Seattle Kraken: Keep ’em or Dump ’em – post 2022-23 season
Chip Clark
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A successful season has come to a close. Which current Seattle Kraken players should be on the 2023-24 roster, and which ones should move on?
The Seattle Kraken upstart 2022-23 season ended with a disappointing Game 7 loss to Dallas in the Stanley Cup Western Conference Semi-Finals. That shouldn’t take away from the team’s 100-point regular season performance or opening round playoff victory over Colorado.
After the elimination, Kraken management held their end-of-season exit interviews with the players before they went home for the summer. According to our Jonathan West, the players were somber but hopeful for the future when they spoke to the media.
Now, General Manager Ron Francis has some hard decisions to make. He must evaluate his roster and decide who should be part of the 2023-24 squad before adding anyone new.
This is who we think should stay and who should take their skills elsewhere.
No -Brainer Decisions
These players are ones the Seattle Kraken need to keep long-term and/or consider franchise cornerstones:
Andre Burakovsky, Wing, 28 years old
Contract Status (going into 2023-24): 4-years, $5.5M (no movement clause).
2023-24 production: 49 Games, 13 Goals, 26 Assists, -9, 19 Power Play Points.
Comment: When Andre Burakovsky is on the ice, he’s a game-changer. How much different would the Seattle Kraken playoff run have been if he’d been healthy?
Jared McCann, F, 26
Contract Status: 4-years, $5M.
2023-24 production: 79 games, 40 G, 30 A, +18, 16 PP.
Comment: In 2022-23, he put up a 70-point breakout season. With all that Jared McCann does aside from scoring, he is a bargain at two-thirds of that production.
Matthew Beniers, C, 20
Contract Status: 1-year, $897K (entry level).
2023-24 production: 80 games, 24 G, 33 A, +14, 10 PP.
Comment: Matty Beniers is untouchable. As a matter of fact, the Kraken should be negotiating a long-term extension with him right now.
Shane Wright, C, 19
Contract Status: 2-years, $950K (entry level).
2023-24 production: 8 games, 1 G, 1 A, +4, 0 PP.
Comment: Shane Wright has all the tools to be a dominating point producer. Seattle Kraken fans will see more of what he can do next season.
Adam Larrson, D, 30
Contract Status: 2-years, $4.M (no trade clause).
2023-24 production: 82 games, 8 G, 25 A, +27, 0 PP.
Comment: The ideal stay-at-home top pair defenseman. His contract is a bargain.