Kraken 2025-26 Offseason (different but the same??)

He's on the hot seat at least.
That's no consolation.

In part because it's purely speculative on our part. Lieweke's statement was a full throated endorsement of Francis returning next season. No caveat that "we need to see something or else donezo".

And in larger part...his seat should have been absolutely scorching after this wet fart of a performance by this team. At the end of the day, whether it's Hakstol or Bylsma, this is the team Francis assembled. As someone said, it's both bad AND boring. Demonstrably worse than the season before. I'm over thinking "well surely this will see him the door" only for ownership to give him a parade before the season even ends.
 
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They must view the team's "window" differently than I do. In my mind, building through the draft is the key and that means most of the current vets don't fit the window. When that tipping point is reached, you go after a couple of smart FA additions who fit well, and maybe that expensive game-changer once your future is secured by the drafted talent.

But if this ownership group is all revved up to make the big splash quickly, before the Return of the Sonics or whatever I can picture them doing a lot of short-sighted harm to this team's long term possibilities.
I think there are desperate to 'crack' this market as they've fumbled it so far. Seahawks are rebuilding, Mariners have squandered their young pitching core and should have had multiple and possibly deep play off runs by now but cheaped out by not building on it with offense. Sounders are in a funk/vibes are off mode with this GM, huskies rebuilding, storm and reign rebuilding.

Prime opportunity there where if the Kraken had made the playoffs the whole city/area would be behind them as the only good team right now and I think they want to try and do quick fixes to get there even if it hurts in the longer term.

I just don't know if Francis will get them there.
 
That's no consolation.

In part because it's purely speculative on our part. Lieweke's statement was a full throated endorsement of Francis returning next season. No caveat that "we need to see something or else donezo".

And in larger part...his seat should have been absolutely scorching after this wet fart of a performance by this team. At the end of the day, whether it's Hakstol or Bylsma, this is the team Francis assembled. As someone said, it's both bad AND boring. Demonstrably worse than the season before. I'm over thinking "well surely this will see him the door" only for ownership to give him a parade before the season even ends.
100% agree. It's weird- Lieweke generally has a good track record. Rockets, Lightning, Seahawks.
 


Reads a little like Grubauer saying "Yeah that's cool and all, but it would have been cooler if they actually tried harder on the ice instead of just talking about it".

Maybe I'm reading too much into it though.
 
Continuing my "feeling like my fanatical support for this team is misplaced" rant...Bylsma.

Last night's broadcast, the ESPN crew begins waxing philosophically about how sure they are that the Kraken coaching staff (specifically Campbell) "can't wait for year 2".

What?

We're just gifting them a year 2, then?

They just went 82 games without making ANY adjustments. The special teams was shambolic from game 1 through last night. Zero changes to the system. Ice time allotments didn't change an iota. About a third of the way through the season he benched a couple guys. Most of us felt he benched some that didn't deserve it (Bjorkstrand, Kartye) and should have benched some that he didn't.

And there is ZERO mention that he's maybe not the right guy? Just "wait until season 2 boys"?

Or conversely...



Oh. Cool. He's a "nice guy".

So basically I'm experiencing "jilted lover" anxiety. Am I wasting my emotional energy on a sports team that gives zero actual shits about winning and is instead more interested in being a "sports entertainment" product? Because these are the moves a "sports entertainment" organization makes. Not one committed to consistently winning and legitimately vying for Stanley Cups.
 
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Reads a little like Grubauer saying "Yeah that's cool and all, but it would have been cooler if they actually tried harder on the ice instead of just talking about it".

Maybe I'm reading too much into it though.

That is how I read that too.

I do get your concerns about letting Francis and Bylsma's group off the hook. I am not surprised that Francis coming back. That was always more likely to happen than not. But what I am interested to see is what they do with the coaching group as a whole.

We were pretty bad in a lot of categories so going back to the same coaching group would be basically blaming everything on the players. And while I agree that the players were a big part of the problem, the coaching staff needs a serious re-evaluation and some changes. Changing assistant coaches would not be a bad idea.

