Farewell to (some) Kraken

The inevitable house-cleaning has come and gone.

After drafting established National Hockey League players in last summer’s expansion draft in hopes of making the playoffs in the relatively weak Pacific Division, Seattle general manager Ron Francis – to the surprise of absolutely no one – has adopted the timeworn philosophy of losing/expansion teams.

The Kraken, holding up the rest of the division with a 19-38-6 mark are retooling for the future. Marshawn Lynch’s favorite player, Calle Jarnkrok, was jettisoned to Calgary last week. This weekend as the NHL trade deadline approached, captain Mark Giordano, Colin Blackwell, Jeremy Lauzon, Mason Applegate and Marcus Johansson, would soon book packages out of Sea-Tac Airport.

In return, the Kraken has acquired ten draft picks for 2022 and beyond. The Kraken added the most draft picks of any organization with eight: only Montreal (13) has more 2022 Draft selections than Seattle (12). No NHL team has more draft picks over the upcoming three seasons than Seattle (34) And did we mention that the Kraken are still in the running for the number-one overall draft pick in 2022– Tyler Wright of Kingston in the Ontario Junior League.

Oh, by the way, the Kraken did acquire some actual players yesterday. Daniel Sprong was acquired from the Washington Capitals as part of the Johansson deal and Seattle acquired veteran forward Victor Rask from the Minnesota Wild – basically a `salary dump’ by the Wild.

But first a look at the departed.

Mark Giordano – The 38-year-old veteran was a fine first captain for the Kraken. He always had his teammates’ back and was a stand-up guy with the media. Now he’ll return to his native Toronto with a chance of helping the Maple Leafs capture the Stanley Cup. Perhaps Giordano could return to the Kraken someday in a coaching capacity.

Calle Jarnkrok – When announcing selections at the expansion draft, local celebrities appeared on ESPN to announce the selections. Seahawk great Marshawn Lynch had problems with the 30-year-old Swede’s name and quickly settled in on `my man, Calle.’ Jarnkrok was one of Kraken’s best forwards the second half of the season and finishes his career with 12 goals and 14 assists in 49 games. The Kraken also received the biggest stash in return, a 2022 second-round pick, a `23 third-rounder and a `24 ?.

Marcus Johansson – A guy who’s been traded before at the deadline. He joined the Boston Bruins en route to the 2019 Stanley Cup finals and now `Jo Jo’ returns to his original team the Washington Capitals. He saw lots of action on the Kraken power play and early reports from the nation’s capital are delighted with his return.

Jeremy Lauzon -The first Kraken player announced on `expansion day,’ Lauzon heads to Nashville. He provided a needed physical presence at the blue-line but was sometimes prone to mistakes. Defensemen Haydn Fleury and Carson Soucy probably have a higher upside and Seattle’s second-round 2021 amateur pick Ryker Evans (he’s still in juniors) could play in the NHL in the next couple of years. Getting a second-rounder for Lauzon was a bit of a surprise.

Colin Blackwell – Yanni Gourde must be wondering what happened to his linemates? Gourde, Colin Blackwell and Mason Appleton all started the season with injuries (Blackwell had a nasty case of COVID) but the trio formed a cohesive third line, defensive unit. Blackwell heads to Toronto with `Gio,’ as the Kraken say goodbye to one of their best penalty killers.

Mason Appleton – A bit of a surprise. Appleton’s only 26 and the Kraken didn’t get a lot in return, a fourth-round pick. Appleton rejoins the Winnipeg Jets, the team that originally drafted him 2015. Appleton had  six goals and 17 goals in 49 assists for the Kraken this season.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring

The Kraken should showcase young players such as forwards Alexander True and Kole Lind and defensemen Cole Fleury and Will Borgen in the final month of the season to see if they have a future in the NHL. Seattle will also continue to sign free agents as they build the roster for their Coachella team (Palm Springs) that makes its debut in the American Hockey League next season.

A `too good to be true’ scenario would be Matty Beniers – 2021 second pick – and Tyler Wright – 2022 first pick – making the Kraken an elite quad in the next few seasons. Not to mention a solid core built through the draft.

Another caveat concerning the upcoming draft. Some top-notch Russian players become draft available this summer. In the current world situation, Russian talent may not to be heading to the US and Canada for a few years. Some first-rounders may even fall in the draft. No team is in a better position now to stockpile Soviet players until sanity is restored than the Kraken.

Seattleites have warmly embraced the Kraken – and bought lots of tickets, uniform apparel and memorabilia. As the team embarks on the next stage of their journey, the fans deserve a winning team.