Bake’s Takes: Games I’d Pick For ‘Build-A-Pack’

A sixth season of Kraken hockey begins Oct. 1 in Calgary with the first of three games in four nights, culminating with a Sunday home opener Oct. 4 against those same Flames at Climate Pledge Arena.

Fans of division rivalry games won’t be disappointed early on as 11 of the team’s first 24 contests feature Pacific Division foes such as the Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights. In fact, those three teams are the opponents the very first week in an expanded, earlier starting 84-game NHL schedule that includes a trip to Finland for two matchups against the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and culminates a week earlier than previously with a Kraken finale April 10 in Chicago.

The team’s final four games are on the road, meaning Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Amazon, will also be an earlier-than-usual April 3 home finale against Winnipeg. Speaking of Kraken fans, they’ll get a unique opportunity this season through a “Build-A-Pack” promotion to customize 3-9 games on a pack of tickets.

Fans can select their preferred games and seat locations and up to eight tickets per matchup. In other words, no navigating games on days of the week that are tougher to manage or hoping you can get in for a specific theme night or opponent.

More on that in a moment as I go into detail on which games I would choose if customizing my own pack.

While there is no Winter Olympic break this season forcing a condensed schedule, the two additional matchups beyond the prior 82 plus the Kraken’s lighter 10-game November due to the Nov. 12 and 14 contests overseas against Carolina means they’ll play a crowded 15 games in each of December and January plus another 16 in March. Last season, the team played a 17-game January schedule to set the NHL record for the most in any single month.

October is busy for the Kraken as well, with 14 games right off-the-bat, including seven of the first nine played away from home. Right after playing the home opener and then hosting Vegas two days later, the Kraken head out for a five-game road trip to Detroit, then Philadelphia and Washington and both Florida teams. Then, it’s back home again for more games largely against Pacific Division foes.

The Kraken’s best divisional record was against Pacific teams last season at 16-9-1 and they’ll likely need similar success to stay in contention. They’ll play all four games against Calgary by Nov. 4 before facing Vancouver for the first time, which happens Nov. 19 at home right after the Finland trip. Anaheim plays the Kraken for the first time on Nov. 23 at Climate Pledge while Edmonton makes its first visit on Nov. 28 as part of the second leg of a home-and-away back-to-back.

The Oilers are involved in the first two of a scheduled 13 sets of back-to-back games for the Kraken, who also play in Edmonton the night before their 5 p.m. Sunday home opener against the Flames. The Kraken were an improved 6-7-0 in the second leg of back-to-backs last season after going 0-13-0 the prior campaign.

As mentioned previously, the Build-A-Pack promotion will allow for far more flexibility in picking and choosing which opponents fans can see.

Which got me thinking: What would my favorite pack be? Sure, you could design one with all playoff teams from last season. That sometimes works out. But considering Florida, Toronto, Winnipeg and Washington all missed last season’s playoffs, it’s hardly foolproof. As the mutual fund companies always write in the fine print: Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

Besides, personal preference often goes far beyond any team’s most recent record. I’ve watched hockey for 50 years. My personal pack would go off some personal history as much as the recent one.

Here’s my pack if I was to choose the maximum of nine opponents:

1. Oct. 4 vs. Calgary – I met Flames legend Lanny MacDonald in our hotel lobby at the NHL Draft in Buffalo when he randomly asked me to snap a photo of him and some friends. He learned I was from Montreal and apologized for having personally dismantled the Canadiens in the 1989 Stanley Cup Final. I told him of having had standing room tickets for the pivotal Game 4 in Montreal and waiting six hours with my college buddies for the general admission gates to open only to see the home team badly outplayed by Lanny and friends. This one is personal. Plus, it’s the home opener and they’ll be giving away a charcuterie board to fans, which always pairs well with my favorite right bank wines.

2. Oct. 28 vs. Toronto – Growing up cheering for the Habs, you relish opportunity to see the Maple Leafs lose in-person. Just as you take perverse pleasure in reminding folks at every opportunity -- including now -- that Toronto has not even made the Cup Final since 1967. Cheering against these visitors in their only Seattle stopover with a beefed-up roster that could include No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna as well as newcomers Darren Raddysh, Nick Paul, Sergei Bobrovsky, plus a new coach and GM isn’t a choice. It’s a sacred duty.

3. Nov. 19 vs Vancouver – This rivalry has tilted of late, with the Kraken going 3-0-1 against the Canucks last season – including a 5-1 blowout in March to extend their road win streak at Rogers Arena to six. So, you’d think the Canucks will be up for some revenge and added spiciness. The Kraken just added 6-foot-9 former Canucks forward Curtis Douglas while Vancouver did the same with 6-foot-7 longtime Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. Meanwhile, the Kraken hired former Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin as an assistant GM. The Canucks had already hired away former Kraken pro scout Cammi Granato years ago as an assistant GM. So, tit-for-tat all over the place. Gotta love it.

4. Nov. 28 vs Edmonton – Yeah, the Oilers didn’t go back to the Cup Final again, but they still made the playoffs and are coming in hungry with a new coach and a new goalie in Cup champion Frederik Andersen to give Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl another title shot. The teams will have played the night before in Edmonton, so maybe some leftover sparks. On a personal note, the Oilers also acquired a third goalie in Devon Levi from Buffalo. His mother, Eta, once babysat my brother and me as kids. Hey, this is supposed to be a personal list, so there.

5. Dec. 3 vs. Dallas – This is one of those unusual NHL scheduling situations where a team plays two home games in three days against the same opponent. I was torn between picking the first game on Dec. 1 or this one against a powerhouse Stars team. Typically, I choose the second game because both teams will have felt each out a bit in the opener, stoked some fires, that kind of thing. Will Jason Robertson still be with the Stars by then? Hmmm.

6. Dec. 22 vs. San Jose – Sort of like the Vancouver situation, this has the makings of a strong Pacific Division rivalry game. The Sharks are improved and just added physical agitators Jacob Trouba and Mason Marchment, who both have some history of various kinds with the Kraken. Meanwhile, the Kraken, as mentioned, now have a very big man in Douglas plus a more-seasoned Jacob Melanson if this pre-Christmas tilt starts dishing out more than mere holiday cheer.

7. Feb. 3 vs Montreal – This one doesn’t really need an explanation. But though watching my new Kraken team play my former favorite is always fun, this objectively has been one of the better Climate Pledge Arena matchups. Two springs ago, Brandon Montour scored the fastest overtime winner in NHL history four seconds in to cap a late comeback from two goals down. Last fall, the Kraken scored three times in the final 10 minutes to tie it 3-3 before losing in overtime. Plus, this one’s on Pride Night, which always makes for a festive atmosphere.

8. Mar. 23 vs Vegas – Yeah, this is the last of only two home visits by the defending Western Conference champions, who are also in here Oct. 6 and then not again for nearly six months. I’ll take this game, given the Kraken play them the week before in Las Vegas plus the standings could be tight with only 18 days to go. The Kraken beat the Golden Knights three of four times last season to bring their overall mark to a slightly better 6-12-1 against them. I like the trend lines, though, especially if the Kraken keep playing “bigger” under Lane Lambert.

9. April 3 vs. Winnipeg – The Jets aren’t ordinarily my cup of tea, namely because the Kraken previously struggled against them. But as with Vegas, the Kraken took two of three from their longtime tormentor last season. Plus, this is the Fan Appreciation Night – actually, afternoon as it’s a 4 p.m. start -- home finale ahead of a four-city road trip to end things. I’m hoping the Kraken are right on the playoff cusp. If so, winning this game is critical. The Kraken have never won on Fan Appreciation Night, so the streak ends here.