You have to wonder if the best way to see your city do well in a sport is by getting an expansion team. In the NHL, the city of Las Vegas was rewarded a franchise in 2016. It was the first major sports team the city of Las Vegas ever had. The Golden Knights in their first season ever went all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in the 2017-18 season. The Golden Knights lost to the Washington Capitals in their first ever finals in their first ever year in the league. The only year the Golden Knights did not make the playoffs was last season. The Vegas franchise right now is in first place in the Pacific division so they should rebound relatively quickly from the one year drought they encountered. Last season debuted another NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken were not very Vegas-like their first inaugural season as they were in the bottom of the standings racking up 60 points as a team with a record of 27-49-6. This year the Kraken look like a playoff team in their second year. The Kraken as a team has racked up 63 points with a record of 29-15-5 which was tops in the Pacific division going into last weekend’s All-Star break. The Kraken already have two more victories than last year’s team with a full slate of games not even played yet. The second half started this week & the Kraken find themselves looking up at the other expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, who now surpassed them by one point as they have 64 points. The Kraken in year two – this team looks amazing and this Seattle fan base will see playoff hockey this Spring.

I was watching Seattle Kraken play my team, the Chicago Blackhawks, a few weeks ago and they put up 8 goals and made it look easy. I think 5 goals were in the net by the Kraken before I cracked open my first beer of the game. The Kraken as a team before All-Star weekend festivities is 5th in the NHL with 177 goals. How are the Kraken doing it? They have assembled a nice group of puck snipers to tally 177 goals so far this season. The Kraken’s 2021 number 1 pick, Matt Beniers, who was picked number two overall has arrived. The 20 year old only had three goals in first year in the NHL. This season Beniers has 17 goals and 19 assists as the youth has gone wild in the Emerald City. Seattle’s off-season free agent signing of veteran Andre Burakovsky has paid off. Burakovsky helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Lord Stanley Cup last season. Burakovsky has played in 48 games so far for Seattle and has 17 goals with 26 assists good for 39 points. Then they have castoff center Jared McCann who was taken by the Kraken in the expansion draft where teams make available players they don’t want any more or guys with higher salaries. McCann leads this Kraken team with 23 goals. The Kraken have 8 players already in double digits in goals. Plus, the team has 3 other players closing in on double digit goals on their roster.

The Seattle Kraken has been helter skelter at the goalie position. You wonder if the Kraken front office will try to improve their goal tending situation at the trade deadline. The Kraken starter who is a former San Jose Shark, Martin Jones, has done a decent job in net. Jones was a free agent pick up in the off-season for Seattle, and he has a winning record this season in 36 starts as he is 23-8-3. If Seattle upgraded and had a top goalie in the NHL, would this team be in the running for the Stanley Cup? It has been the defense that has helped Jones look even better than what he has done on the back of his hockey card. The Kraken defense have played solid all year & another veteran castoff, the Swede Adam Larsson, has elevated his defensive play. Larsson is a specialist at killing penalties like the A-team intro. If you know someone with a problem, if no one can help, and if you can find them… you can hire the A-team.

Larsson is called on when the Kraken have a problem with guys in and out of the penalty box. The Kraken defense is a tight unit that can bail their goalie situation out of boiling water by defending their net & their waters well enough to hold and not fold.

During Seattle’s 8 game winning streak, seven of those victories were on the road. The Kraken have had some signature victories during that 8 game win streak. The Kraken knocked out a very talented Toronto team at 5-1. Then the Kraken went into Boston who are the top team in the entire NHL and shut them out 3-0. It was the first regulation loss in Boston in 23 games as the Bruins have dominated their opponents on their turf. The Kraken have 4 solid lines which on any given night, one of them will beat you. It will be interesting if the team has one savvy move in them to improve this well-balanced roster at the trade deadline, or let it play out the way it has. The fan base in Seattle has been awesome for this team which I still can’t believe the basketball team the Sonics moved to Oklahoma as this city supports all their teams. I think by the end of regular season, the Kraken will have a top spot in the playoff tournament. I don’t think many teams will want to play them as well, because this team may be like the Golden Knights; a expansion team with teeth that can end your season and go deep into the lord Stanley cup playoffs.