2021–22 Seattle Kraken Season

The 2021–22 Seattle Kraken season was the inaugural season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise. They played their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.

The Kraken played their first regular season game on October 12, 2021 against the Vegas Golden Knights, a 4–3 loss. In their second game just two days later, the Kraken earned their first win in franchise history, defeating the Nashville Predators 4–3. The Kraken played their first home game on October 23, against the Vancouver Canucks, a 4–2 loss. The franchise recorded its first ever shutout on February 2, 2022, with Philipp Grubauer making 19 saves against the New York Islanders 3–0 at home. On March 30, the Kraken were eliminated from playoff contention after a 3–0 loss to the Golden Knights. The Kraken finished last in the Pacific Division with 60 points, the second-worst in the Western Conference ahead of the Arizona Coyotes.

Background

Establishment

On December 4, 2017 the Seattle City Council voted 7–1 to approve a memorandum of understanding between the city of Seattle and the Los Angeles-based Oak View Group, co-founded by Tim Leiweke, for renovations of KeyArena. Renovations for the arena began in 2018 and were completed in 2021. The original roof remains in place, as it is considered a local historical landmark. Three days later, the NHL Board of Governors agreed to consider an expansion application from Seattle, with an expansion fee set at US$650 million. The Seattle ownership group was represented by David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer, who conducted a preliminary season ticket drive to gauge interest in Seattle.

On February 13, 2018, the Oak View Group filed an application with the NHL for an expansion team and paid a $10 million application fee. At the time, the earliest a Seattle NHL team could have begun playing was the 2020–21 season pending the completion of arena renovations. A few weeks later, a ticket drive began to gauge interests in season ticket deposits. Oak View Group reported that their initial goal of 10,000 deposits was surpassed in 12 minutes, and that they received 25,000 deposits in 75 minutes. On April 11, Tod Leiweke was named chief executive officer (CEO) of Seattle's NHL expansion team. On October 2, another step towards an expansion team was taken when the NHL Executive Committee unanimously agreed to recommend the expansion bid to a vote of the Board of Governors in December. On December 4, the NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the addition of Seattle's expansion team into the league.

In May 2019, The team launched an interactive "fan portal" where fans could propose a name and uniform colors for the team, answer poll questions, get information about ticket pricing and seating, and view a timeline of past and future key events involving the club. Two months later, the organization hired Ron Francis to serve as their general manager to initiate operations for the team. That same day, Tod Leiweke stated that hiring Francis was "perhaps the most important hire we he Seattle NHL teamwill ever make." This is because Francis would oversee all of the club's hockey operations, including facets like player personnel, coaching staff, scouting, and minor league operations. Francis later stated that three things he wanted to prioritize in the Kraken's roster were speed, character, and competitiveness.

In July 2020, the franchise announced their team name—the Seattle Kraken—as well as their team colors, branding, and home jersey. The franchise's promotional materials state that the name was adopted to honor the maritime culture of Seattle.

On January 26, 2021, the Kraken signed a multi-year deal with Root Sports Northwest to televise their games. The Kraken also added play-by-play announcer John Forslund to their broadcast team. In March, the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena (formerly KeyArena) signed a deal with iHeartRadio for the purpose of having Sports Radio 93.3 KJR serve as the team's flagship radio station. On April 30, the franchise paid the final installment of the US$650 million expansion fee, officially making the Seattle Kraken the 32nd team of the NHL.

Building the team

On May 12, the Kraken signed their first player— Luke Henman—to a three-year, entry-level contract. Henman stated that he was "super excited and honored" to join the team. At the time, Henman was the captain and leading scorer of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. On June 21, the Kraken announced that J. T. Brown would join the team's television broadcasts as a color analyst. Three days later, the Kraken named Dave Hakstol as their inaugural head coach. "Dave possesses great experience, a strong work ethic, a solid technical understanding of the game, and the remarkable ability to communicate clearly and effectively. I look forward to working with Dave as we strive to build a team our fans will be proud of," Ron Francis stated about Hakstol. Four days after, the Kraken announced that the Charlotte Checkers would be their inaugural American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, sharing the team with the Florida Panthers. Two days later, the Kraken partnered with Seattle-based company Starbucks to announce the creation of the Kraken Community Iceplex, the team's new training facility, at the Northgate Station shopping mall.

