kids get a look? Wright, Winterton etc

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

What are the lines looking like for next year? Do the kids get a look? Wright, Winterton etc

Wright is pretty close to a lock to start the season. Winterton, I would think, is more of a callup.

 

[sigma six]

Wright is pretty close to a lock to start the season. Winterton, I would think, is more of a callup.

It does feel that way, I think Wright and Evans will be the only young guys who play a meaningful number of games with the big club this year.

A handful more the year after.

 

[GrungeHockey]

Yes I think it's Wright's job to lose. He is most definitely the plan at this point. Optimistically, in classic development terms it might be the right moment.

 

[PocketNines]

Who are the handful of skaters who reasonably could have a strong season which gets Seattle into playoff contention? (Other than goaltending)

This question might not be super clear, what I am getting at is "If A, B, C and D have strong years we have a shot at playoffs." Some guys are much more critical to team success than others if they have a big year

an aside – @kihei am I remembering wrong or you also a deep knower of film noir?

 

[The Marquis]

Who are the handful of skaters who reasonably could have a strong season which gets Seattle into playoff contention? (Other than goaltending)

This question might not be super clear, what I am getting at is "If A, B, C and D have strong years we have a shot at playoffs." Some guys are much more critical to team success than others if they have a big year

an aside – @kihei am I remembering wrong or you also a deep knower of film noir?

I think the Kraken are such a team that most players have to have a strong season. Definitely need Beniers, McCann, Burakovsky, Montour and Stephenson to have a top 1/2 of their career type season at minimum. In Beniers case, he needs a repeat of his first full season at minimum, but I don’t think they make the playoffs without all of that plus guys like Schwartz and Eberle having at least a middling season and Wright meeting expectations.

I’m not Kihei, but I’m a big fan of film noir as well.

 

[PocketNines]

I think the Kraken are such a team that most players have to have a strong season. Definitely need Beniers, McCann, Burakovsky, Montour and Stephenson to have a top 1/2 of their career type season at minimum. In Beniers case, he needs a repeat of his first full season at minimum, but I don’t think they make the playoffs without all of that plus guys like Schwartz and Eberle having at least a middling season and Wright meeting expectations.

I’m not Kihei, but I’m a big fan of film noir as well.

Thank you, I am trying to ramp up what the key indicators are which direction things can go when I start following as my 2d team this year now that I am local.

Couldn't remember but I thought maybe kihei replied in an entertainment board here I had posted my top 100 all time doom noir list that I worked on as exhaustively as I have ever worked on anything, every spot litigated ala the top 100 all time players on history of hockey board a few years ago.

 

[kihei]

Couldn't remember but I thought maybe kihei replied in an entertainment board here I had posted my top 100 all time doom noir list that I worked on as exhaustively as I have ever worked on anything, every spot litigated ala the top 100 all time players on history of hockey board a few years ago.

Yes, I am a fan of film noir, though I would say primarily I am a fan of international film (i.e. subtitles, fellas). I've written a book--Beyond Hollywood: 21st Century International Film--that contains over 700 reviews of such films from 70 countries, 2000 to 2015. Still available on Amazon for the curious. I am a frequent contributor to the film thread in the Entertainment section of HFB where almost all of these reviews first appeared.

There is a lot of terrific European and Asian film noir. Here's five recommendations from each locale:

Asia

Stray Dog (Kurosawa, 1949) A detective searches for his lost gun in the slums of Tokyo. Classic.

Tokyo Drifter (Suzuki, 1966) A former Yakuza hitman finds retirement not as relaxing as he had hoped.

A Colt Is My Passport (Nomura, 1967) After a kill, an assassin and his driver are pursued by bad guys (shot in Spaghetti Western style. Kind of fun, actually).

Infernal Affairs (Lau, Mak, 2002) Neo-noir. There is a mole both in the Hong Kong police force and in a poweful crime family. Each organization knows such a mole exists. In a brillaintly unexpected turn, each mole is assigned the task to root himself out. The desperate necessity becomes how to expose the other guy before the other guy exposes you. What a premise. Tighter direction, better performances and perfect pacing make it superior to the US adaptation that won an academy award for best picture, The Departed.

Decision to Leave (Park, 2022) Neo-noir. A detective becomes obsessed with a woman who may or may not be a murderer. Classic stuff done by one of the most visually exquisite directors in world cinema.

Europe (and one South American)

Diabolique (Clouzot, 1955) A meek wife and, ironically, his mistress plot the death of a cruel headmaster. I saw this when I was a little kid and it scared the living hell out of me.

Elevator to the Gallows (Malle, 1958) A businessman and his mistress decide to murder her husband. Things go wrong in a deliciously unexpected way. Great broody Miles Davis soundtrack, too.

Shoot the Piano Player (Truffaut, 1960) A piano player with a sad past is content to perform unnoticed in seedy bars. When he tries to help his lowlife brothers, though, his life gets very complicated. One of Truffaut's best works: funny, charming and melacholic all at the same time.

Le Samourai (Melville, 1967) A meticulously methodical hitman uncharacteristically leaves a witness to his latest crime. Now, he has to play an elaborate cat-and-mouse game with a determined police inspector. Plus his crime bosses aren't too happy, either. Then, there's that witness. Alain Delon at his super coolest.

