3 Takeaways From Kraken Management’s Season-Ending Press Conference
The Seattle Kraken hosted a season-ending press conference with general manager Jason Botterill and CEO Tod Leiweke at Kraken Community Iceplex on Wednesday.
What were some of the biggest takeaways that provided a glimpse into how the team will operate over the offseason and beyond?
Kraken the Ice: Seattle Ends Disappointing Season With a Thud, What Now?
After being eliminated from the playoffs with a week to play, the Kraken closed out their season without much of a whimper with losses to the Golden Knights and Avalanche, capping off a disastrous post-Olympics finish.
Emerald City Spectrum writer Nick Lee reads Seattle's eulogy after an up-and-down season, diving into the obvious low points while also revisiting a few positives that developed in the 2025-26 season, and takes a look at where Seattle must go this offseason to revive a possible contender or completely clean house.
Kraken Lament Collapse, Missed Opportunities at Year-End Exit Interviews
One month ago, the Seattle Kraken sat in a playoff spot, and after making an addition at the trade deadline on March 6, felt confident about their chances to compete in April.
“I think we have good depth throughout our lineup,” general manager Jason Botterill said following the deadline. “And this is a team that went through a tough stretch in December. The fact that they’ve been able to rebound from that and really take it, I like how we played at the end leading into the Olympic break. … Coming out of the break, I think there’s still another level we can get to.”
However, rather than taking a step forward, the Kraken took several steps back. From March 17 to April 16, the Kraken went 3-11-2 with just one regulation win against the Calgary Flames on April 11. After entering the stretch in the second wild card spot, Seattle finishes the year with the sixth-best odds to win the top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery.
Post-Mortem: Three Reasons Why Kraken Failed Once Again in 2025-26
The 2025-2026 NHL regular season is now over. The Seattle Kraken failed to score a goal in their season finale, going out without much of a whimper, falling 2-0 to Vegas to bring another disappointing campaign to an end.
The Kraken finished 34-37-11, totaling 79 points. That ranks third among the five seasons in Seattle Kraken history. They fell three points shy of being the second-highest point total in franchise history. They also failed to have a winning season in Lane Lambert’s first year as head coach, finishing below .500 for the fourth time out of the five years, along with three straight years of sub-.500 hockey.
The Kraken have gone through three head coaches in five seasons. It appears as if Lambert will get a second year, barring an unexpected development.
So, what happened? Why did the Kraken fail to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season?
Kraken Stumble Early, Fall Short Late in 5-3 Home Finale Loss vs. Kings
Trailing 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings at Climate Pledge Arena on Monday, the Seattle Kraken fought to cut the deficit during the second period.
Both Kings goals came from forward Quinton Byfield beating Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren to the puck around the Los Angeles blue line and scoring on a breakaway, but Seattle hoped it would benefit from a similar bounce.
A Vince Dunn shot from the point was obstructed by a teammate and swept away at 5:16, and Berkly Catton went wide from the netfront off a centering pass nearly a minute later. Ryan Winterton also had a look from a tight angle at 6:51, but it would be the Kings that struck next at 7:13.
Alex Laferriere sent a shot wide off the end boards that barely slipped under Matty Beniers’ stick and straight to Trevor Moore in the left circle. Moore’s shot off the rebound beat Kraken goalie Nikke Kokko to make it 3-0.
The Kraken brought the game back within one goal twice during the third period, but ultimately fell 5-3 to close out their 2025-26 home slate. Eliminated from playoff contention, Seattle has two more road games this season.
Kraken Snap Skid with Shootout Win Against Vegas
It looked like the same story.
The Vegas Golden Knights executed a 4-on-2 rush, finished off by Brett Howden just 1:11 into the third period at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday to put the Seattle Kraken down 3-1.
After losing 10 of their past 11 games, including five straight in regulation entering Thursday, the Kraken’s playoff hopes are only alive in a minute mathematical sense. Crumbling down the stretch, unable to find the urgency needed to string together positive results, Seattle could only be expected to pack it in once again.
However, after Berkly Catton benefited from a fortuitous bounce to cut it to 3-2, Bobby McMann tied the game midway through the third period. The Kraken played through an eventful overtime period before Matty Beniers and Catton scored in the shootout to lift Seattle to a 4-3 win.
