When Jared McCann signed a five-year, $25 million contract during the inaugural season to become a long-time Kraken fixture in the lineup, there was one thought that rose above all others. And it most decidedly wasn’t about financial security.
“I've had to earn my way every step, right?,” said McCann Saturday morning. “I wasn't one of those guys who only gets handed an eight-year deal out of entry-level. I had to work for it. So I feel like I'll never be comfortable realistically. I’ve been traded a couple of times. I'm just going to keep working.”
Every offseason, McCann puts together a training program (with help now from the Kraken) with a primary objective: To be better than last season. So far, McCann has certainly proved that in a Kraken uniform.
This past summer, McCann was staring down a huge challenge: He became Seattle’s first 40-goal scorer and continued his proficiency as the two-way player GM Ron Francis and Assistant GM Ricky Olczyk envisioned when they made McCann the first player to renew his contract with the franchise. That signing was executed ahead of the NHL trade deadline, signaling an intense belief in McCann as both an improver of his game and a solid citizen in the locker room. Teammates respect the guy for both his goals and guts.
“I believe in Ron, Ricky too,” said McCann the night before he signed the contract back in early March 2021. “We hold the same passion. They want to win. I want to be part of this franchise winning. I’m out to prove they made the right decision.”
Remember that was Season 1 when playoff hopes were dashed, Matty Beniers was still in NCAA Michigan maize and blue and pundits were months away from universally projecting Seattle would not be a playoff team in the spring of 2023.
Going into this week’s two-game road trip against Arizona and Colorado, McCann (six goals in the first 12 games) again sits atop the Kraken goal-scoring list with, happily, Jaden Schwartz (five goals) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (four goals, including two in the last two games) right there to challenge. McCann is currently on pace to score 41 goals over an 82-game slate, thanks to scoring five goals in his last eight games.
He was clutch on the Eastern Conference road trip, scoring a tying goal in Detroit (then forgoing a shot to feed Jordan Eberle for the overtime winner) and a game-winning goal in OT against Tampa Bay to, in his words, “make the six-hour plane ride [back to the PNW] a lot easier, for sure.”
All of which adds up to McCann embracing the role of not only being a leader in goal scoring but the type of player who delivers scoring (goal or primary assist) when his squad needs it the most. That was clear even before his recent breakout in the goals category. In several early season scrums after losses, the standup McCann insisted he needed to play better, what he was giving to the team was not enough, even if his penalty-kill work in tandem with Yanni Gourde up front was near-perfection and he was still generating scoring chances.
“I personally didn't have a great start to the year and didn’t feel great,” said McCann, always candid. “I felt a little slow. Now I feel awesome and things are going the right way.”
McCann’s recent upward trend is part power play success and another big part moving to the Gourde line with fellow sharpshooter Eeli Tolvanen on the other wing. Gourde, who knows goal scorers when he sees and plays alongside them, said McCann’s speed on skates has helped the line create more opportunities during Kraken transition from defense to offense, whether that is getting out of the defensive zone fast or forcing turnovers in the neutral and/or offensive zones.
“I think something that Canner brings a little bit more with Tolvy and me in the transition piece, the odd man rushes. And he can really shoot the puck, well, both of them [his wings] can shoot the puck when they are open.”
Dave Hakstol likes the chemistry between Gourde and McCann during penalty kills. Moving him with Gourde and Tolvanen is a natural extension. Maybe not for the entire season – Hakstol and his coaches are predisposed to keeping lines together long enough to jell but not beyond looking to shake up combinations at times.
To that point, Hakstol and his coaches moved McCann to play with center Matty Beniers and right wing Kailer Yamamoto during Monday’s practice. He said the new trio (McCann and Beniers have played together and have some chemistry) “should be a good line off the rush” and especially good at retrieving pucks in the offensive zone to generate instant offense. The coaches are no doubt thinking the speed and transition aptitude of both McCann and Yamamoto (the latter’s carrying the puck through the neutral one is already a familiar sight for Kraken fans) will blend potently with Beniers’ relentless play and playmaking skills.
For his part, McCann said his confidence is high and that he wants to be considered a clutch goal scorer along with a high volume of scores. He agreed that playing wing consistently (he worked as a center at times in Year 1) helps him focus on both playmaking/scoring and excelling in his defined defensive duties.
It’s worth nothing his career shooting percentage is 12.3, with lower percentages in early seasons when his position and top six/lower six forwards roles varied. His shooting percentage in his last season in Pittsburgh was 15.3. In the inaugural season, he notched 13.6 and last season nailed it at 19.0. He currently stands at 16.7 percent; so-called experts who contend McCann can’t sustain a percentage in the high teens are starting to be outtalked by the data as a Kraken forward expected to shoot when he gets the puck.
“I feel like I could do that [be a top goal-scoring leader over the five years of his contract],” said McCann. “At the same time, I want to be a player that can be used in every situation. I don’t want to just be known as an offensive guy. I've always put a lot of work into my defensive game and still have a ways to go. I’m going to keep working at both ends of the ice.”
