Seattle Kraken: A Beginner’s Guide to the Pacific Division
Vancouver Canucks
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.
Watching from afar
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.
Youth is served
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.
New leadership
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.