Kraken Dive Into Free Agency on Day 1

Montour, Stephenson make Kraken playoff contender again

It is no secret that the Seattle Kraken needed to upgrade their roster following a disappointing 2023-24 campaign. After an awesome playoff run in the previous season, the Kraken failed to find consistency and offensive firepower as they floundered to just 81 points (17 points away from a playoff spot). With nearly $25 million in available cap space before the opening of free agency this morning, the hope from Kraken fans was that they would jump into the deep end and add some talent. Names like Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers and Steven Stakmos of the Tampa Bay Lightning conjured dreams of an improved attack, but neither were likely options for Seattle. What happened instead was suprising and should excite Kraken fans for what is to come in 2024-25.

Before free agency officially opened at 9:00 am, reports came out that Seattle signed defenseman Brandon Montour of the Florida Panthers to a seven year deal. While the deal is lengthy for a 30 year old, most hockey experts applauded the signing for the Kraken. The Athletic ranks Montour as the 6th best available free agent while others point out that Montour should help as much on offense (including power play) as he will on defense. He is unquesiontably the Kraken’s best blue liner and should be awesome paired with Vince Dunn.

Brandon Montour - new Kraken defenseman

Montour was enough of a pleasant suprise to make me look at ticket packages when the news came in that the Kraken also added Chandler Stephenson of the Las Vegas Knights. An attacking option who regularly wins faceoffs above 52% (for reference Matty Beniers is around 47%), Stephenson is also nearly 30 years old and signed a seven year deal. This tells that the Kraken knew they had to overpay (in years) for both free agents and were willing to do it to get competitive fast. Stephenson had a down year in 2023-24 but is a two time Stanley Cup champion and an immediate upgrade over other Kraken centers (maybe even over Beniers).

Chandler Stephenson - new Kraken center (Josie Lepe/AP)

According to capfriendly.com, these two signings are immediately the Kraken’s best two players which is what you want for a combined $14 million. Seattle will need the remaining $10 million to sign restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eli Tolvanen with maybe enough room for one more player. The Kraken will likely make a trade or two as well, maybe trying to unload Philip Grubauer’s contract but that will be a tough transaction to make. Grubauer and Andre Burakovsky’s long term deals haven’t been kind to the Kraken and worry some about these two free agent signings today. For now, get excited for the Kraken’s additions and expect a playoff berth in 2024-25.