Seattle Kraken expectations for 2022-23

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

There is no if, it's not going to happen

 

[MXD]

Non.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

If they tank for Bedard they will likely win the 2023-24 Pacific Division title.

 

[Gecklund]

Did McDavid, Draisaitl, Huberdeau, Kadri, Markstrom, Eichel, Mark Stone or even JT F. Miller collectively decide to retire?

If not, why are we all whispering quietly about fairy tales and rainbows?

What does this have to do with anything?

 

[Deadpool8812]

Won't be winning anything with Hakstol as their coach

 

[BHD]

Still seems like a roster where a bunch of guys would need to overachieve. Plus, do you see them doing that with Hakstol running things? I don't.

 

[kilowatt]

I see them pretty firmly in the bottom five in the West.

 

[Jesus Take the Wheel]

Predicting Florida would be the best team on paper last year is not justification for this hot take

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

All other teams get moved to a different division.

 

[Peat]

Very difficult to see it happening with Hakstol there.

 

[HanSolo]

...if the rest of the Pacific doesn't play. I mean playoffs are highly doubtful and you're talking about winning a division title.

 

[njdevils1982]

Predicting Florida would be the best team on paper last year is not justification for this hot take

and in the end......merely paper tigers....ashes of a presidents trophy now dust fading into the wind but never forgotten to mock when the topic comes up

 

[SurferBroChad]

nah they are going to suck forever

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

There's a lot more skill in Seattle for sure, but I don't think that it's going to translate to team success, at least as far as winning the division.

Defense is horrible. Adam Larsson can't be your best dman, and just like Montreal who is taking crap from everyone, Seattle doesn't have a top 3D caliber dman for a puck moving role. Dunn is decent, but at least so far he hasn't been able to hit that level. Seattle was one of the few teams last year without a 50 point dman (pretty much everyone in the same boat missed the playoffs), and they weren't even close to having one. On top of that, someone will always play too many minutes as their depth isn't great.

Grubauer may be better than last year and still have mediocre stats. That's how bad it was and with basically the same defense, I can't see their relationship changing drastically.

The young kids up front are exciting but even if they put up respectable stats, they're still just 18-19 yr olds who haven't polished their overall game at this level. Add in people like Burakovsky and Bjorkstrand who are more offensive minded, and I don't think the forward group is going to change the culture from last year as far as keeping the puck out.

Also at the end of the day, they lack the top-end difference makers right now, whether it's forward defense or goal.

Likely a better record, but still going to have some issues becoming a winning team on a consistent basis I think.

 

[majormajor]

I hated people saying they would be good last year, but Bjorkstrand and Burakovsky plus Berniers for a full season gives them some incredible punch up front

I wouldn't say it is incredible, it is three very nice adds that sum up to be a below average 1st line. Maybe an average 1st line if Beniers is suddenly a 1C, but that's a big ask.

especially if Wright can be what Bergeron was in his first season.

Now you're tripping. Shane Wright doesn't play like Bergeron and there was little about his game last year that looked like he was about to force his way into the NHL. He would need one hell of an offseason just to make the team.

 

[Drake1588]

What do you guys think?

...they aren't 59 points behind first place in the west (60 vs. 119 points), like they were last season. They need to double their point total. That would be quite the bump in one year.

At a glance, expecting two rookies to lead the charge from the No. 1 and No. 2 center positions without a beat strikes me as especially dodgy. That's quite a reach.

They would need to add another good veteran scoring center to shield those two or it'll be another long season.

That is just the forward group. The defense isn't good enough to get them beyond the middle of the pack in the west.

That's not a particularly harsh criticism. They're in just their second season and are taking a slow and steady developmental approach. They don't have designs on tops in the west.

 

[FlyingPhi]

I would consider St Louis. The other teams listed have better elite forwards (Colorado, Edmonton, Vegas) but when you look at their depth which is what I'm referring to it really suffers.

I could easily see Seattle finishing the year with 9-10 20 goal scorers.

4 teams in NHL history have had 10 20 goal scorers. 4. No team has done it in over 40 years.

The Blues had 9 last year, first team to do it in 20 years.

Last team to have 8 was the 05/06 Red Wings. That team tied for fifth most wins in NHL history.

Only 7 teams in the last 20 years have had 7 20 goal scorers.

Easily?

I think it's dozens of times more likely that they win the division than have 9, let alone 10, 20 goal scorers.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

I vote we permanently ban anyone who uses an ellipsis in a thread title

 

[Choralone]

Does "deep" mean the least drop in talent between the 1st and 4th line? Or the smallest bump in talent between the 4th and 1st line?

 

[Guttersniped]

...they do it quietly.

 

[Larry Hanson]

That's a bold prediction Cotton, let's see how it plays out.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...Calgary, Edmonton, Vegas, LA, and Vancouver suddenly all decide to take the year off??...

 

[jimmysheva]

If Biden nuke Alberta

 

[GreeningOil]

last off season I insisted the Panthers had the best roster on paper in the league. they won the president's trophy.

this year, I look at Seattle and I see the deepest forward group in the West. IF Shane Wright can be an impact player. (50ish pts)

Burakovsky - Berniers - Bjorkstand
Schwartz - Wright - Eberle
McCann - Gourde - Donskoi
Tanev - Wennberg - Geekie

The defense is a little weaker, but if you look outside of Colorado and Calgary the West isn't exactly a powerhouse on the blue line so..

Dunn - Larsson
Oleksiak - Schultz
Soucy - Borgen

Grubs
Jones

Grubauer had a somewhat rough first season in Colorado. I see him turning it around this year with Seattle.

What do you guys think?

I think this is one of the worst teams in the NHL for another campaign.

 

[the_fan]

Hell freezes over