The folks at the Daily Faceoff Live podcast have described the Seattle Kraken’s offseason as, “Not exactly jaw-dropping changes.”
“Nothing inspiring with their (Lane Lambert) coaching hire,” concludes Colby Cohen. “Mason Marchment is a nice player, (but) he definitely hasn’t lived up to that contract.” Marchment is heading into the final season of a four year, $18 million deal.
“You’re not looking at him to deliver offensively. That’s more of a 200-foot, well-rounded type of guy who also had injury troubles. Ryan Lindgren can never stay healthy. Frederick Gaudreau, I do like the versatility that he brings, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
“Brutal” was the single-word agreement from co-host Tyler Yaremchuk. He also thinks the Kraken won’t sink quite low enough for a realistic shot at drafting hockey’s 2026 wunderkind, Gavin McKenna. “I guess you could say the New York Islanders got lucky (in 2025), but you can’t sit there and be like ‘Well, maybe we’ll win the lottery on a 3.5% chance like the Islanders.’ It’s just not going to happen.”
Mark Your Calendars
Observations about the 2025-26 Kraken regular season schedule, released yesterday.
The two-time defending champion Florida Panthers won’t make their only appearance at Climate Pledge Arena (until the Stanley Cup Final, of course) until Sunday, Mar. 15. Utah won’t parade its new Mammoth uniforms into town until Thursday, Apr. 2.
Seattle plays six Saturday games against Canadian teams. For those cable-TV viewers who get CBC, that means up to six opportunities to see how Hockey Night In Canada covers the Kraken. Two of those games are against Edmonton (Oct. 25 and Nov. 29), two against Vancouver (Feb. 28 & Mar. 14*), and one each against Ottawa (Mar. 7) and Calgary (Apr. 11). *The Mar. 14 game is the only one of the six played away from CPA.
The Kraken schedule includes five home games not at the usual Mondays-Saturdays start time of 7 pm, and Sundays at 5 pm.
- Tue., Oct. 28 vs. Montreal – 730 pm (Staggered schedule for all 32 teams)
- Sat., Nov. 29 vs. Edmonton – 1 pm (Thanksgiving weekend)
- Mon., Jan. 19 vs. Pittsburgh – 2 pm (Martin Luther King Day)
- Sun., Jan 25 vs. New Jersey – 1 pm
- Sat., Apr. 11 vs. Calgary – 4 pm (For Hockey Night In Canada)
The 1,312-game NHL schedule includes two dates in which all 32 teams will play. As mentioned above, one is Tue., Oct. 28. The other is earlier in the month on Oct. 11, when the Kraken host Vegas in their second game of the season. Other notable league dates:
- The Panthers host the opening game of the season vs. Chicago on Tue., Oct. 7.
- The Global Series on Nov. 14 & 16 in Stockholm matches Pittsburgh and Nashville.
- The Panthers host the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 vs. the Rangers at the Miami Marlins’ MLB stadium.
- Outdoor hockey returns to the Sunshine State with the Feb. 1 Stadium Series, when Tampa Bay hosts Boston at the Buccaneers’ NFL home.
- The NHL pauses from Feb. 6-24 for players to join the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy.
- This is the last 82-game season. Starting in 2026-27, teams will play 84 games.
KC Mavericks Raid Alaska For Goalie Coach
The Seattle Kraken don’t have the organization’s only new goalie coach (Colin Zulianello). Their ECHL farm team in Kansas City just hired one who’s worked for both of Alaska’s college hockey teams.
PD Melgoza’s most famous client is Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote Jon Paul Morosi at NHL.com, “Swayman spent extended time in his hometown of Anchorage near the start of his Bruins career. Amid travel restrictions, goaltending coaches weren’t making many house calls. Pros had to rely on nearby experts with access to ice. Melgoza met those criteria.
Andrew West/The News-Press/USA Today Net.
“‘I had keys to the rink,’ Melgoza says. ‘We’d sneak in the back door and skate.’ As he’s fond of saying, he’s coaching at a level beyond the expanse of his own career.
He tells goaltenders: ‘You’re already better than me as a player. I did my homework, went to school, mentors,’ he says. ‘I’ve studied. I’ve learned. That’s the biggest thing. The more open and honest you are with people in general, the more they’re going to respect you.'”
Another Former Kraken Coach In Charge of Rival Power Play
James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
One of Dave Hakstol’s former lieutenants in Seattle has joined his former boss in returning to the NHL. Hakstol was hired last week by Colorado as an assistant coach. Edmonton this week tabbed Paul McFarland for an assistant’s role.
After being dismissed in Seattle along with Hakstol in 2024, McFarland took the head coaching position with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. Interestingly, both coaches have been tasked with improving their teams’ power plays.
“He’s been running an NHL power play for many years in Florida, Toronto, and then Seattle,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told the Canadian Press. “He’s done a heck of a job getting the most out of the personalities he’s had, but also very strong is the success that he had with good power plays in Toronto and Florida.” Now the “personalities” he’ll have will include Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, just as Hakstol will have Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado.