Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers.
As opening day for the Seattle Kraken‘s inaugural season draws nearer, many new hockey fans in the pacific northwest are scrambling to learn valuable information they’ll need to support the area’s latest franchise. The first step to that process, which most fans have completed, would be learning the players who will take the ice for the Kraken in the upcoming season.
After that, it’s important to know your divisional rivals as they’ll be the ones who the Kraken will be competing with most directly both on and off the ice. Here’s some key information you’ll need to know about Seattle’s biggest opponents this upcoming season.
The Anaheim Ducks are one of the many teams in the Pacific Division in the middle of a rebuild. They’re getting close to the end of it, however, and should be fairly competitive within a couple of years.
Many of their key players are either at a point where they’re either past their prime or cannot afford to spend much more of their prime on a team with little chance of contending. Players like Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg have been essential parts of the team for many years at this point.
Unfortunately, they’ve dropped off quite a bit since reaching their thirties. If the Ducks are attempting to break out of a rebuild this season, they’ll need those two to bounce back to their previous level of play. It’s possible but unlikely. The biggest name in Anaheim is undoubtedly Ryan Getzlaf. He’s been the Ducks captain for over a decade now, and despite being closer to forty than thirty, he’s been a top performer for them over the last few years.
Anaheim’s strongest position for years, at least on paper, is their defense. Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson have been the base of the blue line for half a decade. Despite that, two of the three are unrestricted free agents following this season, so their time with the Ducks may not last much longer. Fowler is locked up through 2025–26, while Lindholm and Manson could move as early as the trade deadline to help finalize the rebuild.
John Gibson has been Anaheim’s number one goaltender for years. However, the last two seasons saw a major drop in form for the 28-year-old. He’s arguably the most crucial player for the Ducks to succeed in the near future.
Prospect-wise, Anaheim is in a great position. Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale are two of the organization’s top prospects and are close to being key members of the roster. Both played over twenty games with the Ducks; however, they rode the Anaheim (NHL) – San Diego (AHL) shuttle quite a bit during the 2020–21 season. There’s a high chance that one or both will stick in the NHL for the 2021–22 season in an attempt to mimic last season’s team-leading scoring Maxime Comtois.
The Calgary Flames are one of the oddest teams in the National Hockey League. On paper, they have a terrific team. If they’re all performing at their best, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, and Johnny Gaudreau form the core one of the strongest top-six forward groups in the NHL. Three potentially superstar-level forwards on one team is rare to see when a team is struggling to make the playoffs.
In addition, Andrew Mangiapane has been improving yearly. Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund give Calgary great depth down the middle. They have a more than capable starting goaltender in Jacob Markstrom; this team sounds like they should be near the top of their division regularly.
Seattle weakened the Calgary Flames’ leadership group heavily by taking Mark Giordano in the expansion draft. He had been their captain since the 2013–14 season. If the Kraken decide to name a captain, which seems unlikely at this point, it would almost certainly be him. Taking Giordano also weakened a questionable defensive group, as the Flames have a couple of solid defensemen; however, none are major standouts.
Noah Hanifin showed glimpses of what made him the fifth overall pick in 2015, but he’s never seemed to live up to his expectations. The Flames got essentially what they expected with Christopher Tanev, brother of the Kraken forward Brandon Tanev. Unfortunately, with Christopher’s age and style of play, his contract will seem worse as the years go by.
Nikita Zadorov is an average defenseman, but he’s never really been an impact player at the NHL level. At this point in his young career, he’s already become somewhat of a journeyman. Calgary is his fourth team at the age of 26.
There are some promising young defensemen on the way, including Juuso Valimaki and Rasmus Andersson. The latter could be a key component in a bounceback season.
Regarding their prospect situation, the Flames are in a decent position, but their farm system is not nearly as deep as many of the other Pacific Division teams. Eetu Tuulola, Mathias Emilio Pettersen, and Connor Zary all show promise of being regular NHLers someday. None are considered elite-level talents.
