Seattle Kraken Need a Hero (Or Two) To Step Up Amid More Tough Injury Luck

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Seattle Kraken left wing Tye Kartye (12) at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images [/caption]

The NHL season is a brutal one. The nature of the game brings attrition and a testing of a team’s depth often, with its physical, grueling nature. The deepest, toughest teams are the ones usually playing hockey into May and June.

This season, the Seattle Kraken’s depth has been tested mightily. The franchise’s leading goal scorer and point collector Jared McCann has only played seven games all year. Kaapo Kakko has started and restarted his season a few times already, having just played in eight games. Most notably, the Kraken had to navigate a stretch of the calendar without their main netminder, Joey Daccord.

McCann, Kakko, and Daccord have all returned to the fold.

Unfortunately, right when it felt like Seattle was getting all their horses back in the stable, the injury bug bit again. No Kraken skater has more goals this season than center Jaden Schwartz’s eight. However, he just got put on injured reserve for what appears to be a lower body injury for a span of approximately six weeks, according to the team.

Veteran forward Mason Marchment did not travel with the team to Edmonton after suffering an undisclosed injury. Head coach Lane Lambert gave him no designation, leaving optimism he could return this weekend or early next week.

Solid defenseman Brandon Montour missed a few practices this week after “aggravating” something. He reportedly returned to practice on Wednesday, but nothing is certain for the game against the Oilers on Thursday. Seattle can ill afford to lose Montour. Only Vince Dunn has more average time on ice this season and he paces all Kraken defenders with five goals.

Once again, the Kraken will take the ice Thursday in Edmonton not at full strength. It feels like they have basically gone all season not at full strength. The Kraken need to fight through some offensive inconsistencies now without one of their top goal scorers until at least January. The Kraken rank 31st in the NHL in goals scored per game. They rank dead last in shots on goal.

While we can’t confirm whether Lane Lambert is lying awake at night like Bonnie Tyler, tossing and turning and holding out for a hero, it’s clear he needs one now. With Schwartz out, the Kraken need a spark from an unlikely source to jump-start the offense.

19-year-old rookie Berkly Catton is still searching for his first NHL goal. Tye Kartye will likely see a bump in play if Marchment misses more time. Shane Wright has not been as lucrative a scorer as he looked at times last year, yet. This would be a good time for Wright to hit a hot streak.

However it happens, for the Kraken to get out of this offensive rut, they will need an unsung hero or two to step up.