Coast Wasn’t Clear For Former Kraken Defenseman
Caroline Anne Photo
One-season Seattle Kraken defenseman Brian Dumoulin, a native of Maine, requested a trade back to the East Coast last month. According to the Portland Press Herald, the request was initially turned down. But that changed when the Kraken signed blueliner Brandon Montour from Stanley Cup champion Florida as a free agent on July 1.
A day later, Dumoulin was dealt. Though his destination, Anaheim, actually puts him further from the Northeast, he expressed no disappointment. “I’m excited about the opportunity. They’re a young and up-and-coming team,” Dumoulin said. The Ducks traded a 2026 4th round draft choice to Seattle in exchange for the 626-game NHL veteran. Despite being a two-time Stanley Cup champion, Dumoulin said, “I’m not going in there to be another coach. I want to get to know the group.”
Dumoulin will now play the second half of his two year, $6.3 million contract signed with the Kraken in the Ducks’ new orange jerseys. But his 13th pro season may not be his swan song. “I’m not just going to fade out,” he says.
Tanevs Express Brotherly Love – And Other Emotions
Dexter Guiang Photo
Speaking of free agency, the next meeting of the NHL Tanev brothers will take place on Halloween in Toronto. That night, Brandon and his Seattle Kraken face off against older brother Chris and his new team, the Maple Leafs. The elder Tanev, a defenseman, signed a six year deal with Toronto after splitting last season between Calgary and Dallas.
When Brandon, a forward, entered the NHL in 2016, Chris had already spent parts of five seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. They’ve crossed blades ever since, so is Seattle’s Tanev happy his brother gets to play in their hometown, or still competitive with him? Answer: both.
“As a kid growing up in Toronto,” Brandon told the Toronto Star, “everyone dreams about it, and now his has come to reality. He’s a great add for them. Our family is extremely excited for him.” Concerning the uncertainty of free agency, “I’ve been through it before. You want to give your brother space and let him go through things. So you know, when he told me that he was gonna be signing in Toronto, I was so happy for him.”
Chris Tanev smiled on a media conference call when asked where his competitive drive came from. “I have two younger brothers. We grew up battling against each other. That’s all we did; came home from school, played hockey, basketball, soccer, wrestling. We always wanted to win and kill each other,” he said with a chuckle.
“Anything we could try to beat each other at,” Brandon confirmed. “I’m sure we’ve both had bragging rights (at) times. You never want to lose to the little brother, and I always wanted to beat the older brother, so that’s definitely how things went.” And will again on Oct. 31 at Scotiabank Arena, as well as Feb. 6, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena.
Kraken #11 In Fan Survey
How to engage hockey-starved fans in mid-July? Pose an ambiguously-worded yet visceral question, and toss in the water for keyboard piranhas to thrash about and rip to shreds. Case in point: “Which team would you root for in a head-to-head matchup?” A JFresh Hockey fan vote “presented two random (NHL) teams and asked users which one they would root for.”
34,000 starving jacka-, I mean, fans, voted. 34,000! Your Seattle Kraken finished 11th in the 32-team survey, winning 55% of head-to-head matchups. Interestingly, that only placed the Kraken 4th in the Pacific Division, as most of the hate was reserved for East Coast teams…and of course, for the Vegas Golden Knights, who were dead last at 33%. It’s unlikely too many Kraken fans contributed to the survey winner, the Colorado Avalanche (68%).