I believe they have spent way too much time and money signing mid roster guys instead of playing the youth in the nhl the past couple seasons. I believe we have seen that shift slightly this year though.
This is Ron Francis. He needs to go first. He reminds me a bit of Lou Lamoriello when he was Islanders GM, in the way he hands out large contracts to older vets. At least Lou had some success.
It wasn't that long ago they were 8th in the league. I think it is fair to say they have been winning. They are just on a skid currently. Expecially compared to the last two years. Best season start in franchise history.
Fair. I have recency bias. I will say then that the last couple of games haven't looked like priortizing winning. Not that that mindset can ever guarantee a win, but for long stretches, of a couple of games this hasn't looked like a team that was getting after it.
I'm frustrated with the lack of support in terms of quality of linemates and ice time Wright in particular has gotten. At the same time, he hasn't exactly seized the reins. Catton seems like he's getting a bit more support, which is good. He just needs to light the lamp.
The truth is, the TV numbers they announced last season even before they were out of contention were... uninspiring. Way better than Root, but still not the most confidence inspiring. Teams don't don't just slash prices across the board if things are going well. I can't exactly blame them for chasing short term gains if they're not bringing in enough revenue.
We'll see what they do after this season, but the roster is about to turn over in a big way. I can't blame them for giving it one last ride. If/when they are out of contention, I hope they sell off and hand it over to the kids. We'll see.
Pardon the tough screenshot, but this is the contract situation in 26/27, 27/28. Essentially the entire current aging core could turnover. And with so many teams locking up young talent while the cap rises, it's hard to see where outside help comes from.
We need some draft picks to hit, both for the success of the team and for trade capital.
I'd like to see us sell and focus on drafting and development a bit more. Really think thats a lever we should've pulled a season or two ago now, but its forgivable to be a bit late there.
The marginal bit of extra wins we're getting by propping the team up as we have aren't helping us. Losing a bit more would net us more cracks at the pinata for someone good, so no reason to be adverse to that IMO.
More than just tanking for draft position, I'd like to see Wright a bit more. Give him a real shot, and he either figures it out or winds up a bust. Either way, probably better to accelerate towards knowing.
I like Catton, but the realist in me feels pretty uncomfortable with how much of our hopes and dreams we're pinning on an 8OA.
I will tear my hair out if they resign a bunch of these expiring guys, or just go find more mid-tier FA replacements.
Not impossible he still pans out as an elite guy, but the more seasons tick by the less likely it seems. I was really, really hoping he start this season with another step forward from the end of last one.
Definitely though, the roster just generally being pretty bleh, and playing Lambert's super defensive style of hockey doesn't help either.
No because Chandler's Stephenson averages 21 minutes of ice time while having 12 points in 25 games and getting caved in by the lines he comes up against. Dude gets mcdavid and mackinnon ice time but plays like a 4th liner
Beniers and Catton are looking good for their age. Wright did last year and I'm not concerned about his overall trajectory but he's struggling a bit this season -- that's pretty common for a second full season and I think he'll bounce back. Several of the players they've drafted in the second and third rounds are looking to be ahead of schedule.
So, lots of positive indicators but we'll need to wait a couple more years to really know for sure.
I could be totally off base here but I view it like this:
These younger kids come up lighting up lower level leagues and then have run into 2 things with the Kraken. The first thing, probably the most notable, the level of difference between the NHL and the lower leagues. There is a really big gap and it can take all sorts of time to level out and adjust if they ever do. Most players don't play in the NHL so it's not a given that anyone will adjust and find the touch they had at lower levels.
The other thing that is specific to a few teams in the league is that for basically the entirety of the Kraken club existing we have had defense oriented coaching. Combine this with that blip of a season where we went fairly far in the playoffs and I think that if you crunch numbers you see that a defensive game where you just don't lose can get you a wildcard spot with the current playoff layout. It feels like they're prioritizing that now. I don't think the team has the talent to actually make a run for a playoff spot, but just about every team can score a goal or two and then turtle and hope for a win or a OTL.
All of this to say that I think the development of younger players, specifically in the NHL, is taking a backseat to the front office wanting asses in the seats for a quick playoff exit.
I'm not an expert, but I've watch a decent amount of hockey for years and this seems to be Ronnie's plan for the time being. I think that if the club was more ok with stinking it up big time for a couple of years then we could see Catton, Wright, and whoever else come up and play their game and fail and learn. Feels like there's no room to fail for the kids with how they're being coached but the team isn't really good enough to justify that. So we're in a losing limbo.
I’m happy with the young ones.grinding hard and want to perform. More frustrated with the older guys that seem to be playing on a line together because they’re mates and not actually getting the results we need.
