After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Seattle Kraken:
2023-24 season: 34-35-13, sixth in Pacific Division; did not qualify for Stanley Cup Playoffs
Key arrivals
Chandler Stephenson, F: The 30-year-old signed a seven-year contract July 1 and is expected to bolster the center position. The two-time Stanley Cup winner (Washington Capitals, 2018; Vegas Golden Knights, 2023) had 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) in 75 games last season with the Golden Knights. Stephenson likely will play a key role in all situations. … Brandon Montour, D: One week after winning the Cup with the Florida Panthers, the 30-year-old signed a seven-year contract July 1, bringing a puck-moving element to Seattle’s blue line. He also is expected to quarterback one of the two power-play units. Montour had 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) in 66 regular-season games last season for Florida and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games. … Josh Mahura, D: The 26-year-old signed a one-year contract July 3. He had nine assists in 30 games last season with the Panthers. … Dan Bylsma, coach: The 53-year-old, who won the Stanley Cup as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, was hired May 28 as the second coach in Kraken history, replacing Dave Hakstol. He is 320-190-55 in 565 regular-season games with the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, and 43-35 in 78 playoff games. He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2011 with Pittsburgh. Bylsma was coach of Coachella Valley, Seattle’s American Hockey League affiliate, the past two seasons, leading it to the Calder Cup Finals both times. … Jessica Campbell, assistant coach: On July 3, the 32-year-old became the first woman to be hired as an NHL coach. She was an assistant for Bylsma at Coachella Valley for the past two seasons.
Key departures
Justin Schultz, D: The 34-year-old spent most of last season on the third pair and was a power-play quarterback, finishing with 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 70 games. He is an unrestricted free agent. … Brian Dumoulin, D: The 32-year-old was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on July 2 for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 80 games last season. … Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, F: The 39-year-old had seven points (four goals, three assists) in 40 games last season. He is an unrestricted free agent. … Kailer Yamamoto, F: The 25-year-old had 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 59 games and was not extended a qualifying offer by Seattle, making him an unrestricted free agent.
On the cusp
Shane Wright, F: The No. 4 pick by the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft is expected to earn a full-time spot on their roster for the first time this season. The 20-year-old center played eight games with Seattle for the second season in a row, including a stint in April when he had five points (four goals, one assist) in five games. Wright played most of last season with Coachella Valley, finishing with 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists) in 59 regular-season games and 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 12 playoff games. … Ryker Evans, D: The 22-year-old is expected to take over a full-time spot on the blue line after the departure of Dumoulin, a fellow left-handed shot. Selected by the Kraken in the second round (No. 35) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Evans had nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 36 games last season for Seattle. … Ryan Winterton, F: The Kraken are projected to have at least one forward spot open, and the 20-year-old could fill one of them. A third-round pick (No. 67) by Seattle in the 2021 draft, Winterton played nine games with the Kraken last season. He had 35 points (22 goals, 13 assists) in 58 regular-season games with Coachella Valley and 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 18 playoff games.
What they still need
The Kraken could still use another scoring forward. They improved their offense with two free agent splashes July 1, but neither Stephenson nor Montour is known for putting up huge numbers. Seattle also still needs to re-sign center Matty Beniers, a top-six forward. The 21-year-old had 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 77 games last season and is a restricted free agent.
They said it
"It's an exciting day for the Kraken organization and our fans, right? It just goes to show that players want to come to Seattle, they want to play in this organization, they want to play in front of our great fans.” -- general manager Ron Francis on July 1
Fantasy focus
Montour goes from the Stanley Cup champion Panthers to a potential bounce-back team in the Kraken but one that already has another high-scoring defenseman in Vince Dunn (0.78 points per game last season; tied with forward Jared McCann for Seattle’s lead). Montour and Dunn could either compete for first power-play usage or share the ice together with the man-advantage, a situation that rarely yields maximum fantasy value for each defenseman. But Montour should still be considered a fringe top 20 fantasy player at his position with two past seasons of double-digit goals, highlighted by his 2022-23 season, when he had NHL career highs in goals (16), assists (57), points (73), power-play points (33) and shots on goal (242) for Florida. -- Pete Jensen
Projected lineup
Jared McCann -- Matty Beniers -- Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz -- Chandler Stephenson -- Andre Burakovsky
Eeli Tolvanen -- Shane Wright -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon Tanev -- Yanni Gourde -- Tye Kartye
Vince Dunn -- Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak -- Brandon Montour
Ryker Evans -- Will Borgen
Philipp Grubauer
Joey Daccord
