3 Offseason Targets For Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken were once again just a middle of the bunch team with little hope of making the playoffs and a very unlikely chance of getting a lottery pick. This came after making two big additions last offseason in Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson. The team has some good young pieces, but have to bring in more complements to take that next step.

Nate Schmidt

Since the major pieces on the back-end are returning, the most likely addition on defense will come for the third pairing. Nate Schmidt is someone I would expect the Kraken to look at. He had a nice bounce-back season on the Florida Panthers and would fit in that role pretty well. He can step up if necessary, but also won't cost a whole to be slotted in. Jamie Oleksiak and Schmidt on the third pairing to give Ryker Evans a bigger role and to complement the top-4 might just turn out to be a great play.

Ilya Samsonov

The Kraken need a better backup goalie because Philipp Grubauer just hasn't been good since signing in Seattle. Joey Daccord has clearly taken over the number one role and isn't giving it up. I expect Grubauer to be bought out with two years left on his deal and the team to target someone who will provide a better than .875 SV% with a much cheaper cap hit. That target could be one of many, but I like Ilya Samsonov here. His numbers didn't look as good because of fewer shots against, but maybe he'll be able to get involved in games more and perform with even more shots again as Seattle is going to allow that compared to Vegas.

Andrew Mangiapane

The Kraken have a need to replace some of their bottom-6 players and need additions who can make a difference. As a former 35 goal scorer and someone who is going to be coming from a very successful Washington Capitals team, I think Andrew Mangiapane would be a great fit there. The problem with aiming a little higher right away is the slew of veterans under contract. The Kraken could look to make some moves before, and if that happens, expect the team to aim higher offensively than Mangiapane.