Seattle Kraken clinch first playoff berth in franchise history

The Vegas Golden Knights impossibly raised the bar for future expansion teams by winning the Pacific Division title and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural 2017-18 season.

But the Seattle Kraken restored the belief that expansion teams will struggle in their first season when they finished at the bottom of the Pacific Division last season with 60 points.

One year later, the Kraken have 96 points and are heading to the postseason after clinching a playoff berth Thursday night with a 4-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes.   

So how did the Kraken manage to turn it around in one season?

GM Ron Francis made good use of cap space

Vegas had thrived because then-general manager George McPhee made many side deals to bring in players with better potential. Seattle's Ron Francis didn't have that luxury because rival GMs had wised up. He ended up dealing away many veterans before the 2022 trade deadline.

All things Kraken: Latest Seattle Kraken news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

But that gave him money to spend in the offseason and he was able to land Andre Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Justin Schultz and Martin Jones. The improved depth helped the remaining veterans such as Jared McCann and Jordan Eberle, and the offense has jumped from 29th in the league last season to fourth this season. The Kraken claimed Eeli Tolvanen off waivers this season, and he has made key contributions.

Rookie forward Matty Beniers

Beniers was taken No. 2 overall in the 2021 entry draft but returned to play his sophomore season at Michigan in 2021-22. He showed his promise after his college career ended, scoring nine points in 10 games after arriving in Seattle late last season. This season, he has topped 20 goals and 50 points (23 goals, 33 assists) and is the front-runner for NHL rookie of the year. His presence has allowed the Kraken to bring 2022 No. 4 overall pick Shane Wright along slowly and send him back to junior hockey.

Improved goaltending

The Kraken planned to go with Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger in net last season. But Driedger got hurt and Grubauer had no one to spell him when he struggled initially. Enter the veteran Jones. The goalies have nearly an even spilt, and Grubauer's goals-against average has dropped below 3.00. Neither goalie is putting up stunning numbers, but with the Kraken's new-found offense, they don't need to do that. But they're doing enough to win.

What's next for the Kraken?

They'll likely finish with the first wild-card spot or possibly third in the Pacific and start the playoffs on the road. But some of their players have plenty of postseason experience. Burakovsky (currently hurt), Yanni Gourde, Grubauer, Schultz, Jamie Oleksiak and Eberle are among players who have won Stanley Cups or reached at least the conference final.