Kraken Buried in ‘Unacceptable’ Loss to Blackhawks
The Seattle Kraken’s odds to make the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs were slim entering Saturday night’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks at Climate Pledge Arena.
However, facing the team with the second-worst record in the league provided Seattle an opportunity to at least extend its hopes. The Kraken can’t control the other bubble team’s results, but they can control the effort and urgency required to put themselves in the best position possible.
Even then, there wasn’t enough on Saturday night. With a 4-2 loss to a bottom-feeding Blackhawks, the Kraken all but solidified their place among them.
“I would just use one word,” Seattle coach Lane Lambert said. “I’m disappointed.”
Kraken Blow Lead, Allow Six Unanswered in Critical Loss to Utah
SEATTLE, Wash. - Jacob Melanson was doing Jacob Melanson things.
Moments after beating out a potential icing for the Seattle Kraken, which faced the Utah Mammoth at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday, the 22-year-old forward redirected a Ryan Lindgren shot past Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka to extend Seattle’s lead to 3-1 early in the second period.
That kind of high-motor, physical play getting instantly rewarded is just what a Kraken team fighting for a Western Conference wild card spot needs. Instead, it was instantly stripped away.
The Mammoth successfully challenged for goaltender interference, bringing the score back to 2-1. Utah tied it four minutes later, erasing its 2-0 deficit and scoring four more unanswered goals to secure a 6-2 win.
Kraken’s Jekyll-and-Hyde Play Continues to Plague Seattle
You know that friend or family member that spends several years in college, not knowing what they want to do when they graduate? They declare and undeclare major after major, switching career paths faster that Indiana Jones replacing the idol in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
That is the Seattle Kraken in 2025-2026. They cannot decide if they are playoff team or not. During certain stretches, they look like they can compete with anyone. They get back into a playoff spot and look like they will have postseason hockey in Seattle. Then, out of the blue, they look like a team playing hockey together for the first time in their lives.
Kraken Fall Back Into Bad Habits, Suffer 6-2 Loss to Lightning
It started with Jared McCann.
The Seattle Kraken forward said as much, referring to his turnover to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gage Concalves on a hit along the boards that ultimately led to the latter giving his side a 1-0 lead just 5:45 into Tuesday’s game at Climate Pledge Arena, but it didn’t end there.
Between Tampa’s relentless forecheck and a couple of crucial mistakes on Seattle’s end, the Lightning stormed to a 3-0 lead. The Kraken managed to cut it to 3-2 midway through the second period, but more mistakes doomed them to a 6-2 loss.
Bottom-Six Propels Kraken to Big Win Over Panthers
After snapping their four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks, the Seattle Kraken’s new-look top line and trade deadline acquisition Bobby McMann’s three-point debut stole the show. Less than 24 hours later, it was the Kraken bottom-six that powered Seattle to a back-to-back sweep with a 6-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday.
With two goals each from the third- and fourth-line, the Kraken displayed the top-to-bottom production they’ll need if they want to hold down a spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, which they reclaimed after San Jose lost 7-4 to Ottawa on Sunday.
“We need everybody,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “That’s the way it’s going to be, and certainly we need everybody and needed everybody on a second night of a back-to-back with a rested team here waiting for us, and Joey (Daccord) played well right off the start, and then our fourth line stepped up and got us going with some energy … so huge for us, but we’re a four-line hockey team, and that’s what we need out of them.”
Kraken Waste Crucial Homestand with ‘Mind-Boggling’ Mistakes
The Seattle Kraken arrived back in the Emerald City after dropping the first two games on the road following the Olympic break. Then, Kraken fans perked up as the team rattled off wins against the lowly Canucks and talented Hurricanes.
Things were looking up. The fanbase was rejuvenated. There were still four games left in the longest stretch of consecutive home games on the entire Kraken schedule.
They played three very beatable teams before a date with the top team in the entire NHL, the Colorado Avalanche. Instead of taking advantage of a stretch of winnable games at home, the Kraken dropped all four, failing to take advantage of a prime opportunity.