Matthew Coronato, on the other hand, who the Flames selected in the first round of the 2021 draft, does show potential to be a key player for them someday. Rushan Rafikov is also a fairly solid defenseman whose rights the Flames own, but with each passing year, it seems less and less likely that the 26-year-old leaves Russia.
The Edmonton Oilers are one of the most dangerous teams in the Pacific, and that can be attributed to their top talents.
They have solid depth up front with decent defensive depth; however, their star power is truly among the best in the league, mainly thanks to two players. Connor McDavid is the best individual player in the NHL at this juncture. He put up 105 points in 56 games during a season in which the highest non-Oilers player, third-place finisher, Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins, scored 69 points.
McDavid had a legendary 2020–2021 season and his teammate Leon Draisaitl wasn’t too far off his pace. Draisaitl put up 84 points through 56 games which were good enough for second in the league. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t a superstar, but he’s the type of player who would be a first-line center on quite a few NHL teams. By having him along with the two big stars, Edmonton has an abundance of riches down the middle.
Wing is where the Oilers tend to struggle a bit, though they are turning the corner in that regard recently. The continued development of youngsters Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto will be crucial for the Oilers moving forward. The additions of Zach Hyman and Warren Foegele during the off-season strengthened the flanks considerably; until the kids are ready to step into prime roles.
Defensively the Oilers are a bit of a question mark, as they have some solid players, but it’s difficult to say how they’ll perform. Darnell Nurse has been very good the last three seasons. The extension he signed over the off-season seems a bit premature from what he’s shown to this point.
Duncan Keith used to be one of the best defensemen in the league. Now that he’s 38-years-old, Keith no longer plays at that level. The last two years have been two of the worst that Keith ever had, yet he still carries a cap hit of just over $5.5M for the next two seasons.
Tyson Barrie had a solid 2020–21 season. He is one of the blueliners that Edmonton leans on most. The same can’t be said about Cody Ceci, who has been mediocre since he left the Ottawa Senators.
Oscar Klefbom is a great defensive-minded defenseman, He missed all of last season, and it’s possible he’ll miss this upcoming season as well. How he’ll perform when he does eventually return is cause for concern.
The Kings are in a similar position as Anaheim. They have an aging nucleus helping them push through a rebuild. Los Angeles is further along in their rebuild than the Ducks and may start pushing for the playoffs sooner rather than later.
L.A.K. has quite a few veteran leaders on their roster, making them a nightly threat even if they’re near the bottom of the standings. Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, and Anze Kopitar are not only the team’s leading scorers from 2020-21; they’re also three of the key remnants of the organization’s golden years.
The early 2010s will always be an important piece of the Los Angeles Kings’ history. They’re hoping to duplicate that success by using the veterans to mentor their prospects and upcoming players.
In goal, the Kings are going through a changing of the guard. Former superstar Jonathan Quick is no longer an NHL-level starting goaltender. As a result, they’ve had to bring in someone to fill the hole. Cal Petersen isn’t a Vezina caliber goalie but is a serviceable option until GM Rob Blake can find a long-term starter.
The addition of Phillip Danault this summer makes Los Angeles competitive for the next couple of seasons. It’s a start; however, they’re still a few pieces away from being a true contender again.
The Kings have a great farm system headlined by their two most recent first-round picks. 2020 second overall pick Quinton Byfield has all the makings of a future superstar. Last spring’s eighth overall pick Brandt Clarke has the potential to be a top-pairing, right-handed defenseman, one of the hardest players to find in the NHL.
If things work out perfectly for Clarke, he’ll be an excellent replacement for Drew Doughty once he hangs up his skates. Former second-round pick Arthur Kaliyev stepped up his game in the AHL recently and showed signs of being a future impact player.
The San Jose Sharks are a major example of what happens if a general manager refuses to commit to a rebuild when the team is no longer competitive. They have a large number of aging players with massive contracts and very few top prospects.