Fix the PP. Yeah, I was/am a big fan of Campbell getting a shot but a bottom-10 PP ain't gonna cut it. The PK was not much better at 12th worst in the league.

As @The Marquis pointed out, the team played much better towards the end of the season. But why was that? Less pressure? Other teams not trying as hard? Or was it actually the players themselves doing a better job? There is so much crap for the management/ownership to sift through, all we can hope for is they do their due diligence and make the changes that help us move forward.

Also, I get your concern about Stephenson's comment about Bylsma being a nice person. After the whole "Gru is a great guy" fiasco, I am totally there with you. But what do you really expect players to say in an interview like that? Stephenson is not going anywhere and if Bylsma is back as his coach, it is best for him to bring coaching issues up in exit interviews. I don't want what is happening on the NYR to happen in Seattle.
 
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Meh I’m deleting this. I don’t know wtf I’m talking about and am being Salty Sally. Please ignore what I wrote here if you saw it
 
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Based on my somewhat limited knowledge of what Ron has done as GM (was it really him pushing the Stephenson signing?) I think he is a solid fit for a long build. He's not the quick fix guy, he's the rebuild guy. And we're in a rebuild position. So I would be a lot more nervous if the ownership canned Francis and went with someone more aggressive. Our window to be aggressive closed a couple years ago. I would have thought our ownership was delusional. I think ownership might have realized that we're not ready to compete.
 
Based on my somewhat limited knowledge of what Ron has done as GM (was it really him pushing the Stephenson signing?) I think he is a solid fit for a long build. He's not the quick fix guy, he's the rebuild guy. And we're in a rebuild position. So I would be a lot more nervous if the ownership canned Francis and went with someone more aggressive. Our window to be aggressive closed a couple years ago. I would have thought our ownership was delusional. I think ownership might have realized that we're not ready to compete.

Then please explain to me why Leiweke is openly talking about the "busiest" offseason ever, why Francis started talking about trades/free agency to win now and why ownership also "wants to win now"?

I don't believe in any kind of plan for a "long build" here cause if that was true they wouldn't make all that noise about a "big summer", spend all that money(every year) in free agency etc..
I think they still hope that by brining in a couple of decent guys they'll be able to replicate season two and somehow make it to the playoffs.

BTW: Do we even get the hear from Francis(I haven't seen any video footage) after the season?
Or did they just send the "big guy"(Leiweke) out there and let Ronnie sit in his room?
 
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Then please explain to me why Leiweke is openly talking about the "busiest" offseason ever, why Francis started talking about trades/free agency to win now and why ownership also "wants to win now"?

I don't believe in any kind of plan for a "long build" here cause if that was true they wouldn't make all that noise about a "big summer", spend all that money(every year) in free agency etc..
I think they still hope that by brining in a couple of decent guys they'll be able to replicate season two and somehow make it to the playoffs.

BTW: Do we even get the hear from Francis(I haven't seen any video footage) after the season?
Or did they just send the "big guy"(Leiweke) out there and let Ronnie sit in his room?

I think there is still a big divide across ownership and FO. But the fact that they've kept the slow build GM in place tells me that the yolo faction probably is losing steam. My guess is that we do like one big overpay contract and try and sell the fans on a turnaround, but ultimately we keep the picks and mostly focus on developing.
 
I think there is still a big divide across ownership and FO. But the fact that they've kept the slow build GM in place tells me that the yolo faction probably is losing steam. My guess is that we do like one big overpay contract and try and sell the fans on a turnaround, but ultimately we keep the picks and mostly focus on developing.

I think you're putting too muich emphasis on "the slow build GM Francis" thing.

I don't really see how this is the plan if you consistantly give the guy a check book to play around with and send him into the offseason basically expecting signings of veteran players.

So far the Kraken have spend a good amount of money during every offseason of their existence and now they're even openly talking about the "busiest offseason ever", meaning they expect moves.
And by moves I mean moves to win now cause they wouldn't use that wording if taking on contracts to gain more assets or trading away veterans would be the idea.

