With the 2026 season around the corner, the Kraken’s future seems more up in the air than ever before, not just because of the changing landscape of the sport, but because of the deeply unusual circumstances of the new season and their inherently chaotic division.
So why don’t we have a little fun? Let’s get weird and pull some bold predictions together.
Shane Wright will be a 30-goal scorer
After years of being patient, doing everything coaching, management, and ownership has said, Shane Wright finally cracked this off-season.
He was vocal for the first real time in his career and made it known that he wants more ice time and opportunity. Well, with the desire for a trade apparent, and the need to determine his value paramount, Coach Lambert will finally put the puck in Wright’s court; Wright will be given top-6 minutes and the opportunity to be an influential difference-maker for ther first time in a Kraken uniform. This season will be the start of silencing all the nay-sayers who have called him “a cancer”, “a bust”, and “overrated”. I predict these fans’ tone will change.
Keep in mind – this is a contract extension year for Wright. It is also worth noting that Wright has performance-based bonuses worth up to $3 million this season.
Expect big results from him. He needs them for the money, and for potential trade partners.
Joey Daccord will be a Vezina finalist
To say the Kraken have had a wild ride between the pipes would be an understatement.
After signing Philipp Grubauer in their first off-season, and then experiencing their first season with Grubauer, many fans had no idea what direction the goaltending was going to go. Between injuries and poor play, the position in Seattle truly felt like it was up for grabs. In this chaos, Joey Daccord slid up the ranks and stole the crease and the hearts of the fanbase. The honorary mayor of Seattle had a down year in 2025-26, but I expect him to bounce back.
There’s also plenty to suggest that Lambert’s style of coaching favors goaltenders; Ilya Sorokin had one of his best ever seasons as an Islander under Lambert’s watch; with Sorokin getting a runner up vote for the trophy in his only full season with Lambert as his skipper; an honor he has notably failed to repeat since Lambert’s departure from that organization.
With Grubauer entering a contract year, there will undoubtedly be a competition between the pipes this year. There’s just no way Daccord stands by and lets Gru steal the show for a 2nd year in a row. And hey, healthy competition between two talented guys trying to prove themselves? That can only improve things for the team in front of them.
Chandler Stephenson gets relegated to the 3rd or 4th line
Okay, this one is likely wishful thinking…but one can dream!
Stephenson has been a major headache for this team from day 1. He was brought in to win face-offs and mentor the other, younger centers at a time where there was serious health concerns about the veteran centers and the best available Cs to the team were extremely young. He ranked 62nd in the NHL with a whopping 52.1% faceoff win percentage. He is 4 years removed from his only 20-goal season, and didn’t even crack the 50-point mark last season.
That’s just not workable for this team anymore.
The experiment has failed and it is time to pass the reins to Beniers and Wright for the top-6 slots. The Kraken have $18 million in cap space – they can afford to have a $6 million center on the 4th line.
The Kraken will take advantage of the Pacific Division’s continued nonsense and make the playoffs!
The Pacific division, even after all that activity to start the offseason, is still slated to be the weakest division in the NHL.
That’s not to say they’re truly doomed, after all; a Pacific team is currently the Western Conference Champion. However, each team seems to harbor critical flaws that may allow the Kraken access to the postseason; even with the improvements to the young core in San Jose and Anaheim, I do not see either team having the chemistry to take that needed step to squeak into the playoffs. San Jose choosing to openly sewer their own blueline with a very old Jacob Trouba and a very not-built-for-defense Darnell Nurse is also a bit of a headscratcher. Los Angeles meanwhile has gone ALL THE WAY IN on being old, and while they are extremely talented…it feels like the hard miles on those Kings may come back to haunt them.
Edmonton is, well…Edmonton. They are all-gas, no brakes, and believe the injury-prone Frederik Andersen is their long-awaited answer between the pipes, just like they thought Stuart Skinner was. Or Tristan Jarry was. Vegas meanwhile, is another year older and will likely get a step slower after their Stanley Cup final hangover kicks in; namely that they’ll have to become cap compliant in a big hurry, and don’t have a lot of avenues to do so. Calgary has no direction and goes one step forward, two steps back. And then there is Vancouver, who is likely to tank and try to get the generational talent of Landon Dupont in the NHL Draft…a prospect that has become increasingly harder to achieve with the Draft Lottery. Even if they do everything “right”, they still may end up failing.
Hell, with their luck, that almost feels like a guarantee.
The Pacific division is wide open – so it is time the Kraken develop the mindset of “Why not us?”. Perhaps they need to call on Ted Lasso to hang a “Believe” sign in the locker room for inspiration. The fanbase is losing hope fast – and needs something to keep the light alive before the inevitable return of the Sonics.
It is now or never for the Kraken – they need to make this season count.