The Need to Knows
- Time: 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET
- Place: Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC
- Where to Watch: KHN, KONG, FDSNSO (Carolina market), ESPN+ (other U.S. markets)
- Where to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on KJR 93.3
Know Your Enemy
This isn’t the Kraken’s first foray with this season’s version of the Carolina Hurricanes, as they lost to them 4-1 back on October 26. Since their last contest, the Hurricanes have continued to be one of the league’s best teams, where they sit with the fifth best points total in the NHL.
One of the major reasons for this is that Martin Nečas has burst out as one of the league’s best players. His 37 points are good for second in the league, and his 25 assists are fourth best. He was also just crowned the First Star of the Month for November. At 25-years-old, he’s hitting his stride and putting the entire NHL on notice that he’s arrived.
Another player to focus on, Seth Jarvis, signed an 8-year extension with the Hurricanes that included a very interesting wrinkle that I want to talk about. In total, Jarvis will earn $62.3 million, but by including deferred payments, the AAV is reduced down to $7.5 million instead of the expected $7.9 million. It’s a move that the NHL hasn’t exactly seen often, but Carolina GM Eric Tulsky must be an admirer of the LA Dodgers’ business strategy. I wouldn’t call myself an expert when it comes to NHL contracts, but the balance between ensuring players aren’t being underpaid and the need for teams to not overspend in a salary cap world is one that constantly needs adjusting and re-adjusting. For the Hurricanes to take advantage of an underutilized system to help strike this balance opens a new world of potential possibilities, and I’m interested to see what ripple effects this might have throughout the rest of the NHL.
This deal also keeps Jarvis in Carolina for a long time, and it’s something Hurricanes fans can certainly be happy about. Not only is he a major part of the team’s success, he’s a fan favorite. Most recently, he helped bolster this reputation by responding to fan questions on X (the name we’re supposed to be calling Twitter now) solely because he’s “been real bored lately“. I’ll let you judge for yourself exactly how deep the boredom must have been to answer the below question.
These are just two of the more newsworthy Hurricanes players, but there’s also Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Brent Burns (just to name a few) that round out the talent levels that this team possesses. The Hurricanes are rightfully considered as one of the front runners to win the Stanley Cup this year, and the sheer amount of talent that is on their roster is a big part of that.
Game Preview
The Kraken are once again out in the Eastern time zone, kicking off a 4-game Metropolitan Division road trip in Raleigh, NC before swinging up to the greater New York City area to tackle the Islanders, Devils, and Rangers in one swoop. I probably don’t have to say this, but the Hurricanes are not the easiest team for the Kraken to face on this road trip. It looks even more grim after remembering how the Kraken responded to their most recent level of competition. Losing a game to a floundering Ducks team followed by losing both contests against a rebuilding Sharks team does not instill confidence in anyone that this is a team that can take on one of the league’s top 5 teams.
Now, I’ve said it in other previews of mine, and I’m gonna say it again: hockey is weird. Sometimes the lucky bounces go to the team that’s most down on their luck. Sometimes a good team just has a random off night. I don’t like to ever fully write a game off. However, the Kraken need more right now than to just pull off a plucky underdog win. They need to reset. They need to get their defense back in check. They need to ensure that Shane Wright’s two power play goals on Friday night weren’t just a fluke and improve upon how abysmal they’ve been on the man-advantage. A 4-game road trip that includes two very strong Metropolitan teams and another that’s on a downward slide but is still relatively in the middle of the pack isn’t exactly the best place to try to reset. The Kraken need to find a way, though. December is officially here, and as we plunge into the darkest days of the year, it’d be great if the Kraken’s fate doesn’t fade the way the way of the winter sun.