Kraken Turning Tide Against Regional Rival Canucks
Long before the first puck dropped on the ice at Climate Pledge Arena, or even before a hammer hit a single nail into the newly built arena, a rivalry was born between Seattle's newly-founded hockey team and the established, Stanley Cup-winning Vancouver Canucks.
"The Canucks are excited to come here and get beat," former Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan boldly declared back in December of 2017, when the Kraken franchise was in its embryonic stage and had yet to even be named.
Now, that prophecy (?) is coming to pass.
Certainly, it was a rough beginning for the Seattle Kraken as a franchise against their rivals from just north of the border. Seattle flopped to an 0-4-0 record against Vancouver in its inaugural season, which shouldn’t come as much as a surprise given the struggles expansion teams usually deal with.
The Kraken rallied to a 2-1-1 record during the magical run of the 2023-2024 season that ultimately ended in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Stars. They fell to 1-2-1 against Vancouver last season and missed the postseason.
This year, the Kraken have flipped the script in the matchup with the Canucks. For the first time in the young franchise’s history, they did not lose a game to Vancouver in regulation, going 3-0-1.
In the three wins, Seattle won by a combined nine goals over their rivals from north of the border. Their only loss was in a shootout, as they came so close to pulling off a season sweep.
Is this a sign of good things to come for Seattle? Or is this just a fun tidbit for fans to brag about to their friends in the Great White North?
Thanks to the surge this season, the Kraken now have a winning record against Vancouver at 7-6-2 over the course of four seasons. They even own a 4-2-1 mark at Rogers Arena in British Columbia, dominating their foes on their own ice.
What does this mean? For the Canucks, the recent 5-0 blowout loss to the Kraken that featured goals from five different players, three assists from Jared McCann, and a suffocating performance from Joey Daccord in the crease might have been the final torpedo in their ship sailing towards a playoff spot. Vancouver now sits eight points out of the last Wild Card spot with seven games to play. The odds are slim, indeed.
For the Kraken, this is a small piece of momentum to take into the offseason in a year where few things went right on the ice, as they will miss the postseason for the third time in four years and currently have the fourth fewest points in the Western Conference. Being able to put their rivals on the brink of elimination adds something positive to the equation heading towards a crucial offseason.
The more the Kraken pester the Canucks as the little brother from the Emerald City, the more exciting this rivalry gets. While it does not yet have the same feeling as perhaps The Battle of Alberta (Flames vs. Oilers), the momentum is growing. Both teams are tucked up in the northwest population of North America, disregarded by many of their brethren eastward.
Maybe in the 2025-2026 season, this rivalry will fuel two hungry teams back to the playoffs. And, hopefully, the Kraken can continue to get the upper hand more times than not to maintain regional bragging rights.
