GDT: Game 4: Carolina Hurricanes(2-0-0) @ Seattle Kraken(1-1-1) - 7:00 p.m. PT / 10:00 p.m. ET

[Irie]

Yep but I don't really know if that's on the players or the coach. Are they just not preparing for the matchups? Or is it just that the execution is completely off? If it is the execution, does that fall on the players or the coach? Round and round we go.

I think it was a bit of a frustration issue. Carolina was not giving up any ice, and it is hard to sustain a high intensity when there is no room to skate.

The game plan of having Wennberg/Burakovsky/Schwartz carry the blueline just won't work against a team like Carolina. They were skating into the midst of 3 D-men on every attempt. The worrisome thing is that there was no adjustments made between periods.

 

[The Marquis]

I think it was a bit of a frustration issue. Carolina was not giving up any ice, and it is hard to sustain a high intensity when there is no room to skate.

The game plan of having Wennberg/Burakovsky/Schwartz carry the blueline just won't work against a team like Carolina. They were skating into the midst of 3 D-men on every attempt. The worrisome thing is that there was no adjustments made between periods.

Good thing it was only the 4th game and that all the losses have come against likely very good teams. If we start losing this way to those middle of the pack or even bad teams, then there's a bigger problem than we think. Unfortunately, we're going to have two big tests before that can even happen. I'm still optimistic, but less so after that second period (again!).

 

[Irie]

Good thing it was only the 4th game and that all the losses have come against likely very good teams. If we start losing this way to those middle of the pack or even bad teams, then there's a bigger problem than we think. Unfortunately, we're going to have two big tests before that can even happen. I'm still optimistic, but less so after that second period (again!).

I think it comes down to match-ups. Seattle struggles against high skilled teams that move the puck quickly which counters the Kraken's aggressive "just out hustle" your opponent gameplan, and they struggle to generate offense against teams that play strong disciplined D thought the neutral zone. Carolina is a team that tends to excel in both of those areas.

I think this team should match up somewhat well against a few of the perceived cup contender teams, just probably not the well disciplined ones

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Well, another bad game against one of the better teams.

Overall we're not able to get anything going offensively against tough, physical defensive teams and I'm not sure what the plan is on defense for us.
I mean, besides trying to hit people and probably overcomitting doing so.

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

Don't ask me why but I get this feeling that Hakstol is more in the hot seat than a lot of us think. Not sure if Francis is going to be that patient this season.

from your lips to God's ears. Please let it happen.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Don't ask me why but I get this feeling that Hakstol is more in the hot seat than a lot of us think. Not sure if Francis is going to be that patient this season.

I'm sincerely sorry that you guys have to endure that clown at all. How he ever got another job in the NHL after what he did to us is a real mystery. Our roster was largely useless, but he exacerbated every problem we had. He's the worst.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I think it comes down to match-ups. Seattle struggles against high skilled teams that move the puck quickly which counters the Kraken's aggressive "just out hustle" your opponent gameplan, and they struggle to generate offense against teams that play strong disciplined D thought the neutral zone. Carolina is a team that tends to excel in both of those areas.

I think this team should match up somewhat well against a few of the perceived cup contender teams, just probably not the well disciplined ones

Absolutely agree.

The out-hustle game plan will work against the lesser skilled and slower teams but most NHL teams will either adjust to our style or just out skill us.

They had a few shots of Hakstol yesterday on the bench and he just looked confused. Like a deer in the headlights. Honestly, that worried me more than anything else. Our coach looks like he has no clue what to do.

 

[dylanmacarthur]

Genuinely confused why they're keeping Wright on the bench and giving him 4th line minutes. Put him in the T9 with some talent on the wings and give him some dev time. Sitting him on the bench or in the press box makes absolutely zero sense.

Why did we bring in talent when we are nowhere near contending if we weren't going to use that talent to develop our future? Why not just go full on tank mode?

Again, Francis and Hakstol appear to both be incompetent and, even worse, out of sync, or they simply don't have a plan and are doing things for the sake of doing things. This org is a dumpster fire.