Kraken Fall Out of Playoff Spot as Skid Continues in 5-1 Loss to Avalanche
The difference between the first and second period was night and day for the Seattle Kraken against the Colorado Avalanche at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday.
A lethargic effort from Seattle and a three-point period from Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon put the Kraken in a 3-0 hole through 20 minutes, but the home side came out of the gates swinging in the second period.
Despite building up a 10-0 shots on goal advantage through 10:25, Seattle could not manage to get on the board before Adam Larsson committed a tripping penalty to put the Kraken on the penalty kill.
What should have been a momentum killer was the exact opposite. Chandler Stephenson set up Ryker Evans for a short-handed goal, and Seattle was back in business.
For less than four minutes, unfortunately.
Kraken GM Jason Botterill Breaks Down McMann Acquisition, State of Team After Trade Deadline
Striking at close to midnight - at least proverbially - the Seattle Kraken acquired Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick right before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.
McMann, 29, is a forward on the final season of a two-year contract with a $1.35 million AAV. He has 19 goals and 32 points through 60 games this season, which ranks second-most on Seattle behind captain Jordan Eberle (42 points).
Of course, that production came with superstar Auston Matthews at center. According to Natural Stat Trick, McMann had 238:09 of 5-on-5 ice time on a line with Matthews and Max Domi, the most of any single line combination in Toronto this season.
‘We Were Committed’: Kraken Stick to Game Plan, Earn Massive 2-1 Win vs. Hurricanes
The Seattle Kraken knew exactly what they needed to do when the Carolina Hurricanes rolled into Climate Pledge Arena on Monday.
Entering the game with the second-best record in the NHL, Carolina averaged the second-most shots on goal per game (32) and had totaled the most combined shots on goal plus shot attempts (2,347 Fenwick For).
So it wasn’t a surprise when the Hurricanes outshot Seattle 36-15 by the end of the night. What was a surprise was that the Kraken put more of theirs into the back of the net.
Kraken Struggle to Shake Bad Habits in 5-1 Loss to Blues
It wasn’t pretty, but it was exactly what the Seattle Kraken wanted.
After allowing three tip-in goals in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars the night before, the Kraken expressed a desire, a necessity, to throw more pucks on net to create scoring chances for themselves.
“We just need to get pucks towards the net, and get a greasy one,” defenseman Ryker Evans told reporters in Dallas after Wednesday’s game. “We were just trying to make a fancy play or just pass it, and we just need to get it to the net.”
So after Seattle allowed two goals in the first 95 seconds of the second period against the St. Louis Blues to go down 3-1 on Thursday, it appeared Evans followed through when the Kraken needed someone to cut the deficit.
Kraken Stumble Out of Olympic Break With 4-1 Loss to Stars
Coming off the extended Olympic break, the Seattle Kraken managed to put together the kind of start they wanted against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.
Playing physical from the jump, Seattle did not allow a shot on goal from Dallas between 5:21 and 12:40 in the first period, and put together a productive power-play opportunity in that span, albeit without scoring.
However, the Stars picked up the pressure in the final minutes of the first, scoring just 1:19 before the intermission before taking a 2-0 lead 1:43 into the second. Before the second period was half over, the Kraken trailed 4-0 en route to a 4-1 loss.
‘Always Want to Get That One Back’: Wright Pulls Kraken Past Maple Leafs to Third Straight Win
Redeeming himself after an early snafu on Thursday night, Shane Wright’s two-goal effort steered the Kraken past the Maple Leafs in a convincing 5-2 win. Jumping into third place in the Pacific Division, how did Seattle get it done at Climate Pledge Arena?
Stripped of Hat Trick, Jared McCann Leads Kraken to Wild 5-1 Win vs. Capitals
While two separate chances to record a hat trick were taken away from him, Jared McCann finished with two goals and two assists for the Kraken to headline a dominant 5-1 win against the Capitals on Tuesday. What stood out from one of the team’s most complete games?
Berkly Catton Making Most Out of Developmental Role With Kraken
Berkly Catton, who turned 20 two weeks ago, grew up as the best player on his team — if not the entire league — at every stop along the way to the Kraken. But as is the case with most young players who make the jump to the NHL, he’s had to adjust to a smaller workload.
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