We’ve now had a couple of days to digest the end of the Seattle Kraken season, which concluded with 76 standings points—good for seventh out of eight teams in the Pacific Division and tied for fourth from the bottom of the entire NHL.

Believe it or not, those 76 points were five fewer than last season, which for some reason felt more painful than this one—perhaps because the Kraken were in the playoff conversation deeper into the 2023-24 campaign than they were this season. In 2024-25, it never felt like Seattle got into enough of a groove to be a playoff contender.

Adding a small dose of insult to injury, the Philadelphia Flyers lost their final game of the season to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, which vaulted them into the fourth-best odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery. The Kraken were level in the standings with both Philadelphia and the Boston Bruins but won tiebreakers against both teams, meaning they ended with the sixth-best odds of winning the lottery—so a 7.5 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick.

Taking one fewer standings point would have only given them a marginally better 9.5 percent chance of winning, but it would have meant they draft a couple slots higher assuming they don’t win the lottery. As it stands now, drafting seventh is the most likely outcome, per Tankathon.

It probably won’t end up making a huge difference—there are good players available in the top 10, even though this is viewed as a relatively weak draft—but it’s one more layer of disappointment for a still-growing fanbase that has been kicked pretty hard the last couple of seasons.

Clean-out day highlights

Every season, NHL teams do a “locker clean-out day,” in which players meet with the coaching staff individually to discuss their respective performances, have end-of-season medical evaluations, and wrap up any loose ends before heading to their offseason homes. Another aspect of this day is that many of the players and the head coach are made available to the media one last time.

This happened Wednesday for the Kraken, one day after they dropped their season finale, 6–5, to the Los Angeles Kings.

Here are some highlights from clean-out day.

Consistent themes

While the conversations varied from player to player, several consistent themes emerged throughout the day. First, the team was highly disappointed that it did not make the playoffs, and the players believe they should have performed better than they did. We also heard this from the players last season, but it still feels worth noting.

Second, we heard from several individuals that they were happier with the way they played after the NHL Trade Deadline than before it. This was something we heard consistently during the final stretch of the season and again Wednesday from coach Dan Bylsma, as well.

I asked a few guys why they played better after the deadline—their record was 9-8-2 since March 7—than before, considering they theoretically lost talent from their roster.

“I think we did a good job of finishing the season,” Jaden Schwartz said. “We played hard for each other. I don’t know what our record was—I think it was above .500, but we looked better collectively as a team, had some good spurts.”

“I think, after the deadline, we started to play a lot better,” added Jared McCann. “We were more consistent with our play, and we obviously beat some good teams too. So, I think that the consistency for us wasn’t really there all year, and that’s something that obviously needs to change.”

When I posed the question to Bylsma, I shaped it differently, asking more specifically about the loss of players viewed externally as important members of the team. Shouldn’t that have resulted in poorer performance, at least on paper?

Bylsma didn’t really comment, instead saying that he would leave me to ponder why the team got better after it moved Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to Tampa Bay and Brandon Tanev to Winnipeg.

I have my own theories: one of those three players simply wasn’t a fit in Bylsma’s scheme, one wasn’t good for the locker room, and the other was Yanni Gourde.

Jared McCann to undergo procedure

Perhaps the closest thing to breaking news from the day came from Jared McCann, who said he will have a procedure on Monday and will be out of commission for about six weeks before getting back to training for next season. While he didn’t elaborate on what he was dealing with, it did sound like something that lingered for much of the season.

“I’ve got to clean the body up a little bit,” McCann said. “I’ve got a procedure to do this summer, and I’ll just try to figure out kind of where it came from.”

Given that he had a mysterious malady that will require surgery, the fact that he played all 82 regular-season games for the first time in his NHL career is impressive. Also notable is that although he didn’t score at the same clip as in previous seasons—potting just 22 goals compared to 27, 40, and 29 in his other Kraken years—he still led the team in points with 61 (22-39—61), 10 more than second-place Chandler Stephenson, who had 51 points (13-38—51).