 

[Scomerica]

Genuinely confused why they're keeping Wright on the bench and giving him 4th line minutes. Put him in the T9 with some talent on the wings and give him some dev time. Sitting him on the bench or in the press box makes absolutely zero sense.

Why did we bring in talent when we are nowhere near contending if we weren't going to use that talent to develop our future? Why not just go full on tank mode?

Again, Francis and Hakstol appear to both be incompetent and, even worse, out of sync, or they simply don't have a plan and are doing things for the sake of doing things. This org is a dumpster fire.

I'm guessing ownership wants to do something to keep the fans excited/engaged in a brand new franchise. I get tanking would make long term sense but you are trying to build a fan base. Probably they are worried about a Vancouver Grizzlies situation (barring the Canadian dollar part). If tickets were affordable I wouldn't be as concerned but the ticket prices are some of the most expensive in the league.

Also guessing they want a solid fanbase built up ahead of the Supersonics coming back likely in the next 3-5 years who do have a huge fanbase and will compete with you.

Absolutely agree.

The out-hustle game plan will work against the lesser skilled and slower teams but most NHL teams will either adjust to our style or just out skill us.

They had a few shots of Hakstol yesterday on the bench and he just looked confused. Like a deer in the headlights. Honestly, that worried me more than anything else. Our coach looks like he has no clue what to do.

Obviously still too early to say fire the coach but if this season didn't go well, what coach do you think would be a good fit for Seattle with it's current roster and future goals that they could realistically get?

 

[dylanmacarthur]

I'm guessing ownership wants to do something to keep the fans excited/engaged in a brand new franchise. I get tanking would make long term sense but you are trying to build a fan base. Probably they are worried about a Vancouver Grizzlies situation (barring the Canadian dollar part). If tickets were affordable I wouldn't be as concerned but the ticket prices are some of the most expensive in the league.

Also guessing they want a solid fanbase built up ahead of the Supersonics coming back likely in the next 3-5 years who do have a huge fanbase and will compete with you.



Obviously still too early to say fire the coach but if this season didn't go well, what coach do you think would be a good fit for Seattle with it's current roster and future goals that they could realistically get?

Then ownership and Francis are out of sync; if they wanted to win now, the expansion draft choices make even less sense.....

There seems to be no plan here. I can't discern what their plan is based on the moves we've observed.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I'm guessing ownership wants to do something to keep the fans excited/engaged in a brand new franchise. I get tanking would make long term sense but you are trying to build a fan base. Probably they are worried about a Vancouver Grizzlies situation (barring the Canadian dollar part). If tickets were affordable I wouldn't be as concerned but the ticket prices are some of the most expensive in the league.

Also guessing they want a solid fanbase built up ahead of the Supersonics coming back likely in the next 3-5 years who do have a huge fanbase and will compete with you.



Obviously still too early to say fire the coach but if this season didn't go well, what coach do you think would be a good fit for Seattle with it's current roster and future goals that they could realistically get?

I don't have any particular coach in mind but someone who has potentially gone through rebuilds and has done a decent job developing kids. Probably an older/established coach who has a proven history of winning in the past.

I think a coach like Hakstol is in a tough spot. He has never done well at the NHL level and this could be his 2nd (and final) stint in the NHL. After the disastrous last season, I expect he does everything to win and that includes not giving the players enough opportunities to develop. He has been put in a tough spot for sure but at the end of the day, the results do matter for the franchise.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Then ownership and Francis are out of sync; if they wanted to win now, the expansion draft choices make even less sense.....

There seems to be no plan here. I can't discern what their plan is based on the moves we've observed.

I disagree that they are out of sync. The plan was not to win now during the expansion draft. Neither is it right now. The plan is to be competitive and play as well as the sum of our parts. The plan was always to ice a 'competitive' roster while waiting for the high draft picks to pan out.

There may be a sync issue between Hakstol and Francis around how to play Wright but it is too early to tell. I think this is where the inexperience of Hakstol shows, unfortunately. He is focused primarily on winning, likely because he knows it is his job on the line so he is icing the best possible roster. And while, I don't blame him for that, the biggest priority for this team is to setup the kids of the future. Winning 4-5 extra games over a season at the cost of stunting Wright's development is not going to help Hakstol much.

