Above Image: Seattle Kraken offseason additions Mason Marchment (left), Ryan Lindgren (center), and Freddy Gaudreau (right).
Thomas Hickey knows hockey in Washington State; he played 262 games on defense for the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds from 2005-09. He also knows new Kraken head coach Lane Lambert, who served as an Islanders associate coach during part of Hickey’s nine seasons on Long Island.
On NHL Network, Hickey said the playoff run of 2023 set expectations higher than they should have been. “I played hockey in Seattle. It’s a great hockey market.
“When this team had that great season, when they did make the playoffs, I thought they were on a different level execution-wise. It wasn’t that the roster was so good; I thought they moved the puck extremely well. I’m talking tape-to-tape passes, the simple things they did so well.
“They’re still drafting, they’re still developing players. I don’t know if they’re a playoff hockey team this year, but I do expect them to get better, be on that ‘cut line,’ be in the conversation as a playoff team. I just want to see continued growth.”
On the same panel, analyst Stu Grimson concurred. “I like some of the (offseason) adds. Freddy Gaudreau gives you depth down the middle. (Mason) Marchment gives you a little bit of ‘heavy.’ I still think there’s more upside to Marchment’s game. He can help this group take a step forward.
“Lane Lambert strikes a really good balance between task-master and player’s coach. A good communicator, a guy who brings good structure and game-day tone to the rink. He’s going to get more out of this group.
“I don’t know if a playoff spot is in the cards. It has as much to do with the rest of the division as anything. But I see this group taking a step forward.”
Hickey added about Lambert, “There’s no gray area. ‘You do this. This is right and this is wrong.’ I think that helps a group that’s very young.”
He also said free-agent defensive signing Ryan Lindgren is Lambert’s kind of player. “The type of addition the Kraken need to make, for a coach who likes a certain type – a player who wears their heart on their sleeve. He can kill penalties, isn’t afraid to get in front of pucks. That’s going to be a perfect fit.”