After partaking in postseason hockey in their sophomore campaign of 2022-23, many problems plagued the franchise in its attempt to write a sequel to a good story in 2023-24. Key players missed time due to injuries, the scoring touch evaporated, and there were nights late in the season when the Seattle Kraken didn’t look like they had it in them to put up a decent fight. Today we look at bounce-back candidates. These are individuals who, should they perform as they once did, will help make 2024-25 a more worthwhile season in Seattle. Let’s discuss.
Matty Beniers
At the time of writing, Matty Beniers remains the only Seattle player to represent the club for any type of NHL award. In the summer of 2023, the Massachusetts native was awarded the Calder Trophy for his efforts in 2022-23. He was terrific that season, netting 24 goals and assisting 33 others for a solid 57-point tally in 80 contests. What’s more, he finished with an honourable plus-14 during the regular season. He then put up seven points in the playoffs (a trio of goals and four helpers) in 14 matches.
An analogous example would be a band or music artist striving to follow an incredibly successful debut album but can’t reach the same artistic heights. Such was the case of Beniers’ 2023-24, during which he finished with 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points in 77 games. The resplendent plus/minus of the prior season dropped to minus-11. The pressure of following up on an award-worthy rookie campaign surely snakes its way into a player’s psyche and plays mind games.
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Consider past winners: Mortiz Seider (2022), Kirill Kaprizov (2021), Cale Makar (2020), Elias Pettersson (2019), Matthew Barzal (2018), Auston Matthews (2017), Artemi Panarin (2016), and Aaron Ekblad (2015). Not all of them avoided sophomore slumps, but they were either minor or lasted barely a season. Years removed from those sensational rookie seasons, no one doubts how good Matthews, Makar, Pettersson, or Kaprizov are.
Is Beniers as consistent as them? The 2024-25 season will start answering that question.
Vince Dunn
Last season was an unfortunate and frustrating one for Vince Dunn. His lower production was not entirely his fault. He missed a total of 23 matches for a variety of injury reasons, most notably a neck injury against the Calgary Flames in March. As the Kraken slithered toward the end of their regular season calendar Dunn was shut down. It would be disingenuous to criticize him for not putting up the same numbers as before.
Even so, it has been two seasons since the 27-year-old has suited for most if not all 82 contests. Depending on what ails an athlete, coming back from injury is sometimes easier said than done. In the defenseman’s case, there were neck pains severe enough to keep him out of the lineup after the aforementioned Flames match. Then there was an elbow to the face in April when the team faced the Los Angeles Kings.
His importance cannot be overstated. Despite being limited to 59 contests he managed to tally 46 points (11 goals, 35 assists) and finish with a plus-8. Those are more than solid numbers. In 81 games the previous season he was a team-best plus-28 and had 64 points via 14 markers and 50 assists.
This is not a direct criticism of the player per se. Bouncing back from a down season can include finding the rhythm and confidence to return to form after a series of nasty injuries. Last season was also the first of his career during which he played as little as 59 games, excluding the truncated 2020-21 season. The numbers are there for all to see. When he is present, he performs.
Oliver Bjorkstrand
At first glance, this inclusion is not obvious. Some might scoff at the mention of Oliver Bjorkstrand since he participated in last season’s NHL All-Star activities. Moreover, his point total improved between 2022-23 and 2023-24, going from 45 points to 59. How can an All-Star who produced more than before need to bounce back?
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As the old expression goes, the devil is in the details. The problem isn’t a lack of decent offensive production. Bjorkstrand is already delivering that. Conversely, his plus/minus figures have been on a roller coaster ride the past few seasons. In 2021-22, when still a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, he was minus-35 even though the Jackets were not a “bad” team (37-38-7), just inconsistent. In his first season in Seattle – not incidentally when the team made the playoffs – he was only minus-1. That’s not a world-beater statistic, but if Bjorkstrand’s strength is to help as best he can offensively, minus-1 is a number a team can deal with. Last season the Dane plummeted to minus-20 despite that his offensive numbers increased.
His worst month was March (minus-13) when the entire campaign went awry. That included the ignominious 0-6 homestand. He averaged less ice time (16:10) than three other players who played nearly as many matches but with superior goal differentials: Beniers (minus-11), Yanni Gourde (minus-11), and Jared McCann (minus-10).
Make no mistake about it, the 29-year-old is talented. However, greater consistency with his defense will make a world of difference between winning and losing.
There are many ways in which a player can bounce back from one season to the next. There can also be just as many reasons why a player needs to. Beniers, Dunn, and Bjorkstrand each experienced different issues in 2023-24, not all of which were their fault. One clear path to recovery for the Kraken is for these three players to perform as they once did.