 

[Scomerica]

Then ownership and Francis are out of sync; if they wanted to win now, the expansion draft choices make even less sense.....

There seems to be no plan here. I can't discern what their plan is based on the moves we've observed.

I think they might be. I remember Tod Leiweke talking about the Kraken being a play off team in year 1 if things fell their way. They weren't close. Grubauer, Dredger and other contracts also don't make sense if you were aiming to develop talent and be competitive in the long term. Especially when they had Vanecek from the expansion draft.

 

[gstommylee]

I think they might be. I remember Tod Leiweke talking about the Kraken being a play off team in year 1 if things fell their way. They weren't close. Grubauer, Dredger and other contracts also don't make sense if you were aiming to develop talent and be competitive in the long term. Especially when they had Vanecek from the expansion draft.

Non of those contracts prevented us from making any big moves in this past off-season though.

 

[Scomerica]

Non of those contracts prevented us from making any big moves in this past off-season though.

Would they have been more to make the salary cap floor?

 

[GrungeHockey]

Again, Francis and Hakstol appear to both be incompetent and, even worse, out of sync, or they simply don't have a plan and are doing things for the sake of doing things. This org is a dumpster fire.

2nd year expansion team and you're calling it a dumpster fire. LOL Get a grip on reality.

 

[dylanmacarthur]

2nd year expansion team and you're calling it a dumpster fire. LOL Get a grip on reality.

I think they might be. I remember Tod Leiweke talking about the Kraken being a play off team in year 1 if things fell their way. They weren't close. Grubauer, Dredger and other contracts also don't make sense if you were aiming to develop talent and be competitive in the long term. Especially when they had Vanecek from the expansion draft.

Exactly.

2nd year expansion team and you're calling it a dumpster fire. LOL Get a grip on reality.

I dunno man. This looks super incompetent from my POV. What about this org’s decisions to date gives you confidence?

 

[Quackenator]

finally was able to watch a game and yikes the canes had our number. Liked Bura and beniers but we need to keep scoring goals if we stand a chance cause the D and gru arent gonna cut it.

 

[gstommylee]

Would they have been more to make the salary cap floor?

We had ~22m of open cap space to spend this past off-season.

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

We had ~22m of open cap space to spend this past off-season.

I liked the players we brought in except I thought we needed a bonafide top 3-4 D-man to go Defensive stalwart A Larsson. V Dunn is OK too but Oleksiak and Soucy are 5-6th D-men and Borgen is a 7th

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

finally was able to watch a game and yikes the canes had our number. Liked Bura and beniers but we need to keep scoring goals if we stand a chance cause the D and gru arent gonna cut it.

The D outside of Larsson and Dunn need upgrading for sure. And Gru has gotten shellshocked

 

[CascadiaPenguin]

Non of those contracts prevented us from making any big moves in this past off-season though.

You have said this before, and I still don't understand what you are talking about.

We've got $9,400,000 committed to one of the worst G tandems (when healthy) in the league. We're stuck with Gru until 2026-27, absent a buyout of epic proportion of pain. That level of financial commitment makes it impossible to upgrade at that position, hence the addition of broken-down has-beens like Jones (who, is a good guy, but just not a good goalie anymore), as well as stymieing other opportunities for improvement by such reckless financial mismanagement.

This team has an abysmal defense and little visible direction as to what they are trying to do, whether we are talking cap management, expansion drafting or FA positioning. It is great when we get lucky when a guy like Wright plummets in the draft or a dude like Bjorkstrand falls into our laps because CBJ is continually confused, but this doesn't look like promising strategy to build an actual competitor.

We currently have less than $1,200,000 of cap room and Gru is our highest paid player. Our only significant expiring contracts are RFA Dunn @ $4,000,000, and Donskoi ($3,900,000) unless we count UFA Soucy @$2,750,000. Odds are we end up paying over $5MM AAV to keep Dunn, which is fine, he is a quality D player and only 25 years old. But I'm having trouble seeing when the bright future starts. Oleksiak AND his NTC at $4.6MM until 2026-27? He is going to suck bad in a couple years.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

The D outside of Larsson and Dunn need upgrading for sure. And Gru has gotten shellshocked

Um.......what exactly has Dunn being on that list?
He's an offensive defenseman that has been handily beaten out by Justin Schultz for that pp1 role.
And if he's not your pp qb I'm not sure how much of a positive he is, given his defensive struggles.