This team has no real direction and is doing that good old in between thing which usually leads to exactly the results we've seen here three out of four seasons.
 
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I think there is still a big divide across ownership and FO. But the fact that they've kept the slow build GM in place tells me that the yolo faction probably is losing steam. My guess is that we do like one big overpay contract and try and sell the fans on a turnaround, but ultimately we keep the picks and mostly focus on developing.
Maybe you are right. But all the talk about this being the busiest off-season and a lot of changes does not align with what ownership has been saying. Putting coaching changes aside, which I doubt are coming this off-season, what could constitute "a lot of changes".

- I expect Gru to be gone. This is the only thing I feel confident on.
- Some of the vets will be moved. Maybe Oleksiak, Burakovsky?
- It is possible we move McCann, Dunn, Schwartz or Eberle but doubtful.
- Make a big trade? I am not sure who we target but I can see all of the 1st round picks we have to be on the table. Maybe even the one for this year. Any prospect outside of Catton is likely to be on the table to.

This roster could look significantly different next season but I expect the core to remain largely the same. We will likely replace bottom-9 forwards and bottom-4 D-men with others who could be similar or slightly higher level.
 
I think you're putting too muich emphasis on "the slow build GM Francis" thing.

I don't really see how this is the plan if you consistantly give the guy a check book to play around with and send him into the offseason basically expecting signings of veteran players.

So far the Kraken have spend a good amount of money during every offseason of their existence and now they're even openly talking about the "busiest offseason ever", meaning they expect moves.
And by moves I mean moves to win now cause they wouldn't use that wording if taking on contracts to gain more assets or trading away veterans would be the idea.

This team has no real direction and is doing that good old in between thing which usually leads to exactly the results we've seen here three out of four seasons.

Forget the checkbook. If you look at rebuilds of teams past there are very frequently big signings. I know it runs against the common narrative but many rebuilding clubs also spend to the cap. For example, my Blue Jackets had 5 1st rounders over a two year span, all the while they went hard in UFA and spent to the cap. It wasn't until this year that they stopped being a cap team. And they're now looking like a team that has pulled off a successful rebuild, with young stars to build around. What mattered is not whether you spent the money, it was whether you accumulated the young talent. It will be the same with the Kraken. In four years what will matter is who we drafted and how well they developed, Stephenson and Montour won't matter that much for good or bad. I'm not entirely sure that we will keep our bevy of 1sts (2 in each of 2026 and 2027) - Francis I believe said he was going to try and trade them. I think that would mark the end of a rebuild if he does that.
 
Maybe you are right. But all the talk about this being the busiest off-season and a lot of changes does not align with what ownership has been saying. Putting coaching changes aside, which I doubt are coming this off-season, what could constitute "a lot of changes".

- I expect Gru to be gone. This is the only thing I feel confident on.
- Some of the vets will be moved. Maybe Oleksiak, Burakovsky?
- It is possible we move McCann, Dunn, Schwartz or Eberle but doubtful.
- Make a big trade? I am not sure who we target but I can see all of the 1st round picks we have to be on the table. Maybe even the one for this year. Any prospect outside of Catton is likely to be on the table to.

This roster could look significantly different next season but I expect the core to remain largely the same. We will likely replace bottom-9 forwards and bottom-4 D-men with others who could be similar or slightly higher level.

I could see us making a few moves, but trying to be aggressive in an offseason like this is going to be mostly spinning the tires in the mud. There are so many teams with cap space who think they can take big steps, but there are very UFAs to spend it on and very few selling teams who plan on taking a step back. Maybe Francis can win a trade or two, but nothing easy. No one is jammed up against the cap and needs to give us a player (like in the Bjorkstrand trade).

I do believe that the yolo faction in ownership is pushing this messaging but ultimately I hope Francis goes to market sees the prices, sees how insane it is, and balks at the really stupid stuff. And the yolo faction will just have to admit that we didn't have the opportunity in this offseason. They'll probably get one overpay in UFA and a couple trades and be able to market a turnaround though.
 
