It’s official: Brandon Tanev will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, per the Seattle Kraken. I think I can speak for many a Kraken fan when I say, “I am sad.”
Tanev’s season ends with 9 goals and 6 assists through 30 games, well on his way to blowing by his career-best 14G/15A 2018-19 season. But more than that, he was the real heart and soul of this team searching for an identity in their first year of play.
No Kraken forward blocked more shots than Tanev, and no Kraken player (including defensemen) threw more hits. He’s one of the strongest forecheckers on the team and arguably the best penalty killer. Per Evolving Hockey, opposing teams scored 2.1 goals per 60 minutes on the power play when Tanev was on the ice — the lowest mark of anyone on the team.
This stinks, there’s no way around it. Tanev was not only in the midst of one of his personal best years, he was also just so damn fun to watch play. The good news is he’s under contract for another 3 seasons after this one, so there’s plenty of Turbo time in the Kraken’s future for all of us. Until then, we wish the fan favorite a full and speedy recovery.
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