Kraken Bet on Youth and Speed to End Playoff Drought

Seattle's front office addressed the scoring problem with purpose, landing Bobby McMann and Mackie Samoskevich to inject pace up front. But a team that finished 28th in goals and 31st on the penalty kill last season needs more than two additions to feel genuinely transformed. The bones are better. The proof is still outstanding.

Last season in review

The 2025-26 numbers were blunt. Seattle went 34-37-11 for 79 points, finishing sixth in the Pacific Division and missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The offence ranked 28th in the league at 2.73 goals per game, and the defence was not good enough to compensate, allowing 3.13 per game for 23rd overall. Jordan Eberle led the team with 55 points, Matty Beniers added 50, and Chandler Stephenson chipped in 49, but no one else cracked that tier. Joey Daccord posted a .897 save percentage, a number that looks rough on the surface but that underlying metrics suggest reflects the team's defensive structure more than his actual play. The penalty kill at 72.2 per cent was a genuine crisis, not a rounding error.

Ins and outs

• In: Bobby McMann (signed to a six-year, $34.5 million contract after being acquired from Toronto in March)
• In: Mackie Samoskevich (acquired from Florida for a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft; signed to a three-year, $11.55 million deal)
• In: Curtis Douglas (signed to a two-year, $2.5 million contract)
• In: Pascal Vincent (hired as assistant coach, replacing Jessica Campbell who moved to New Jersey)
• In: Chuck Fletcher (hired as senior advisor to the GM)
• Out: Jaden Schwartz (signed three-year deal with Colorado)
• Out: Jamie Oleksiak (signed two-year deal with Vancouver)
• Out: Eeli Tolvanen (signed with the New York Rangers)

The big question

Can the penalty kill become functional? At 72.2 per cent last season, it ranked 31st in the NHL and a direct drag on every other positive the team produced. GM Jason Botterill has pointed to Ryan Winterton and Jacob Melanson as younger players who could take on a bigger short-handed role, and new assistant Pascal Vincent takes over the forward group and the power play. If the penalty kill stays broken, no amount of offensive improvement will be enough.

X-factor

Mackie Samoskevich is the name to watch. The 23-year-old posted 32 points in 77 games last season while playing in Florida's bottom six, and the Kraken are expecting him to operate with a larger role than he had with the Panthers. He won a Stanley Cup in 2024-25 and has the speed and skill that Seattle desperately needs. If he steps into a top-six situation and produces at a higher rate, the offence looks meaningfully different. If he stalls, the trade cost, a first-round pick, will sting.

Bold prediction

Matty Beniers breaks the 60-point barrier, giving Seattle a genuine second star alongside Eberle, but it still is not enough to lift the Kraken back into the playoff picture in a crowded Pacific Division.

The outlook

Seattle opens on the road at Calgary on Oct. 1 with a roster that is younger, faster, and at least marginally better built for offence than the one that sputtered through last season. Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour were named alternate captains alongside Eberle, Beniers, and Adam Larsson, giving the group a defined leadership core. The front office has added experience with Chuck Fletcher in an advisory role. The pieces are in place for a step forward. Whether that step is large enough to end a playoff drought that has now stretched to four of the last five seasons is the real question hanging over this group.