I could see us making a few moves, but trying to be aggressive in an offseason like this is going to be mostly spinning the tires in the mud. There are so many teams with cap space who think they can take big steps, but there are very UFAs to spend it on and very few selling teams who plan on taking a step back. Maybe Francis can win a trade or two, but nothing easy. No one is jammed up against the cap and needs to give us a player (like in the Bjorkstrand trade).

I do believe that the yolo faction in ownership is pushing this messaging but ultimately I hope Francis goes to market sees the prices, sees how insane it is, and balks at the really stupid stuff. And the yolo faction will just have to admit that we didn't have the opportunity in this offseason. They'll probably get one overpay in UFA and a couple trades and be able to market a turnaround though.
The UFA market is so thin. If they really want to improve, the options in FA are limited:

Tier-1
------
Marner

Tier-2
------
Bennett
Ehlers

Almost everyone else is in an age group that just does not make sense for us.

If we really want to take a swing at some older players, which I really hope we don't, they can go for 1-2 years contracts for players like Boeser, Marchand, Tavares, etc. But I am not convinced, at all, that they are not going to make an impact on our roster.

If we can add one of Bennett/Ehlers and trade for another player at their levels or higher via trade, we should be able to show some improvement.
 
The UFA market is so thin. If they really want to improve, the options in FA are limited:

Tier-1
------
Marner

Tier-2
------
Bennett
Ehlers

Almost everyone else is in an age group that just does not make sense for us.

If we really want to take a swing at some older players, which I really hope we don't, they can go for 1-2 years contracts for players like Boeser, Marchand, Tavares, etc. But I am not convinced, at all, that they are not going to make an impact on our roster.

If we can add one of Bennett/Ehlers and trade for another player at their levels or higher via trade, we should be able to show some improvement.

Even Bennett I think is going to be over the hill soon.

The best target for a short term overpay would be someone like Brock Nelson. He's very underrated. Boeser is very erratic season to season, perhaps he could pop. My guess is that some team will give him a long term deal though. No one wanted him at the deadline, but some GM is going to get pushed off the cliff into signing him long term (please not us).
 
Maybe you are right. But all the talk about this being the busiest off-season and a lot of changes does not align with what ownership has been saying. Putting coaching changes aside, which I doubt are coming this off-season, what could constitute "a lot of changes".

- I expect Gru to be gone. This is the only thing I feel confident on.
- Some of the vets will be moved. Maybe Oleksiak, Burakovsky?
- It is possible we move McCann, Dunn, Schwartz or Eberle but doubtful.
- Make a big trade? I am not sure who we target but I can see all of the 1st round picks we have to be on the table. Maybe even the one for this year. Any prospect outside of Catton is likely to be on the table to.

This roster could look significantly different next season but I expect the core to remain largely the same. We will likely replace bottom-9 forwards and bottom-4 D-men with others who could be similar or slightly higher level.

I think Grubauer will be gone.
His comments suggest that to me given that he said that not having any rhythm thanks to hardly playing(clearly against the coaches) and not confidence were his problem and with him also saying that the comments by the guys(we let him down) are nice but you've got to do a better job(not his exact words) to win.

I think he's gone and knows it.

- I don't think there's a chance they move Oleksiak but not Burakovsky cause that would probably cost you assets. Also, maybe Bura can bounce back(leke at the end of the season) and improve his trade value.

- Neither, McCann, Dunn or Schwartz will be moved sunles it's for a big name guy(difference maker and you need to make the numbers work.

Though, I do think the roster will be different, I'm just not sure how much and if it will actually lead to better results on the ice.

Forget the checkbook. If you look at rebuilds of teams past there are very frequently big signings. I know it runs against the common narrative but many rebuilding clubs also spend to the cap. For example, my Blue Jackets had 5 1st rounders over a two year span, all the while they went hard in UFA and spent to the cap. It wasn't until this year that they stopped being a cap team. And they're now looking like a team that has pulled off a successful rebuild, with young stars to build around. What mattered is not whether you spent the money, it was whether you accumulated the young talent. It will be the same with the Kraken. In four years what will matter is who we drafted and how well they developed, Stephenson and Montour won't matter that much for good or bad. I'm not entirely sure that we will keep our bevy of 1sts (2 in each of 2026 and 2027) - Francis I believe said he was going to try and trade them. I think that would mark the end of a rebuild if he does that.

