3 Things That Could Make Seattle Kraken a Playoff Team

The Goaltending

Seattle’s goaltending was subpar at best in its inaugural season. Philipp Grubauer, who was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2021 with the Colorado Avalanche, was brought in to backstop the Kraken, but he did not live up to expectations.

He started 54 games last season, a single-season career-high, but went 18-31-5 with a 3.16 goals against average (GAA) and an .889 save percentage. Both marks were a far cry from 2021 (1.95 GAA, .922 save percentage) and from his career numbers (2.51 GAA, .914 save percentage).

The man who was selected in the Expansion Draft to be the starting netminder, Chris Driedger, was not much better than Grubauer. In 27 games, he won only nine, posting a 2.96 GAA and an .899 save percentage in the process.

Like Grubauer, his career totals are significantly more impressive. Driedger has a 2.45 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 65 career games.

Both netminders will return for the upcoming season, and they are now joined by veteran goaltender Martin Jones. The 32-year-old posted a 3.42 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 35 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last year.

The Kraken did not go out and make a move to address the goalie position, which is not a surprise given the lack of available starters in free agency this summer. Instead, Seattle will hope that at least one of these players bounces back from a forgettable 2021-2022 campaign.

If they are unable to do so, then this team will once again be near the bottom of the league in terms of goals allowed (25th last year while allowing 3.5 goals per game) and penalty killing (31st, 74.9%).

However, if Seattle does see improvement between the pipes, things will open up for this largely inexperienced roster, and the Kraken could take major strides toward the playoffs.