GM Francis Bookends a Productive Summer

The first question at Kraken GM Ron Francis’ pre-rookie camp press conference Wednesday was friendly enough: “How was your summer?”

“What summer?” said Francis in equal good humor, prompting smiles and laughter all around.

NHL general managers do like to find some down time in August, which is the league’s least busy month. But the family/friends respite can be shorter than preferred and interrupted for all sorts of good reasons. Two such positive pursuits on Francis’ docket during August were ongoing contract talks with young star forward Matty Beniers plus veteran defenseman Adam Larsson.

Beniers signed a new seven-year, $50 million deal on Aug. 20, securing the 21-year-old through the 2030-2031 season. Larsson re-upped for four more years at $26 million total – the new pact starts next season – that keeps him in Kraken blue through the 2028-29 season.

“Being able to get Matty on board for several more years is really exciting for us. We'll see him as he matures and gets better each and every year,” said Francis. That's the exciting part for us and our fans, to have him on board.

“In Lars' case, it’s a more experienced guy who has been a heart and soul guy for our organization from day one. He loves being in Seattle, wants to be here, wants to be part of what we're building.”

FYI for future-thinking fans: Larsson’s defensive partner, Vince Dunn, signed a contract last summer that extends him through the 2026-27 season. Francis, though not one to tell new coach Dan Bylsma how to do his job even before the first official practice next week, did allow that the Larsson-Dunn duo is likely to continue (“I don’t expect that to change”).

“When Vince first got here, he was kind of finding his way a little bit,” said Francis when asked has upped the performances of both D-men over the Kraken’s first three seasons with Dunn a breakout star and Larsson considered an elite defenseman that no opponent likes playing against. “Lars had some tough situations, maybe, in his background [playing for New Jersey and then Edmonton for the first ten seasons of his career]. This was a fresh start for him, and they just kind of meshed and went well together. They have been a real solid pair for us all three seasons.”

Beniers’ seven-year commitment dovetails with the July 1 free-agent signings of defenseman Brandon Montour and center Chandler Stephenson. Both players are recent Stanley Cup winners (Montour in June and Stephenson in June 2023) with their own seven-year contracts. Along with the selection of highly regarded No. 8 overall pick Berkly Catton, the postseason started strong and going long on Beniers and Larsson made for an equally formidable finish for who will be on the ice this season.

In their media availabilities, both Larsson and Beniers set high expectations for this year’s team, which will now be led by new head coach Dan Bylsma.

The expectations should be high, said Larson: “Everybody walking out last [spring] left with disappointment. I feel like the guys are hungry and the additions are two very, very good players who will help us, push us to where we want to be.”

Facing Stephenson in divisional games against Vegas for three seasons fully informed Larsson of his new teammate’s threat on the offensive end (“top centers in this league are very, very hard to find”), while Beniers noted the veteran center’s elite prowess in all three zones.

“We made some great moves,” said Beniers. “Montour is awesome back there on D. He’s great offensively.”

Francis mentioned Beniers had gained 10 pounds over summer training, with Beniers committing to a more aggressive weight training program and more disciplined nutritional habits via healthier food choices and getting the high number of daily calories required over the whole day rather than, say, backloading at dinnertime.

On the lighter side, Beniers reported he would remain housemates with defenseman Will Borgen, not changing digs with the new contract. Larsson said he told Dunn about the new contract ahead of the official announcement but didn’t anticipate Dunn might tweet about it (he posted a tweet with four cat faces, which Larsson said he asked his D-partner to take down).

For his part of the relaxed press conference, Francis was queried about managing the team’s salary cap after the flurry of summer signings. The long-time NHL GM quipped that the team has $4,000 in cap room as it stands, so he’s not sure how much managing will be needed. He then confirmed he is currently comfortable with a 21-man roster (it can be as much as 23), that the hockey operations group will look at ways to create more cap room and that either way, “not much sleep for [vice president and assistant GM] Ricky Olczyk this year.”

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