Seattle Kraken: Rise of the Deep

If you are a native of Seattle, you have probably heard about the brand-new hockey team, the Seattle Kraken. But do you know their full story?

The Seattle Kraken is the most recent expansion team of the NHL (National Hockey League) and is the successor to the old Seattle hockey team, the Seattle Metropolitans (1915-1924). The Kraken is expected to live up to the high standards set by the Metropolitans, who were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup, the trophy awarded to the best NHL team at the end of the season. Now back to the Kraken. The Seattle Kraken is the 32nd franchise in the NHL and was founded in 2021 by the Seattle Hockey Partners. 

The Kraken finished their inaugural season last in their division with 60 points with 27 wins, 49 losses, and 6 overtime losses. (In the NHL, every win counts as 2 points, while a loss is 0 points and a loss in overtime is 1 point.) The Kraken did much better in the next season (2022-2023), finishing fourth in their division, and qualifying as a Wild Card team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They ended the season with 100 points, 46 wins, 28 losses, and 8 overtime losses. In the playoffs, the Kraken made history by defeating the then-reigning champs, the Colorado Avalanche, in the first playoff series in 7 games. The Kraken almost won their second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars, but lost 2-1 in Game 7. 

The Kraken are hoping for an amazing 2023-2024 season, and are ready to pile up the points. They already had a 9-game win streak in January and December. Over the summer, the Kraken traded and sold many players, gaining a lot of potential stars in the process. One of them is Kailer Yamamoto, who was born and raised in Washington. The Kraken signed him as a free agent this summer. According to the sports website The Athletic, Yamamoto said after his first goal, “Any time you can score a goal in your hometown, for your home team, it feels really special.” With changes to the lineup, the Kraken are hoping to tighten up their new roster and make it good enough for the playoffs, where they are hoping to have a lot of success.

The Kraken have a variety of talented players and are an amazing team, but they are still a young team with challenges. One of these challenges is the Kraken’s goaltending department. Last season, the Kraken switched between goalies Martin Jones and Philipp Grubauer. During the Kraken’s playoff run last season, Grubauer was the goaltender with more ice time, and over the offseason, the Kraken sent Jones to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Grubauer has been injured, so new goalie Joey Daccord has stepped up to fill Jones’s skates. Daccord was called in from the Kraken’s Minor League Affiliate Team, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Daccord is currently the better goalie for the Kraken. His save percentage, as of  Jan. 10, 2024, is 0.932% (4th best in NHL), and he is hoping to break the team’s season record for save percentage.  

You have now a little bit about the Kraken’s past and present in this article. I hope it inspires you to watch and root for our home team, the Seattle Kraken.