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Seattle Kraken 2026-2027 Season Preview: Turning the Rebuild Tide · Jablam Sports Hockey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Jablan Sports Hockey, your home for everything happening around the NHL.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Peter Boyjaranov, and every episode we break down the biggest topics all hockey fans are talking about with writers, TV, and radio experts from all 32 teams.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Today we continue our 32 episode team season previews with the Kraken, and we've got back in the show John Barr.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, John.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Peter, for having me.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, he covers the Kraken.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: He's been there since the beginning, all the way back.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: How's that?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Before the beginning.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's good.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's good.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's good.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: So and in trending now, we're gonna talk about one legend who shocked about a coaching hire.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Let's drop the puck.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Kraken.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Last season, the Kraken missed the playoffs and were sixth in the Pacific.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: They made the playoffs once in their five seasons.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: If you could pinpoint one thing that really needs to happen for things to go their way and then to play hockey in the spring, what would it be, John?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they they really need to kind of score goals.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: They've always struggled to score goals.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I don't I'm sure a lot of listeners have tracked it, but like they imploded after the Olympic break, and part of that was just not scoring and weren't winning, and and just things just went sideways uh really bad.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh goal scoring has always been a problem, and and that's one of the key components that needs to kind of uh improve.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they are bottom five in scoring last year.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you can focus on a player or a style, what would it be to improve that scoring?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they don't have the high-end talent.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's the knock against this team.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have like this high-end score.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, there was a lot of injuries last year, and and and Jared McCann played through injuries most of the year, um, pretty much from training camp.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: He was missing because of maintenance and stuff like that, and and had to deal with it all year.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: But he scored 40 goals three years ago in a in a single season.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not expecting 40 this year, but he needs to score 30.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then they need to really kind of think about getting goals from throughout the lineup.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: They've always been this committee, uh, goals by committee type type scenario.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And they, you know, with the additions of Bobby McMahon, uh, he might be able to help a little bit more in the goal scoring because he he when he they were he was acquired at the trade deadline last year and scored 10 goals in 18 games, which is a lot.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's on the pace for like 47 in the 84 game season.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I'm I'm not expecting that, but but he needs to be kind of a key contributor as well.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think uh leave fans were like, hey, where was that when you were playing with Matthews?
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so you mentioned Jeremy Cannon, but also Vince Dunn and Philip Grubauer are UFAs after this year.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: What is going on with the GM uh bottle roll and him not re signing some of these guys yet, which they're core players, and they have what second most in cap space in the NHL?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean it's an interesting spot they're in.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now they have two two kind of young guys coming up uh on RFA next season, so they might be holding some uh some some uh arrows in the quiver, if you will, for next season.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: But um McCann, Dunn, and Grubau have been here from day one, right?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: They were part of the expansion draft, they are on the older side, and there hasn't been much chatter about re-signing them, but but I will say that that the team announced that Dunn is now an uh assistant captain, which is a little interesting, and maybe you can read more into that, or maybe I'm reading more into it, but it might signal a desire to kind of bring him back.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: But I think maybe some of these guys are even waiting to see how the team does from there on out.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, with Grubauer's spot, he's he's an older goaltender, he's kind of had a mixed result here, but lately he's the last couple seasons he's played, or the last last season he played probably his best season as a Kraken outside that kind of the playoff run.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but um it should be interesting to see what they do with these guys.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: It will be, and you mentioned some of the RFAs, and one of them is former first round pick, Shane Wright.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: I remember like last year and even in the summer, there were rumors he could be traded.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: What's their plan with Shane?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's it's all systems go, you know.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um actually Shane's agent came out this summer and saying that he kind of requested a trade.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and if there was one out there, um Botterles kind of acknowledged it when talking to the media to start a camp, but um at the same time, he says he's part of our team and he wants him to be successful.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it seems like he's gonna definitely start the season with the Kraken.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: And allegedly, Wright has come in excellent shape.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they kind of always say that, so you don't know if they're if if it's really true, but he's looked good in the in the you know the training camps that I've seen.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: He hasn't got into a preseason game that will start off kind of more this weekend with with the vets.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, I think they want him to be successful, and hopefully he reconsiders uh you know his desire to be traded.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: But to Shane's credit, he also faced the media and said, you know, I'm here now, I'm I'm committed to the team.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, didn't quite say that he rescinded his no his trade request, but you know, that that kind of goes with the territory.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: He's pretty young, so he doesn't have a lot of leverage here.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: One major move that Jason Botterell did do this offseason was acquire Sammy Samuskevich from the Florida Panthers.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: Three-year contract with the Kraken at 3.85.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Where does he fit in the lineup and what could he help do?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, he's he's fast, right?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And right now he's taking reps with Maddie Beneers and Jared McCann on the other wing.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, uh Mackie Samuskevich and Maddie, Maddie Beneers played uh at University of Michigan together and they seem to be buddies, and and uh kind of a funny side topic is that they're they're all living in Maddie's place.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: So Maddie Beneers owns a house.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Mackie Samuskevich is living there, and so is Berkeley Catton, who's our you know, our uh or the Krakens um 2024 first-round draft pick, who spent the whole year uh with the Kraken last season.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: What's one thing you would be happy about outside of obviously clinching the playoffs if we talked about in April that happened with the Kraken?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's just the seeing the progression of like Berkeley Catton and Shane Wright, right?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh see them kind of um evolve and kind of become maybe match more their expectations.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Caton's Caton's only 20 years old right now, and you know, Shane's 22.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it would be nice to see them kind of uh elevate to what what's expected of a top 10 pick.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I think those are kind of the things to look for of a fan if if like if if if you think the playoffs is not a scenario, or even if they compete, right?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um and they don't make it, like you'd like to see those guys because that is the future that are gonna have the most, I think, 24-year-old, 24 under uh players in the opening day lineup um ever, right?
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's it's traditionally an older team because it was built through the expansion draft, and they finally have enough draft picks to kind of like start seeing them come into the team.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: So time to start really rebuilding and time for some trending now.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Edmonton Oilers legend Marc Messier did not like his old team hiring Mike Babcock as their new head coach.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh quoted saying, I'm absolutely shocked they hired him during an ESPN opening night media call that uh Greg Rushinsky posted.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: He said, I'm absolutely shocked from the stories that I've heard from very good reputable character people about the way they were treated.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's been no secret.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: So this story obviously is gonna be front and center all season long.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think about the hiring of Babcock?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean it it's it's kind of fits the Edmonton MO where they they want to win at all costs, right?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know Evander Kane was signed there, and and who at the time had a little bit of a sketchy past, right?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: With his his kind of turbulence in San Jose, but you know, they want to win, and this is certainly different and off the board.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I wouldn't like it from my team uh if I was rooting for the Oilers, but at the same time, like you know, the players allegedly agreed to it and kind of bought off on it.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you you have to figure that really this is the players are partly responsible, and and who am I really to say to question uh Connor McDavid uh in his decision?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I don't like it, I don't think it's appropriate, but at the same time, like you know, this is this is part of the part of the part of the business, I guess.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Hey John, me me and you, we might tear for teams that actually care and have PR teams that care about the their fan bases, but then there's those teams that are the villain, villains, and hey, they do win games more, maybe.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining me, John.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: They win a lot more than mine.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: And fans, if you're listening, remember to subscribe on your listening app.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And if you have any questions for the show, reach us on X at Jablant Sports.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: See you next time.