There is a packed season coming up, with a new team, rising players and the small matter of a Winter Olympics tournament
Seattle won’t get an inaugural playoff visit
There’s a lot to love about an NHL team finally returning to Seattle (jersey collectors no doubt await a revival of the Golden Seals kit), if for no other reason than to give the Vancouver Canucks a true regional rival – even if their jerseys are, annoyingly, almost indistinguishable on TV. Still, the Kraken’s expansion draft might not prove as fruitful as that of the Vegas Golden Knights a few years ago. Jordan Eberle, Mark Giordano, Jamie Oleksiak, and – perhaps above all – Philip Grubauer, will certainly provide a good base to work with. But it doesn’t feel like the team is deep enough to get them out of a difficult division with the Avalanche and Golden Knights, or even past the Flames and Oilers.
