Seattle Kraken: Ron Francis is either in denial or delusional

Chip Clark   |  

Jan 11, 2022

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Whatever Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis thought this team would be, it isn’t. The problem is that Francis thinks he’s on the right path. That’s either denial or delusion.

Another game, another loss. I was initially going to write an article about how the Seattle Kraken doesn’t have the necessary assets to trade for Jakob Chychrun. General Manager Ron Francis set the team up for failure by several of the decisions he made when putting this team together. Then the story morphed after Ron Francis’ recent comments.

Last week, the Seattle Kraken general manager did an extensive interview with ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. It covered a wide variety of topics. What came across the most to me is that Francis is a true believer in his plan and doesn’t see how off base he and his staff have been in several areas.

Sticking with the plan

The plan all along was to build this thing right from the ground up, long-term. Have a strong successful franchise. That’s how we drafted. That’s why we kept our cap space available… The tough part is biting the bullet, sticking to the plan, drafting and developing well and trying to improve your team in ways that you can.

What plan is he sticking with? He’s never really stated his vision for what he wanted on the ice. The goaltending part is easy to understand. Every team builds from the net out. In Francis’ defense, he couldn’t have foreseen how poorly Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger played to this point.

But what’s the rest of it? If Francis wanted to have big, slow defensemen, not win enough faceoffs, have limited scorers, and few tradeable assets, then it’s working, but that probably wasn’t what he had in mind.

No deals to be made

One thing Vegas did extremely well during their expansion draft is make side deals which Wyshynski brought up. Francis claims that the other 30 teams learned their lesson from that experience, and there were no deals to be made.

But for people to think that GMs were going to make same mistakes they made four years prior in the Vegas expansion draft was pretty naïve. They learned from that. Things were going to be different.

 

So since those [trades] weren’t there, we took a different approach and tried to maintain our cap space, which we still have as we get into who might be available in free agency or who teams might have to move because of their contracts.

Sorry, Ron, that isn’t true, and I can prove it. Without mentioning how he jumped the gun on free agent signings, how about some examples.

1. Philadelphia

Carsen Twarynski was the Seattle Kraken selected from Philly in the expansion draft. Honestly, the Flyers must have been doing cartwheels in aisles when Francis made that pick. The expansion draft was on July 21. Three days later, Philadelphia traded unprotected Jakub Voracek ($8M AAV) to Columbus for Cam Atkinson ($5.75 AAV). Atkinson has 14 goals and 26 points in 35 games this season. The Kraken could have drafted Voracek and made the same deal. If they kicked in enough money, they could have gotten an extra pick.

2. Vitek Vanecek

Seattle selected Czech goaltender Vitek Vanecek off Washington’s roster. They traded him back to the Caps for a second-round pick the next week. Why not get a second-round pick for not taking Vanacek and draft someone else.

If getting a goalie was that important, the Kraken could have taken one of four defensemen the Caps left unprotected like Nick Jensen. Then draft goalie Kaapo Kahkonen from Minnesota instead of Carson Soucy. It would have saved time, a few hundred thousand dollars, and gotten the Kraken at least the same results or another tradeable asset. You bet they could have flipped Jensen, an experienced defenseman with a team-friendly salary, for a draft pick. Maybe also do the same with Kahkonen.

3. Columbus

Like Twarynski and Philadelphia, Blue Jackets management had to be ecstatic when the Seattle Kraken drafted Gavin Bayruether. Especially since the Kraken cut him a week later, and he re-signed with CBus. Defenseman Dean Kukan was the pick.

Dave Hakstol

Of course, Francis is going to stand by his hand-picked head coach. He waited long enough to hire Hakstol. Now Francis is making excuses for him.

I think he’s been good. I mean, you come into it with the challenges early with COVID and with playing five road games in eight days on the road. You’re trying to implement a system, you’re trying to learn about other teams.

 

There’s a lot going on at the start of the season. But I think we’re much better now than we were at the start of the year. I’m comfortable with the job Dave has done at this point, and I know he’ll continue to do better as we move forward.

That’s a poor excuse. Learn about other teams? What have you and your staff been doing for the last year-plus? Scouting other teams. Also, it’s nice Francis is comfortable with Hakstol because no one who follows the team is.

Not Vegas

“From day one, we’ve said we’re not Vegas.”

Nobody expected the Seattle Kraken to replicate what Vegas did in their first season. The fans didn’t have first-year Stanley Cup Finals expectations. Playing competitive hockey was an expectation, and this team doesn’t come close. The product isn’t

Related Story: The Kraken should take a chance on Nick Ritchie

What do you think is Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis in denial or delusional? Let us know in the comments section below.