Kraken lack high-end talent needed to contend

Published 9:53 am Tuesday, May 19, 2026

They don’t ask how, they ask how many.

The Kraken have only made one playoff appearance and won one series in five seasons.

It’s somewhat understandable for a team that preached a more patient approach on Day 1. But all this time later, there is still a lot of work to do to become a true contender.

There’s been coaching turnover and front-office shakeups, but the roster still needs a spark. And big-picture, this team still needs direction, because no matter how many changes have been made it still seems like Seattle is aiming to be a 95-point team. That’s not near contender worthy, let alone championship-caliber.

Here’s where the Kraken stand going into the 2026-27 season, using the Cup Checklist. All projected values are age-adjusted based on each player’s profile of comparable peers.

What the Kraken have

Matty Beniers is on the fringes of being a true elite core player. His defensive game has become so strong that it excuses what he lacks on the other end of the ice, with a projected plus-4.3 Net Rating.

Joey Daccord earned the starter’s net and showed he has the chops to be a No. 1 last year. That track record helps keep his projected Net Rating as passable in this capacity, despite a shaky 2025-26. Luckily for Seattle, Philipp Grubauer stepped up to share the net, and their combined efforts were the driving force behind the Kraken staying in the playoff race for most of the season. But his track record is also pretty up-and-down, which was what opened the door to Daccord taking over in the first place. So the more Daccord can stabilize his game, the better positioned this team will be.

Seattle has more help in the support and depth tiers, as things currently stand.

Despite some weaknesses in his own zone, Vince Dunn checks the box as a scoring defenseman with a plus-6.1 Offensive Rating. Up front, Jared McCann had a real positive influence on the Kraken’s offense when he was healthy this year. Shane Wright is starting to come into his own in extremely sheltered minutes, too. Jordan Eberle’s production was pretty consistent this year, and Kaapo Kakko has boosted his scoring and two-way play since moving to Seattle.

What the Kraken need

As much as the Kraken’s deep approach may have worked in 2023, hockey is a strong link game. So every team should be looking for game-breakers at the top of the lineup. That’s exactly what Seattle is missing at forward and on defense, despite picking top-10 in four of the last five years.

Beniers could grow into a more important role, considering all the potential he has shown as a two-way ace. His defensive puck touches and ability to retrieve pucks and break out with control are qualities a lot of Selke-caliber centers possess. Pair that with some offensive growth, and it lines up pretty well with Patrice Bergeron at the same age. That’s the best-case scenario here, and it may still be a reach. It’s also just one of many in his range of outcomes. Most of Beniers’ comps are a tier below, so instead, he could become the next Adam Henrique, Teuvo Teräväinen or Sean Couturier. While any of those three would make for solid careers, there’s obviously a difference between glowing up to become a star forward and just strengthening his case in a shutdown role.

Even if Beniers develops into a true star forward, it still leaves that franchise slot open at the top.

The ship has more than likely sailed on Wright leveling up to that degree, despite his draft pedigree. While he hasn’t always had All-Star linemates to lift him up, the Kraken have done a lot to insulate him to maximize his strengths, and he still hasn’t become a difference-maker. Despite a much slower-than-expected start to his NHL career, the Brayden Schenn path could still be a possibility. But he could also follow in Beau Bennett or Peter Mueller’s footsteps, and neither one is an outcome this team can afford to bet on in important roles.

There should be some help in the pipeline, which Scott Wheeler ranked No. 7 this spring. Berkly Catton, Jake O’Brien and Jagger Firkus all look to have top-six potential, and that could be what this team needs to build a deep second layer to lead the supporting cast (and beyond), especially as players such as Eberle age out. But to be a second layer, there has to be real elite talent ahead on the depth chart.

The same problems extend to the blue line, too. There are depth pieces, such as Brandon Montour, Adam Larsson and Ryan Lindgren. Ryker Evans could grow into a bigger role. Maybe some of the Kraken’s prospects could, too. The top end of Seattle’s pipeline is forward-heavy, but there are a few defensemen who can become everyday players, such as Ty Nelson and Blake Fiddler.

But that doesn’t answer the hole at the very top: an elite No. 1. Brandon Montour was paid to be that, but hasn’t replicated his career year in Florida. Dunn hasn’t maintained that top level, either. Some teams can get by without a top-tier defenseman leading the way, but there has to be that much depth to make up for it, which Seattle doesn’t have.

The big question

Can the Kraken find top-tier talent?

Since the Kraken’s NHL roster is clearly missing elite talent outside of Beniers and Daccord, and few, if any, players in the pipeline project to reach that level, it’s time to look outside the system for help.

Except that’s no easy feat in today’s NHL.

The best way to bring in top-tier talent is through the draft and development process. Go through this year’s Player Tiers project: that’s how teams landed nine out of 10 MVP-caliber players, and 15 out of 22 in the franchise tier.

To the Kraken’s credit, a perfect developmental system doesn’t form overnight; this team has only existed for five years, after all, and that’s the challenge of the expansion process. But it’s not like this team has aced it through other means, either. The expansion draft brought in good players, not great ones. And that puts more emphasis on trades and free agency.

Free agency is somewhat of a dead zone nowadays, with almost every high-end player extending with their current teams early. The top free agents this year are Alex Tuch, Rasmus Andersson, 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin, Jacob Trouba and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

Instead, free agency is a time for desperate teams to overpay the middle class — and the Kraken already have first-hand experience with that, after overpaying both Chandler Stephenson and Montour on long-term deals.

So if the Kraken are going to bring in some top-tier talent, especially up front, offer sheets and trades are the best bet. The team has cap flexibility to work and trade capital between its first four-rounders over the next two years and a deep pipeline.

But it can’t just be one move in a vacuum either, not when this roster isn’t playoff-caliber. It has to be a series of transactions to punch this team up, and make any of those investments worthwhile — whether it’s finding true top-line talent to play alongside Beniers, a more dynamic 2C or more serious threats from the back end.

That won’t be easy, though — not when there’s a limited number of high-end options on the market and a handful of teams looking to improve.

The road ahead won’t be easy for Seattle. But something has to change if this team is going to reach that next gear and become a fixture in the playoff picture.