Commentary: It’s time for the Kraken to embrace change. Are they willing to?

SEATTLE – On May 15, 2023, thousands of fans filed into Climate Pledge Arena to watch a hockey game. They came in jerseys and octopus hats and blue hair dye and mermaid fins, looking the playoff part. They came despite the unrelenting 86-degree heat, a Seattle spring outlier. They came with signs and dolls donning custom-made Kraken jerseys, with hockey sticks and hope.

They came to watch a game played more than 2,000 miles away.

To salute a season that lasted longer than any pundit predicted.

To support a core built for a brighter future, for prolonged playoff runs.

Which is why, when Oliver Bjorkstrand scored the Kraken’s only goal with 19 seconds left in a 2-1 loss, they sang anyway. They belted Nirvana’s “Lithium” for a final time, a Seattle serenade. They oozed enthusiastic optimism, even amid a Game 7 defeat to the smothering Dallas Stars.

For those in attendance, it was an ending that felt like the opposite, an undeterred hors d’oeuvre.

“They are very much built for playoff success,” said Bothell resident Brett Schock, who attended the watch party with his 12-year-old son. “So, people are finally coming around to see that, because they’re getting the results.”

A year later – after the results dried up – are the Kraken built to rebound?

Last May, it looked like this franchise was on a path to consistent success. Following that encouraging playoff run, and a dismissal of the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, the Kraken extended general manager Ron Francis and head coach Dave Hakstol. Their core – including Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers, leading scorer Jared McCann, Vince Dunn, Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson, Philipp Grubauer and Bjorkstrand, etc. – remained under contract through 2024.

But could the Kraken ride a wave of goodwill and fan engagement into the stratosphere?

The answer, as we dissect the smoldering ashes of a disappointing sequel, was a definitive no. With a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild Thursday, the Kraken wrapped a sobering third season in Seattle. They finished with a 34-35-13 record and 81 points, 19 shy of the season prior. And after producing a 10.34% shooting percentage (first in the NHL) and 3.52 goals per game (4th) in 2022-23, those numbers plummeted to 7.7% (28th) and 2.61 goals per game (27th).

Of equal concern: the Kraken went just 6-12-2 in their last 20 games, displaying erratic effort as their playoff odds evaporated.

“We’ve got to find that hunger again, that will and that drive to get back (to the playoffs),” Eberle said Saturday, during an exit interview at the Kraken Community Iceplex. “Maybe we came into the year thinking things were going to be the same and easy and we’ll just do this again, and it didn’t turn out that way. I think you’ll see a different team. We’ll come back and try to get back to that point next year.”

Different how? If this franchise is willing to do what it takes to win, changes must be made. But is ownership willing to cross-check the status quo? And what could (or should) that change look like?

We’re about to find out.

Starting, of course, with the fates of Francis and Hakstol. While it’s unlikely the Kraken exile their 61-year-old GM, Francis’ player-personnel decisions warrant scrutiny. After Seattle surprised last season on the strength of its scoring depth, that versatility vanished. Departees Daniel Sprong (18 goals and 25 assists for Detroit), Morgan Geekie (17 goals and 22 assists for Boston) and Ryan Donato (12 goals and 18 assists for Chicago) all made positive impressions elsewhere, while additions like Kailer Yamamoto (eight goals and eight assists) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (four goals and three assists) provided no such playmaking.

Still, it’s a coach’s job to put his players in positions to succeed. And while injuries to Dunn, Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz certainly didn’t help, it’s difficult to argue Hakstol maximized his talent.

Aside from injuries and unmerciful hockey gods, mainstays like McCann (70 points in 2022-23 to 62 in 2023-24), Beniers (57 to 37), Eberle (63 to 44), Gourde (48 to 33), Brandon Tanev (35 to 16) and Eeli Tolvanen (16 goals in 48 games last season, 16 goals in 81 games this season) all saw their statistics slip.

That comprehensive corrosion typically comes down to coaching.

After three seasons under Hakstol, the second-longest-tenured Western Conference coach, it may be time for a new voice and system in Seattle.

Regardless, Seattle’s coach next season – whoever he is – will be tasked with transforming an anemic offense. But first, this franchise must secure established scorers – whether via trade, free agency or internal improvement. Beniers is a restricted free agent, and the Kraken must decide how heavily to invest in the former No. 2 overall pick.

If the Kraken opt to trade for instant offense, which pieces are they willing to part with? Would they dare dispatch goalie Joey Daccord, whose 2.46 goals-against average ranked a sterling sixth in the NHL? Are any top prospects – Shane Wright, Ryker Evans, Ryan Winterton, Jagger Firkus, etc. – potentially expendable?

The truth is, outside of maybe McCann and Dunn, any and all options should be explored.

Consider what’s at stake.

Eleven months after thousands filed into Climate Pledge Arena to watch a game played elsewhere, fan apathy is a legitimate fear. The franchise’s initial minimum three-year season-ticket term has now expired, forcing renewal decisions this offseason. The Kraken must also decide whether to continue airing games on ROOT Sports, after Comcast Xfinity moved the regional sports network to its most expensive tier late last year.

“Probably walking into the stadium, a lot of those nights, they didn’t really know what they were going to get from us,” Dunn said Saturday of the Kraken’s home fans. “Not that we only play for them, but they’re a huge piece to that. We need them behind us.”

The challenge: win, and soon, or risk regional irrelevancy.

Change, or fade into an afterthought with squandered novelty.

Make meaningful moves to contend next season, or implicitly allow the opposite.

Action and inaction are both options. It’s time to pick a path.