Again, the wording from the ownership and Leiweke don't suggest anything like a longterm build to me.

And the actions during every offseason as well signing guys that are good(but certainly not great) and hoping that enough of them make up for not having elite talent.

This team has no real direction and you can see it when you look at this roster and the results on the ice.
They've spend to the cap, couldn't field a full roster(at the start of the season) and finished sith from bottom playing incredibly dull hockey.

I would like for you to be right but unless they really make a decison on what to do(go for it or actually build throuh the draft/collect assets) we'll see the same results like we have during three of the first four seasons.
 
Even Bennett I think is going to be over the hill soon.

The best target for a short term overpay would be someone like Brock Nelson. He's very underrated. Boeser is very erratic season to season, perhaps he could pop. My guess is that some team will give him a long term deal though. No one wanted him at the deadline, but some GM is going to get pushed off the cliff into signing him long term (please not us).
Bennett is only 28, but there is concern with him is the style of play. His physical style leads to lot of wear and tear and players like that lose their skating first, which will become a big problem.

Brock Nelson is fine for a 1-2 year deal. I just prefer Boeser because he is younger though, with him his injury history is concerning.

Genuinely, the only FA I would feel comfortable giving long term contracts too are Ehlers or Marner.

I think Grubauer will be gone.
His comments suggest that to me given that he said that not having any rhythm thanks to hardly playing(clearly against the coaches) and not confidence were his problem and with him also saying that the comments by the guys(we let him down) are nice but you've got to do a better job(not his exact words) to win.

I think he's gone and knows it.

- I don't think there's a chance they move Oleksiak but not Burakovsky cause that would probably cost you assets. Also, maybe Bura can bounce back(leke at the end of the season) and improve his trade value.

- Neither, McCann, Dunn or Schwartz will be moved sunles it's for a big name guy(difference maker and you need to make the numbers work.

Though, I do think the roster will be different, I'm just not sure how much and if it will actually lead to better results on the ice.



Again, the wording from the ownership and Leiweke don't suggest anything like a longterm build to me.

And the actions during every offseason as well signing guys that are good(but certainly not great) and hoping that enough of them make up for not having elite talent.

This team has no real direction and you can see it when you look at this roster and the results on the ice.
They've spend to the cap, couldn't field a full roster(at the start of the season) and finished sith from bottom playing incredibly dull hockey.

I would like for you to be right but unless they really make a decison on what to do(go for it or actually build throuh the draft/collect assets) we'll see the same results like we have during three of the first four seasons.
If we want to improve the roster, especially our top-6, we need to move some vets. But one of the big problems with our team is that the core of this team does not have any true top-line player yet. Especially at C. Our best forwards are McCann and Schwartz who are older and wingers. Our youngest forwards in Kakko, Beniers and Wright have still ways to go but moving any of them for short-term (and older) players would be very short-sighted. It would be stretch to call either of Beniers and Wright very good 2C's. Not yet anyway.

Cap logistics aside:

McCann-?-Marner/Ehlers
Schwartz-Wright-Kakko
Tolvy-Beniers-Nyman/Eberle
Eyssimont-Cups-Nyman/Eberle

Trade Bura
Buyout Gru
Trade Oleksiak

The above 3 moves are fairly doable. Getting a 1C is not a real option, in my opinion so we need to have Beniers and Wright play above their pay grade in a 1C role.

Suggested moves:

Move one of Schwartz or McCann to upgrade that position. I think both of them are on good contracts and good as top-6 wingers but since we won't/can't/shouldn't move Wright, Beniers or Kakko, one of them needs to be moved in addition of Marner/Ehlers to improve the top-6.
 