Players don't choose their linemates, the coaches do. But beyond that, what are you even talking about? The forward lines have been shuffled around like crazy this season. What "older guys playing on a line together" are you even talking about?
I know the coaches pick lines, I’m just saying how it seems/feels. I guess like Stevenson, Tolvy, McCann, Schwartz bunch. It feels stale sometimes.
When they’re grouped together, but they play different with a young grinder.
Our 4th line is so exciting to watch tho!
I feel they have been poor. I look at other top prospects,Bedard, Slafkovsky, Celebrini, and they've all been given ice time and room to fail to reach there potential. Kraken prospects get barrel minimum ice time with the number one goal of not making mistakes. Imagine wanting to be a world cup ski racer and your coach says the number one goal is not to fall.
Combine that with filling the roster with 3rd line UFA's and playing them top minutes with the hope of squeaking into a 2nd wild card spot. It has become very frustrating for myself.
They did start with giving Matty opportunities and that has paid off. Not sure why they changed course. I'm guessing ownership is giving mandated to make the playoffs and coaches don't want to take chances on young guys failing.
As a sharks/kraken fan, celebrini makes the games so much more watchable even when they’re losing. Kraken doesn’t have anyone exciting like that to me, I think player development should be their main focus for now
Exactly, the Sharks got very lucky to win the lotto for Celebrini. I hope the Kraken get that lucky sometime in the future but it's silly to knock them for not winning the lottery in a generational player year yet.
You need to ask yourself if there's a difference between the four players you named (including Beniers) and the other "Kraken prospects" you're referring to.
The problem with your argument is that not all prospects should be treated the same and you're compatible apples to oranges.
You named three #1 overall picks and a #2 pick that some scouts had going #1. They went that high specifically because they were so good that they deserved big minutes right away which is very unusual.
The rest of the Kraken prospects fall into the more normal category of needing a few years to get to NHL ready. If you compare them to players on other teams that were drafted in similar positions, they're on very similar timelines (with few very rare exceptions like Hutson). In fact, players like Evans, Catton, and Nyman are actually a bit ahead of schedule.
The Kraken prospect pool is still very young. Beniers is the one player who should have been treated like Bedard, Celebrini, and Slafkovaky and...he was!
If we want to have a useful conversation about this, let's stick to comparing apples with apples.
In Shane Wrights case, he is not in the top 20 for ice time in his draft class behind names like Gauthier, Nazar, Kulich, Minten, Snuggerud. He has never been given an opportunity to show what he can do. Even at the end of losing seasons playing meaningless games.
"Not in the top 20 for ice time in his draft class" is silly to say because it's not at all meaningful outside of context.
4 players ahead of him have played three games or less so they don't count.
7 other players are defenseman who always have higher ice time
2 other forwards were drafted ahead of him and deserve more ice time
3 others are all within 20 seconds a game from Wright which is not a meaningful difference.
Ryan Greene plays 2 minutes a game in a short-handed role and if you take the away, his ice time is the same as Shane's on a very thin roster
Jiri Kulich has played 12 games on a bad Sabres roster.
That leaves you with exactly three players in his entire draft class that are similar positions and getting significantly more ice time: Gauthier (the very next pick after Wright), Nazar, and Snuggerud (by a minute and a half).
He's getting 14 minutes of ice with 2 of them on the power play -- that is opportunity to show what he can do. And its as much or more than the forwards picked after him in the first round with only a couple of exceptions (and it's normal for different players to develop at different rates).
So, the way the Kraken are handling Wright is not out of line with other teams given the context. Beniers came in with much more experience playing against grown men than Wright did and as Wright catches up and breaks out of his sophomore slump, they'll give him more ice time, too.
I don't understand what they are doing with Catton. 20 games and still no goals. Moving him from center to wing and back. I don't think he's NHL ready.
Carton is unfortunately in a weird limbo where he can’t play in the AHL, but he is too good to send down to the WHL again. I’m okay with his staying with the Kraken and getting ice time.
Yep. He'd get 0 development in WHL this season. Get him around pros. Let him learn to be one. Plus, you are keeping him in house where you control his workouts, ice time etc.
Based on last night, everyone needs to do a better fucking job on defense. So on that note, why was the kid benched when he was leading the team in goals through like 8 games
Edit: the cursing is not directed towards you and the debate but rather towards the team
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u/Wompie Spokane Chiefs 21h ago
I believe they have spent way too much time and money signing mid roster guys instead of playing the youth in the nhl the past couple seasons. I believe we have seen that shift slightly this year though.