On July 6, the Kraken added Paul McFarland and Jay Leach to Hakstol's coaching staff. On July 18, the protected player list for the 2021 NHL expansion draft, a list of players who the Kraken were not allowed to select during the draft, was released. The next day, a three-day period where the Seattle Kraken could talk to unrestricted free agents (UFAs) begun. On the morning of July 21, the Kraken signed defensemen Adam Larsson and Jamie Oleksiak and goaltender Chris Driedger to a four-year $16 million deal, a five-year $23 million contract, and a three-year $10.5 million deal, respectively. Later in the day, the 2021 NHL expansion draft began at Gas Works Park in front of more than 4,000 spectators and fans. The draft used the same rules as the 2017 NHL expansion draft did for the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken had to select or sign one player from each existing team except for Vegas. Larsson, Oleksiak, and Driedger counted as the pick from their respective teams (Edmonton, Dallas, and Florida, respectively). The Kraken's selections are listed below:

''Key: Left wing = LW, Center = C, Right wing = RW, Defenseman = D, Goaltender = G''

The next day, the Kraken made their first trade in team history, giving expansion draft pick Tyler Pitlick to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft.

The day after, the first round of the 2021 NHL entry draft took place. The Kraken used their second-overall pick to select Matty Beniers, a center from the University of Michigan. Beniers scored 24 points in 24 games during the previous season, and he led first-time draft-eligible NCAA players in goals, with 10. On the 24th, round 2–7 occurred.

On July 27, the Kraken traded expansion draft pick Kurtis MacDermid to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.

Off-season

On the morning of July 28, the Kraken signed center Alexander Wennberg to a three-year, $13.5 million contract. Within the next hour, the Kraken would sign center/left wing Jaden Schwartz to a five-year, $27.5 million deal. and goaltender Philipp Grubauer to a six-year, $35.4 million contract. Grubauer had been considered one of the top names on the market prior to the beginning of free agency. In the afternoon, the Kraken traded expansion draft pick Vitek Vanecek to the team he was selected from, the Washington Capitals, in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2023. Ron Francis stated that the team initially "took Vitek Vanecek to be part of our goalie tandem." He also said that he "didn't expect Grubauer to get to market nstead of re-signing with the Colorado Avalanche and that "six different teams called on Vitek."

Regular season

The Kraken played their first regular season game on October 12, a 4–3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, where Ryan Donato scored the team's first goal. The Kraken's first win came in their second game on October 14, when they defeated the Nashville Predators 4–3. Following a 6–1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, goaltender Joey Daccord was named the starter instead of Grubauer in a 4–2 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Kraken played their first home game at Climate Pledge Arena on October 23, a 4–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Prior to the game, the Kraken retired jersey number 32, in recognition of the franchise being the 32nd to join the NHL and in honor of the 32,000 fans who placed deposits for tickets on the first possible day. The Kraken picked up their first home win on October 26, against the Montreal Canadiens. Goaltender Chris Driedger made his first start with the Kraken on November 9, in a 4–2 loss to the Golden Knights.

The Kraken had several losing streaks in their season. However, on February 2, 2022, Philipp Grubauer recorded the franchise's first shutout, making 19 saves in an 3–0 victory against the New York Islanders. On March 20, the Kraken's captaincy became vacant after Giordano was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kraken were eliminated from playoff contention on March 30 following a 3–0 loss to the Golden Knights. The Kraken finished their inaugural season in last place of the Pacific Division with a 27–49–6 record and 60 points.

Standings

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Preseason

On July 9, 2021, the Kraken revealed their 2021–22 preseason schedule. With Climate Pledge Arena not scheduled to open until mid-October, the Kraken instead played their home preseason games at three different Western Hockey League (WHL) arenas in Washington, as part of an event called the 3-Rink Rush.

Regular season

The Kraken released their regular season schedule on July 22, 2021. Only a handful of games are scheduled in February as a result of NHL players planning to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, due to a rising number of postponed games because of COVID-19, the NHL decided not to send players to the event.

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Kraken. Stats reflect time with the Kraken only.

^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Kraken only.

Player awards

After their final home game on April 29, the Kraken announced the inaugural winners of their player awards for the season.

Jared McCann won the Pete Muldoon Award for the Kraken's most valuable player, as voted on by Seattle-area media. Philipp Grubauer won the Three Stars of the Year Award for having accrued the most stars of any player using a point system for stars at home games. Yanni Gourde won the Guyle Fielder Award as the teammate who best exemplified "perseverance, hustle and dedication" as voted upon by his teammates and coaches. Gourde also won the Fan Favorite Award, determined by a fan vote.

Transactions

The Kraken were involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.

Key:

Contract is entry-level

Trades

Free agents acquired

Free agents lost

Claimed via waivers

Lost via waivers

Other signings

References

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