Matching Kraken Expectations With Results

Veteran defenseman Brandon Montour embarks on his second Kraken training camp this week expecting far greater emphasis on achieving desired results.

Montour was one of last season’s bigger Kraken stars, setting a franchise record for goals by a defenseman after coming over as a free agent from the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. But unlike that Panthers experience, when he and teammates rose to and often exceeded expectations, the sum of the Kraken fell well short of the parts he’d seen assembled heading in.

“I think last year was definitely a year where I felt we underachieved,” Montour said of what he’ll look for heading into Thursday’s start of camp. “I think we as a group and myself thinking of the group, we expected way more than we gave. I think our group is better than that.”

So did folks putting the Kraken together, which is good news for fans hoping for much more this season. In many ways seeing the team fall from 81 points to 76 was somewhat stunning given the additions and production of free agent adds Montour and Chandler Stephenson, not to mention a successful full season debut for center Shane Wright and a goaltending position solidified by Joey Daccord.

The ensuing results prompted an off-season of change by new Kraken general manager Jason Botterill, who ascended to that role as Ron Francis became team president. New head coach Lane Lambert was brought in along with a mostly new coaching staff save for assistant Jessica Campbell and video coach Tim Ohashi.

And a new, grittier on-ice presence was forged with the trade acquisition of power forward Mason Marchment from the Dallas Stars, a hard-nosed, go-to-the-net presence big on scoring goals and intimidating opponents. Free agent defenseman Ryan Lindgren, a long-time New York Rangers stalwart, came in right after with the same reputation for toughness in clearing out his own net front.

There was also Freddy Gaudreau, a fourth line mainstay in Minnesota who scored 18 goals for the Wild last season ahead of the Kraken acquiring him in late June. And a veteran free agent goalie signing in Matt Murray who brings solid netminding depth and competition with Philipp Grubauer behind incumbent No. 1 goaltender Daccord.

Not to mention, the Kraken getting mid-season trade addition Kaapo Kakko’s signature on a three-year contract further bolsters a deeper-looking, bigger and tougher team than the one that began last season. A team where Montour, who dished out his share of toughness as well in his debut Kraken campaign, now expects the results will far more closely match the looks.

“It’s a new coaching staff, which I think everyone is excited about,” Montour said. “It’s more demanding, more controlled. Everyone’s going to be on the same page from day one. I think that’s very appealing and it’s always going to help our group.”

Few people know new coach Lambert better than Kraken captain Jordan Eberle, a fellow Saskatchewan native who played under the then-assistant while with the New York Islanders. To hear Eberle tell it, Lambert won’t just talk about his expectations if he feels they are not being met.

“He’s very detailed,” Eberle said. “He puts a big emphasis on structure, team play, and execution. And he holds guys accountable in those categories.”

Eberle feels healthy and in top shape again after missing three months of last season following a rare pelvis injury suffered on a tumble into the boards. That injury plus another in October that sidelined top-pairing defender Vince Dunn for a month went a long way toward derailing the Kraken season before it ever really got started.

In Eberle’s case, he’d gotten off to one of the best starts of his career just after being named the team’s second-ever captain. His absence appeared to cause a ripple effect throughout the Kraken forward trios only partially remedied by the December acquisition of Kakko in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen.

Now, with Eberle healthy and Kakko newly-signed, the Kraken have an abundance of potential 20-goal scorers or better on a team also looking to perhaps take in top prospects Berkly Catton and Jani Nyman.

Catton is only 19 and like Wright a few seasons ago, would need to be returned to a junior hockey – a level he’s dominated the past two years -- in lieu of the AHL if he doesn’t stick with the Kraken. AHL rookie Nyman scored three goals and added two assists in a dozen late-season games with the Kraken in which he also threw his considerable weight around aplenty.

Speaking of weight being tossed around, rugged fourth line AHL forward Jacob Melanson could also get a shot at sticking with the team out of camp after making his NHL debut for one Kraken game last March.

The depth of the forward lines is considerable, with not much distinguishing the top three trios. Beniers, Wright and Stephenson appear interchangeable as centers on any of those lines, as do an assortment of wings including last season’s team goal-scoring leader Jaden Schwartz and top point getter Jared McCann.

Throw in Eeli Tolvanen, whose 23 goals were second only to the 26 by Schwartz last season, and there are a variety of combinations possible on any of those initial three lines. Eberle will be on one of those, his 67 career goals with the Kraken sitting third in franchise history behind the 68 by Schwartz and 118 for McCann.

“I’m hoping in my mind that last year was an anomaly just because of the way we played, and where we finished,” Eberle said. “I think we’re a much, much better team than that. I hope this year in training camp with the group, we kind of get that competitive edge. I liked the way we finished last year and the way we were playing. We just need to get off to a good start.”

Last season’s team finished 9-8-2 after the March trade deadline, including wins over playoff-bound Edmonton, Los Angeles and Montreal. The Kraken also beat Vancouver and Calgary on the road that stretch.

They’ll start this season with a gauntlet of playoff teams from last spring, facing those in eight of their first 10 contests. The only non-playoff opponents will be in the Oct. 9 season opener at home against Anaheim and then an Oct. 20 visit to Philadelphia on the front end of back-to-back games with the Flyers and Washington Capitals.

So, being ready coming out of the preseason seems a must. The Kraken play their first of six preseason games at home against the Canucks on Sept. 21 before wrapping things up Oct. 1 with a Climate Pledge Arena visit by the Edmonton Oilers.

During that time, they’ll be testing out their three bolstered defensive pairings as well. As with the forward trios, the top two defensive pairs could see a quartet of Dunn, Adam Larsson, Montour and Lindgren without much difference between them.

Add Ryker Evans, fresh off signing a two-year deal and veteran Jamie Oleksiak with Josh Mahura back in the fold as well and the defensive depth is there. There will be plenty for the goalies to compete over as well, with Daccord coming off a gold medal world championship win with Team USA in May and recently invited to the country’s Winter Olympics Orientation Camp as well.

Grubauer has already been named to play for Germany in those Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy next February. So, it behooves both netminders to get off to strong starts, especially with Murray now pushing them as well in trying to revive a career derailed by injury the prior two seasons.

Cutting down on their goals against while using new additions to moderately boost their offense is a formula the Kraken hope can swing some tight losses into victories. Montour sure hopes so, looking to get off to a strong start team-wise and in his own right as he battles for a spot on Team Canada’s roster at those same Winter Olympics.

“I think guys need to take a step,” Montour said. “Especially with how last year was. Everyone needs to take a step. And I think with that we can make a splash, turn some heads and be a hard team to play against.”