Joey Daccord wins the first annual Andy Eide Memorial Stick Taps Award

This season, we introduced a new player award in honor of our good buddy, Andy Eide, who tragically passed away after suffering a stroke two years ago.

Andy took such pride in forming relationships with players, coaches, and team staff, and being able to take little anecdotes from his interactions and share them with his friends and family. He picked up so many funny tidbits he couldn’t share publicly, but it brought him joy to regale others with hockey stories from around the rink.

So, in the spirit of the award, the Kraken beat members were asked to consider: which player made them want to go home and tell their friends about their interactions? Who was best to work with throughout the season?

The always affable Joey Daccord—who Andy interviewed on several occasions—won in a landslide.

Joey Daccord was the first recipient of the Andy Eide Memorial Stick Taps Award, presented by the local #SeaKraken media to the player who was best to work with throughout the season.

Congrats, @JDac35! pic.twitter.com/5rBZRvWaCp

— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) April 16, 2025

Daccord also unsurprisingly had some great things to say during his presser and in my interview with him on this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast episode. Here’s my personal favorite quote of Daccord’s from his media availability:

“It means a lot to me, the support that I get from the fans here. I’ve been fortunate enough to be supported incredibly everywhere I’ve gone, everywhere I’ve played, but nothing really comes close to Seattle and the way the fans support our team and myself… At the end of the day, they’re what drive us. They are there every single game to support us, home and away. We see them all over the country, all over Canada. We see them everywhere. Obviously, [Tuesday’s] game was not the best, and it is what it is, but I didn’t want to let that one game diminish a whole season. … I just think it’s really important to acknowledge and be grateful for the support that they give me every single night.”

Joey gets it.

An introspective Vince Dunn

Defenseman Vince Dunn spent a lot of time in his media availability reflecting on his own performance this season. In my mind’s eye, I can recall numerous moments where I would check a replay in wonder to figure out how an opponent got so open or so far behind Seattle’s defenses. It became a pattern in these scenarios to see Dunn as the last guy back, having lost his man. Of course, there were plenty of other guilty parties throughout the season, but Dunn stood out to me.

For that reason, I assumed any introspection or direction from coaches would focus on Dunn’s defending. In contrast, Dunn thought he had a pretty good year defensively and will focus on improving his offensive performance.

“I wish I had a little bit better of a year. I think there’s opportunities for me to have a little bit more finish in my game,” Dunn said. “I think guys put me in positions to score, and I didn’t execute or create enough chances moving forward with the plays that were given to me, so that’s kind of all I’ll look at with my game, I think.

“I defended pretty well, I matched some nights but didn’t match the other nights, so, as far as my game and my injuries, everything like that, I felt like it was decent. But I know my role on this team, and I know that decent is not enough to win hockey games and be the staple on the back end that this team needs me to be. So I’m not extremely disappointed in myself, but I know that I have a little bit more to give and a little bit more to work on this summer, and I’m really excited to come out and get off to the right start next season.”

It was an interesting glimpse into the mind of an offensive defenseman; Dunn knows he’s in Seattle to drive production from the back. What’s funny, though, is that it wasn’t even a terrible offensive season for him. He had 11 goals and 28 assists in 62 games, matching his goal total from last season and falling seven assists short of his 2022-23 mark, despite playing three more games.

Without elaborating on specific areas Dunn needs to work on, Bylsma agreed that he can be better.

“I think him being out with an injury, especially early on in the season, you saw that really when he came back, he accented what he can bring to the team,” Bylsma said. “I think almost to a man in that room, I think we all feel the same way about our years, individually. ‘How was my year?’ ‘It was ok.’ ‘It was good.’ ‘Not good enough.’

“And I think Vince can be a driver on our power play, can be a driver offensively back on the back end for us, both from a puck-moving standpoint, but as a facilitator offensively. And he did a good job of that, but his expectation and my expectation are that it can be better.”