They clearly hint at big moves this offseason but not sure there’s much out there. Honestly scoring isn’t really the issue especially if McCann bounces back. Need to improve D and presumably find a good backup G to replace Gru
 
If we want to improve the roster, especially our top-6, we need to move some vets. But one of the big problems with our team is that the core of this team does not have any true top-line player yet. Especially at C. Our best forwards are McCann and Schwartz who are older and wingers. Our youngest forwards in Kakko, Beniers and Wright have still ways to go but moving any of them for short-term (and older) players would be very short-sighted. It would be stretch to call either of Beniers and Wright very good 2C's. Not yet anyway.

Cap logistics aside:

McCann-?-Marner/Ehlers
Schwartz-Wright-Kakko
Tolvy-Beniers-Nyman/Eberle
Eyssimont-Cups-Nyman/Eberle

Trade Bura
Buyout Gru
Trade Oleksiak

The above 3 moves are fairly doable. Getting a 1C is not a real option, in my opinion so we need to have Beniers and Wright play above their pay grade in a 1C role.

Suggested moves:

Move one of Schwartz or McCann to upgrade that position. I think both of them are on good contracts and good as top-6 wingers but since we won't/can't/shouldn't move Wright, Beniers or Kakko, one of them needs to be moved in addition of Marner/Ehlers to improve the top-6.

I tried to say that I do think there's a chance they move Oleksiak.

I guess overall I just don't have much faith in Francis and this front office to make moves for actual difference makers.

I'm honestly way more uneasy about Francis just going out in free agency and being the dude that overpays for a Sam Bennett cause he's a center(and Francis loves those) and cause he's won a caup.

But let's see what actually happens from now(of the draft, cause that's when trades start happening) till the end of free agency.
 
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I tried to say that I do think there's a chance they move Oleksiak.

I guess overall I just don't have much faith in Francis and this front office to make moves for actual difference makers.

I'm honestly way more uneasy about Francis just going out in free agency and being the dude that overpays for a Sam Bennett cause he's a center(and Francis loves those) and cause he's won a caup.

But let's see what actually happens from now(of the draft, cause that's when trades start happening) till the end of free agency.
It is what it is. My hope is that his FA targets are limited to Ehlers and Marner at forwards and maybe Gavrikov/Provorov on D. Outside of that, if you want to look for upgrades, trades or offer-sheets may be the best options.

Roster spots will open up season after next (2026-27) with Eberle, Schwartz, Oleksiak and likely Bura and Gru all off it. Prospects should hopefully be able to step in to the current roles Kartye and Eyssimont as well.

Ideally, 2026-27 would have been a decent one to try and get aggressive because we will have cap space and roster spots as well but if Francis plans this correctly, it doesn't all have to be done in one off-season.

- Buyout Gru
- Move Bura (maybe)
- Add one good player like Ehlers/Marner via FA. Or trade for one.
- Bank on Nyman to make an impact and be a decent tweener this season.
- **See if we an bring in an associate/assistant coach who can help the staff.

This is it. Not going to be competitive. But should be improved enough.

Ehlers/Trade-Beniers-Kakko
McCann-Wright-Schwartz
Tolvy-Cups-Nyman
Eyssimont-Winterton-Eberle

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Montour
Evans-Mahura
Ottavinen

Daccord
Kokko/Ostman/FA pick up

Still not a good enough team unless Beniers shows significant improvement this system. But should be better than what we had this season and without being overly aggressive in the off-season.

** I feel like the inconsistencies between game to game and period to period needs to be identified and fixed. Whether this is a coaching issue or personnel issue, this team has been wildly inconsistent. Without fixing that, I don't see that much changing.
 
It is what it is. My hope is that his FA targets are limited to Ehlers and Marner at forwards and maybe Gavrikov/Provorov on D. Outside of that, if you want to look for upgrades, trades or offer-sheets may be the best options.

Roster spots will open up season after next (2026-27) with Eberle, Schwartz, Oleksiak and likely Bura and Gru all off it. Prospects should hopefully be able to step in to the current roles Kartye and Eyssimont as well.

Ideally, 2026-27 would have been a decent one to try and get aggressive because we will have cap space and roster spots as well but if Francis plans this correctly, it doesn't all have to be done in one off-season.

