Kraken miss playoffs for 3rd straight season, penalty kill among factors

The Seattle Kraken failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season. 

The Kraken were eliminated from playoff contention when the Los Angeles Kings won 1-0 against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. 

Seattle has not qualified for the postseason since its second NHL season (2022-23). The Kraken upset the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche, in the Western Conference First Round in seven games and lost to the Dallas Stars in the second round in seven games. 

Here’s a look at what happened in the 2025-26 season for the Kraken and why things could be better next season.

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Jaden Schwartz, F; Eeli Tolvanen, F; Bobby McMann, F; Jamie Oleksiak, D; Matt Murray, G 

Potential restricted free agents: Jacob Melanson, F

Potential 2026 Draft picks: 8

What went wrong

Scoring issues: The Kraken are among the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, averaging 2.78 goals per game. Their leading scorer is 35-year-old forward Jordan Eberle, who has 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists) in 77 games. Forwards Matty Beniers and Chandler Stephenson are next with 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 79 games and 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 77 games, respectively. Seattle needed to score by committee to be competitive, which is difficult to maintain throughout the season. It hung around the playoff race for a good portion of the season with balanced scoring but fell off the pace down the stretch. The Kraken lost six straight (0-5-1) from March 28 to April 7, averaging a League-low 1.67 goals during that stretch, and fell out of the race.  

Penalty killing troubles: Seattle struggled short-handed and have lowest-ranked penalty-killing unit in the League at 71.6 percent, including 67.7 percent on the road. The troubles on the penalty kill are magnified when considering the Kraken are the fifth-least penalized team in the League. They have been short-handed 208 times but have allowed 59 power-play goals. Seattle could not take advantage of the fact it has been one of the more discipline teams in the League this season. 

Spinning wheels: The Kraken have a number of young, talented players on their roster, but they have not been able to consistently improve. Beniers won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2022-23 but has been unable to match his production since then, when he had 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 80 games. The No. 2 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Beniers has 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 79 games this season. Forward Shane Wright, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, had a breakout season with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 79 games last season, but has just 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 72 games. Tolvanen, who was claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Dec. 12, 2022, had 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games in his first full season with Seattle in 2023-24 but has 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in 75 games this season.

Reason for optimism

Goaltending: One of the positives this season for the Kraken was the play of goalies Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer, who are expected to be back next season. Daccord had the bulk of the starts this season and is 20-20-6 in 47 games (46 starts) with a 3.03 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. He is in the first of a five-year, $25 million contract ($5 million average annual value) he signed on Oct. 9, 2024. Grubauer is 13-12-4 with a 2.65 GAA and .909 save percentage in 32 games (28 starts). He will enter the last of a six-year, $35.4 million contract ($5.9 million AAV) signed July 21, 2021. If Daccord and Grubauer can continue to provide quality goaltending next season, it will provide a strong foundation to build on. 

Matty Beniers: He’s been unable to improve offensively, but the 23-year-old still has star potential and could be a leader for the Kraken for many seasons to come. Beniers scored his 20th goal of the season in a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, giving him at least 20 goals in three of his four full seasons in the League. If Beniers can find a way to take another next step offensively, it will help Seattle get to the next level. He’s in the second of a seven-year, $50 million contract ($7.14 million AAV), which gives plenty of runway to become a dominant player. 

In the system: Seattle has three young, talented players in forwards Jake O'Brien, Nathan Villeneuve and Julius Miettinen, who could each make a big impact in upcoming seasons. O’Brien, 18, was selected with the No. 8 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft; he had 93 points (28 goals, 65 assists) in 53 regular-season games with Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League and has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in six OHL playoff games. Villeneuve, 19, was selected in the second round (No. 63) of the 2024 NHL Draft; he had 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists) in 28 games with Sudbury of the OHL and 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 23 games with Windsor after being traded. He has a goal in five playoff games with Windsor, which is playing Flint in the second round of the OHL playoffs. Miettinen, 20, was another second-round pick (No. 40) in 2024; he had 76 points (35 goals, 41 assists) in 52 games with Everett of the Western Hockey League and has nine points (six goals, three assists) in six playoff games.