The Secrets in Their Eyes (Campanella, 2007) Neo-noir. An Argentine retired court investigator is haunted by an unresolved homicide case from his past and decides to write a book about it even at the expense of opening up old wounds with a woman he can't get over. Superb performace by the great Ricardo Durin.

And to fit this into a hockey thread: Go Kraken!

 

[PocketNines]

Yes, I am a fan of film noir, though I would say primarily I am a fan of international film (i.e. subtitles, fellas). I've written a book--Beyond Hollywood: 21st Century International Film--that contains over 700 reviews of such films from 70 countries, 2000 to 2015. Still available on Amazon for the curious. I am a frequent contributor to the film thread in the Entertainment section of HFB where almost all of these reviews first appeared.

There is a lot of terrific European and Asian film noir. Here's five recommendations from each locale:

Asia

Stray Dog (Kurosawa, 1949) A detective searches for his lost gun in the slums of Tokyo. Classic.

Tokyo Drifter (Suzuki, 1966) A former Yakuza hitman finds retirement not as relaxing as he had hoped.

A Colt Is My Passport (Nomura, 1967) After a kill, an assassin and his driver are pursued by bad guys (shot in Spaghetti Western style. Kind of fun, actually).

Infernal Affairs (Lau, Mak, 2002) Neo-noir. There is a mole both in the Hong Kong police force and in a poweful crime family. Each organization knows such a mole exists. In a brillaintly unexpected turn, each mole is assigned the task to root himself out. The desperate necessity becomes how to expose the other guy before the other guy exposes you. What a premise. Tighter direction, better performances and perfect pacing make it superior to the US adaptation that won an academy award for best picture, The Departed.

Decision to Leave (Park, 2022) Neo-noir. A detective becomes obsessed with a woman who may or may not be a murderer. Classic stuff done by one of the most visually exquisite directors in world cinema.

Europe (and one South American)

Diabolique (Clouzot, 1955) A meek wife and, ironically, his mistress plot the death of a cruel headmaster. I saw this when I was a little kid and it scared the living hell out of me.

Elevator to the Gallows (Malle, 1958) A businessman and his mistress decide to murder her husband. Things go wrong in a deliciously unexpected way. Great broody Miles Davis soundtrack, too.

Shoot the Piano Player (Truffaut, 1960) A piano player with a sad past is content to perform unnoticed in seedy bars. When he tries to help his lowlife brothers, though, his life gets very complicated. One of Truffaut's best works: funny, charming and melacholic all at the same time.

Le Samourai (Melville, 1967) A meticulously methodical hitman uncharacteristically leaves a witness to his latest crime. Now, he has to play an elaborate cat-and-mouse game with a determined police inspector. Plus his crime bosses aren't too happy, either. Then, there's that witness. Alain Delon at his super coolest.

The Secrets in Their Eyes (Campanella, 2007) Neo-noir. An Argentine retired court investigator is haunted by an unresolved homicide case from his past and decides to write a book about it even at the expense of opening up old wounds with a woman he can't get over. Superb performace by the great Ricardo Durin.

And to fit this into a hockey thread: Go Kraken!

Amazing, I will have to read your book, seriously. I just tried to go buy it but couldn't find it just now on amazon if you have a link to share! I am also writing a book but I have a full time job, many interests and just moved from California to Washington a month ago today so it's gone slooow these last few months and I'm only 13% through the reviews. It took me several years and hundreds and hundreds of films and multiple rewatches on a large swath of these films to produce my list. I think you saw a mostly recent iteration of it. Elevator to the Gallows is a top 25 and Shoot the Piano Player barely squeezes on but is vulnerable until the final draft is final. I love Diabolique but I have it slightly more horror, and Le Samourai gets axed based on my no assassins rule. If I didn't have that rule it would be the second best assassin noir behind Blast of Silence (1961) which is incredible. I may not have seen the Secrets in Their Eyes.

Many films lose to my #1 list rule IIRC which is no happy endings. They are like a splash in the pool during an Olympic dive and the film can't live on a top 100 doom noir list. Crushing for films like On Dangerous Ground (1951) and Manhunter (1986). That's also a little bit the problem of Stray Dog which I watched 3 times and only after the third time removed from the middle of the list. It also has some execution issues in some overlong and unnecessary shots like the entire baseball sequence. The Yakuza ones are tough because they are gangsters and assassins and that's not challenging to know why such a character is doomed (hint: gangstering and assassining). I still need to see Decision to Leave it's high on my list.

Awesome to know there are noir/Kraken fans!

To add some relevant hockey content I am really curious to dial in exactly how Vince Dunn is playing. This is a player I watched a ton of his OHL games and all the way through his development into the NHL. I am a huge fan of his pugnaciousness. You folks are probably familiar with his one punch hallway knockout in the AHL. He also destroyed a Blackhawk, always an objective good. But I felt he was expendable even if the smart choice was to expose Krug and protect Dunn that year. I felt like Dunn had the same limitations most of these PPQBs have which is you have to shelter them defensively a bit. I never felt safe with him. But he has obviously flourished in Seattle despite me not watching many games yet. Has he rounded that out? His role model for his game is Doughty.

 

[The Marquis]

Sorry, just needing some hockey to watch.