San Jose had a few young players make the jump to the NHL. However, most of those who made their debut in the last three years are decent at best. Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc are two of the best young players on the Sharks, but they’ve already been in the league for five years. After that, a majority of players showed very little promise when coming up to the NHL level.
There are a few decent prospects in the Sharks development system, including former first-round picks Ryan Merkley and Ozzy Wiesblatt. But it’s their 2021 first-rounder who has the most star potential. William Eklund could be a top-line winger if developed correctly.
The previously mentioned aging veterans are most prevalent on the defensive core. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Erik Karlsson, and Brent Burns are all past the 30-year mark, with Burns being the oldest of the bunch at 36. They also have a few older players up front, with leaders Logan Couture and Evander Kane who are both over thirty and playing on massive contracts.
Goaltending is one of the biggest question marks for the Sharks this season. Adin Hill is a proven NHL-caliber backup, but it’s unknown if he can step up to a starting job. Meanwhile, veteran James Reimer has been a starting goaltender in the past, but it has been a few years since he has been in that role, and it was never the best fit for him.
If the Seattle Kraken fans are going to hate an opponent before facing them on the ice, it would likely be their geographic rival, the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver appears to be one of the strongest teams in the Pacific Division. Considering their performance in the North Division last season, that’s not a great sign for the overall strength of the division. On the other hand, it does mean the Kraken has a better chance to make the playoffs.
The Canucks have a solid group of potential stars, with many of their top players being fairly young as well. Both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson were restricted free agents who recently signed extensions are big parts of the team’s future. Losing either or both due to holdouts would have been a disaster. Those extensions, plus a few other big contracts, put Vancouver right up against the cap. GM Jim Benning might have to clear a contract or two to have some maneuvering room at the deadline.
Once that gets resolved, the Canucks have a strong, young core that’s matched by very few teams around the league. Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, and Thatcher Demko are already impact players. In the offseason, Vancouver brought in Conor Garland, who should add to that demographic.
Vasili Podkolzin and Nils Hoglander are looking to make an impression this season. Hoglander enters his sophomore year following a great rookie campaign, while Podkolzin spent last season in the Russian KHL. He’s out to show the NHL what he can do. Olli Juolevi is running out of time to solidify his place on the NHL roster. The former fifth overall pick hasn’t shown much of the promise that earned him that selection.
A player worth keeping an eye on this year is Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The veteran defenseman will be playing for a team other than Arizona for the first time in his 11-year career. For the past few seasons, Arizona’s former captain hasn’t been playing up to expectations. It will be interesting to see if a change of scenery can push him back to his former level.
If the Seattle Kraken can accomplish half of what the Vegas Golden Knights did in their first few years in the NHL, they should be viewed as a success.
The Golden Knights created a strong group of forwards, a defensive core that is certainly hard to play against even if it’s not the deepest, and have a former Vezina trophy finalist between the pipes. Forward-wise, they have quite a few difference-making forwards in their prime, including captain Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Jonathan Marchessault.
During the off-season, Vegas added Evgenii Dadonov, who was disappointing with the Ottawa Senators will almost certainly bounce back this season. They also have fantastic depth, with forwards William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Alex Tuch being more than capable of stepping up in big moments.
Defensively, the Knights made their team infinitely stronger by adding Alex Pietrangelo to their blueline last year. Alec Martinez has been an unlikely hero for them as well, he’s seemingly turned back the clock, and last season played very similarly to when he was winning Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings.
Shea Theodore is an original Golden Knight who continuously improves his game year after year. Nicolas Hague was one of the Knights’ first-ever draft picks, and he’s hoping to play his first full NHL season this upcoming year.
Robin Lehner‘s career both on and off the ice is a story of struggle. This season he faces a different kind of adversary, the ghost of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Golden Knights made the unexpected decision to trade the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to the Chicago Blackhawks over the summer. A move that was very unpopular amongst their fans.
Robin Lehner needs to stand on his head this season for two reasons. First, the fans could turn on him. Worse, it could be the downfall of this team.
Pacific Northwest Sports welcomes William Espy to our team.