Players on expiring contracts have enjoyed Seattle

Three players on expiring contracts—Kaapo Kakko, Josh Mahura, and Mikey Eyssimont—spoke to the media on Wednesday. Kakko’s situation is different than those of Mahura and Eyssimont because the 24-year-old is a restricted free agent, meaning he can really only sign with Seattle absent an offer sheet, and (I believe) is viewed as an important long-term piece. Meanwhile, Mahura and Eyssimont are depth players set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, free to sign with any team.

I had wondered if Kakko would want a short-term bridge deal, since he can hit the open market next summer if he doesn’t sign long term. But the way he gushes about playing here—remember, he had a tough go in New York—makes me think a longer deal could get worked out soon.

“It’s a little different [than playing in New York],” Kakko said with a smirk. “I mean, different city, but I think over here is kind of more like Finland. New York is very different. But I like my time here. I like the city, and I think the fans were great. I like to play here, and I think this is a good place for me.”

Eyssimont and Mahura also expressed love for their time in Seattle.

Eyssimont echoed much of what he told me in a previous interview. When asked if he would like to return next season, he said, “Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and I’m going to miss it this summer. The boys have been so great, so yeah, it’s a great organization.”

Added Mahura: “I obviously really enjoyed my time here. Me and my family coming into here, we just got used to it pretty quick, enjoyed the outdoors and the nature side of it with our dogs and stuff. But overall, it’s been nothing but positive things for us here.”

When I asked Mahura directly if he would want to return, he said: “Yeah, for sure. I think that’s obviously some talks that we’ll have to have over the next little bit, but like I said, I’ve loved being here, loved being part of this organization, and everybody that is involved in it.”

A difficult season for Philipp Grubauer

There’s been speculation that Philipp Grubauer may have reached the end of his time with the Kraken, though that’s not yet a foregone conclusion.

After struggling for much of the first five months of the season, he got waived and sent to Coachella Valley, where he did seem to find himself before he returned to post a 3-2-0 record with a .921 save percentage in his final five appearances, perhaps his best stretch of the season.

“It wasn’t the easiest season for me personally, as well, but I felt like once I got into a rhythm down there in Coachella, I found my game there and got to play a little bit more consistently,” Grubauer said.

“It was definitely weird going down there. Like, you’re sitting on the plane, and you don’t know if your career up here is going to be over or not, so it was definitely a little weird going down there. But once you’re down there and you put the gear back on, you’ve got to go to work and make the best out of it.”

One thing I find interesting is that he has continued to maintain he never lost confidence—he just couldn’t get into a rhythm due to sporadic playing time.

“This whole year has nothing to do with confidence or I was lacking confidence early in the year, and now I’m like obviously more confident,” Grubauer said. “I think it’s more finding the playing time and seeing those situations out there. You always talk about the first game of preseason, like it’s always scrambly, or the first game of the regular season, it’s so scrambly. That’s what it is. You sit on the bench for two or three weeks, and it’s basically like you’re coming out of preseason again.”

The trouble with this argument is that if he stays next season, it will almost certainly be in a true backup role now that Daccord has taken over the starter job. If Grubauer can’t get comfortable in that role, I don’t see how Seattle can keep him.
It also sounds to me like he’s blaming his struggles on not getting a fair shake, though we discussed this on this week’s podcast, and John Barr took Grubauer’s comments differently than I did.

In any case, Grubauer’s status with the Kraken will surely be one to monitor this summer.

There’s still some end-of-season wrapping up left for the Kraken. General manager Ron Francis has not yet addressed the media but is expected to do so on Tuesday, so we’ll have more coverage after that.

Plus, we have lots of great content planned over the next few weeks as we continue to dissect this season to understand more about what went wrong and what the team can do to improve for 2025–26.

Even so, this feels like a great time to say thanks for following along this season, folks!