- Buyout Gru
- Move Bura (maybe)
- Add one good player like Ehlers/Marner via FA. Or trade for one.
- Bank on Nyman to make an impact and be a decent tweener this season.
- **See if we an bring in an associate/assistant coach who can help the staff.

This is it. Not going to be competitive. But should be improved enough.

Ehlers/Trade-Beniers-Kakko
McCann-Wright-Schwartz
Tolvy-Cups-Nyman
Eyssimont-Winterton-Eberle

Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Montour
Evans-Mahura
Ottavinen

Daccord
Kokko/Ostman/FA pick up

Still not a good enough team unless Beniers shows significant improvement this system. But should be better than what we had this season and without being overly aggressive in the off-season.

** I feel like the inconsistencies between game to game and period to period needs to be identified and fixed. Whether this is a coaching issue or personnel issue, this team has been wildly inconsistent. Without fixing that, I don't see that much changing.

Yeah, unless Marner(and maybe Ehlers) are available it makes no sense to be aggressive in free agency this year.
But it also made no sense to be aggressive in free agancy last offseason and we went out and handed out two of the biggest free agent contracts.

Overall the best approach would probably to try and bring in younger guys(trades), try and have a good pick next year(McKenna seems like a pretty good prospect) and then go for it.

Let's see what they end up doing.
Like I've said, I don't have much faith in Francis(and the front office) to make the right decisions during free agency/the summer and hope he's not "going big" in free agency unless Marner is available und somehow wants to come to Seattle.
 
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Yeah, unless Marner(and maybe Ehlers) are available it makes no sense to be aggressive in free agency this year.
But it also made no sense to be aggressive in free agancy last offseason and we went out and handed out two of the biggest free agent contracts.

Overall the best approach would probably to try and bring in younger guys(trades), try and have a good pick next year(McKenna seems like a pretty good prospect) and then go for it.

Let's see what they end up doing.
Like I've said, I don't have much faith in Francis(and the front office) to make the right decisions during free agency/the summer and hope he's not "going big" in free agency unless Marner is available und somehow wants to come to Seattle.

Marner would be a disaster for this team. He'd, AT BEST, push the team to WC "contender" status which is pathetic* [*miserably inadequate, of very low standard].

I know management is throwing the term "playoffs" around like monkeys flinging sh*t at the zoo, but limping into the playoffs as one of the best teams of the 2nd best tier of teams is not contending, it's participating.

So management are saying they will be very busy this off season, but so will most other teams. There are a LOT of teams that had poor, or substandard, seasons that are looking to retool. With the FA pool being meagre being active is easier said than done, UNLESS management can pull of serious trades to make the team younger, bigger, hungrier and more balanced (I'll believe it when I see it).

As I and others have said, the most important part of the retool is to make the team harder to score on. The priority is to have an actual NHL worthy System, fix the D core and find solid backup goaltending.

What I expect will happen is that Francis will sign some forwards like Boeser and Bennett (or another goodish but not great veteran with name recognition) and say what a great job they did retooling in the summer and playoffs here we come. In other words, a wet fart of an off season.

Management must show they are smart and competent this summer or the wheels will come off in a hurry. The warnings signs are there already if you look at the team this season (or Francis' tenure so far really).
 
Yeah, unless Marner(and maybe Ehlers) are available it makes no sense to be aggressive in free agency this year.....

........Let's see what they end up doing.
Like I've said, I don't have much faith in Francis(and the front office) to make the right decisions during free agency/the summer and hope he's not "going big" in free agency unless Marner is available und somehow wants to come to Seattle.
Antsy though I am getting, and though Marner would make for a more fun team to watch, I am still opposed to him becoming a Kraken.

Why would he come here in the first place? The only reason would be money, which means we would have to outbid every team tempted to chase him. What does that contract look like? 14 or 15 million or close to what the new cap would allow for seven or eight years? That contract could become eventually not an albatross around our neck, but a pterodactyl, severely limiting our options going forward.
 
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