It's one of the biggest turnarounds in NHL history but, to coach Dave Hakstol, qualifying for the playoffs is only the first step for the Kraken, and certainly not the last.
"We're not going to be satisfied with getting in now," Hakstol said after the Kraken clinched a berth with a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday. "Everybody in this room a year and 10 months ago was new, but we've grown a little bit. And we've probably just put a little building block of tradition in place by solidifying a playoff spot."
To Hakstol, the rapid turnaround is partly a result of a franchise with no playoff history having multiple key players with plenty of it.
The Kraken have players from each of the past seven Stanley Cup winners, and eight of the past nine. They will be the first team to make its postseason debut with multiple Stanley Cup-winning goalies (Philipp Grubauer, 2018 Washington Capitals, and Martin Jones, 2014 Los Angeles Kings).
"When you look around and you see quality people and quality National Hockey League players that you know, it gives confidence to everybody," Hakstol said.
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The Kraken's other previous Stanley Cup winners are Andre Burakovsky in 2022 (Colorado Avalanche) and 2018 (Capitals), Yanni Gourde in 2021 and 2020 (Tampa Bay Lightning), Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz in 2019 (St. Louis Blues) and Justin Schultz in 2017 and 2016 (Pittsburgh Penguins).
"Before I won, we had a lot of of good hard playoff series that didn't go our way," Schwartz said. "You need everyone on board, everyone's got to elevate their game. Everyone's got to pour it all in and really stick to your game, believe in each other. I think that goes a long way."
Within minutes of the Kraken's playoff-clinching win, players such as Schwartz were sharing their Stanley Cup Playoffs knowledge with the teammates who've yet to experience the postseason.
"It took me six years to finally get there and, once you're there, the game just elevates for everyone," said forward Jordan Eberle said, who has played in 62 playoff games with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders. "It's just intense. I mean every mistake, it seems like it ends up in the back your net, and vice versa. It's why you play this game."
The Kraken are 44-26-8 after going 27-49-6 in 2021-22. They've made the largest win improvement (17 wins) and point improvement (36 points) for an NHL franchise in its second season.
Since 1968-69, the Kraken, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Atlanta (now Calgary) Flames are the only teams to start from scratch and reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs within their first two seasons.