 

[dylanmacarthur]

You have said this before, and I still don't understand what you are talking about.

We've got $9,400,000 committed to one of the worst G tandems (when healthy) in the league. We're stuck with Gru until 2026-27, absent a buyout of epic proportion of pain. That level of financial commitment makes it impossible to upgrade at that position, hence the addition of broken-down has-beens like Jones (who, is a good guy, but just not a good goalie anymore), as well as stymieing other opportunities for improvement by such reckless financial mismanagement.

This team has an abysmal defense and little visible direction as to what they are trying to do, whether we are talking cap management, expansion drafting or FA positioning. It is great when we get lucky when a guy like Wright plummets in the draft or a dude like Bjorkstrand falls into our laps because CBJ is continually confused, but this doesn't look like promising strategy to build an actual competitor.

We currently have less than $1,200,000 of cap room and Gru is our highest paid player. Our only significant expiring contracts are RFA Dunn @ $4,000,000, and Donskoi ($3,900,000) unless we count UFA Soucy @$2,750,000. Odds are we end up paying over $5MM AAV to keep Dunn, which is fine, he is a quality D player and only 25 years old. But I'm having trouble seeing when the bright future starts. Oleksiak AND his NTC at $4.6MM until 2026-27? He is going to suck bad in a couple years.

Yup. I genuinely don’t understand the POV of those who observe this org’s choices so far and say “trust the plan.” What plan!?!?!?

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

You have said this before, and I still don't understand what you are talking about.

We've got $9,400,000 committed to one of the worst G tandems (when healthy) in the league. We're stuck with Gru until 2026-27, absent a buyout of epic proportion of pain. That level of financial commitment makes it impossible to upgrade at that position, hence the addition of broken-down has-beens like Jones (who, is a good guy, but just not a good goalie anymore), as well as stymieing other opportunities for improvement by such reckless financial mismanagement.

This team has an abysmal defense and little visible direction as to what they are trying to do, whether we are talking cap management, expansion drafting or FA positioning. It is great when we get lucky when a guy like Wright plummets in the draft or a dude like Bjorkstrand falls into our laps because CBJ is continually confused, but this doesn't look like promising strategy to build an actual competitor.

We currently have less than $1,200,000 of cap room and Gru is our highest paid player. Our only significant expiring contracts are RFA Dunn @ $4,000,000, and Donskoi ($3,900,000) unless we count UFA Soucy @$2,750,000. Odds are we end up paying over $5MM AAV to keep Dunn, which is fine, he is a quality D player and only 25 years old. But I'm having trouble seeing when the bright future starts. Oleksiak AND his NTC at $4.6MM until 2026-27? He is going to suck bad in a couple years.

This is pretty doom and gloom to be honest.

You pointed out primarily 2 bad contracts: Gru and Oleksiak. Sure, Gru has looked terrible but unless you think he fell of a cliff and his issues are not primarily team D issues, he can improve. Driedger was pretty good toward the end of last season.

Oleksiak is what he is. He looked pretty decent last season but has not looked great so far 4 games into the season. Too early to say he is not good anymore.

The moves from the off-season, Schultz, Bura and Bjorkstrand are all looking good early into this season. We have a plethora of prospects, the hope is that they can step in into the older aging players and hopefully some of them can be moved while still having positive value. Our prospect pool is looking good right now and gives us players at all positions assuming they do pan out.

Something that could make a massive difference is also in coaching. I don't think Hakstol has the chops to lead this team. This team needs more of a veteran coach with experience. Also, someone who can handle development of our prospects well.

More moves can be made at the TDL to set us for the future. Move Soucy at the TDL. If Donskoi shows some form once he returns from injury, move him as well. You want to look for this team to be successful, wait another 2 years to see how we are looking like.

We are an expansion team.