Should The Seattle Kraken Rebuild or Go For It When They Start Play in 2021-22?

Seattle finally revealed their name on Thursday, along with their logo and their home and away jerseys. I personally think that their name and logo are awesome, but their jersey’s could use a bit of work. Anyway, the Seattle Kraken will be the 32nd NHL team and will begin play in the 2021-22 season. 

Since we all know what Vegas did when they started in their first season, I thought to myself: “Should Seattle rebuild and try to get as many picks and prospects as they can, or should they try and go for the cup?” 

Let’s be real, even Vegas probably thought that they weren’t gonna go to the finals in their first year, and that was a surprise to everyone. And that’s why I believe Seattle should rebuild. Vegas will probably be the only expansion team ever to go to the finals. Every team that wins the cup has something all in common. They all build through the draft. They get steals and cheap depth options throughout the later rounds that prove to help them out when they're making their run for the cup. So if Seattle truly wants to win the cup, here is my plan that they should do when they’re building their team. 

Expansion Draft: June 2021 

This will be a very important day in the Seattle Kraken franchise. They’ll be able to finally select players. If I was in charge of making the decisions, I would split my roster in half. One side would be the side of bad contracts to help reach the cap floor and try to be as bad as possible, while the other side of the roster would be the side where you would draft good players, to then try and trade them for draft picks to help bolster the prospect pool. 

2021 NHL Draft Lottery 

This will also be another important event for the Kraken organization. Their 1st round pick will have a pretty good chance to land 1st overall. If they fall to let’s say pick 5 or 6, they will still select an amazing player. The 2021 draft is very deep, so they will for sure get an amazing prospect. The player probably won’t play in the NHL right after they are drafted, but having them on the roster the year after will be a great add. They will most likely have more than 1 first round pick in the top 16, so having the extra pick(s) will only help them out in the long run. 

2021 NHL Draft 

Since it’ll be Seattle’s first draft, this will be one of the more important ones. If they want to get the good young prospects in a deep draft, here’s the place. Let’s say they have 2 top 16 picks for this year's draft. The highest pick is 5th overall and their 2nd pick is 12th overall. At 5th overall, they can target a guy like Carson Lambos. Carson is a player who can really skate with the puck. He can also play on the powerplay and someone who will also be a leader. Finally, he’s also an effective 2 way defender who will provide great stability on that blueline. At 12th overall, they can maybe get a forward like Sasha Pastujov. He’s a really good playmaker who can make plays with ease. Another player they could target in this range is Jesper Wallstedt. Jesper is a massive goalie who covers a lot of net and he will be playing in the SHL full time next year. If they don’t want to pick Wallstedt this high, they can pick Sebastian Cossa in the 2nd round. Sebastian is also a massive goalie who’s been developing very nicely with the Edmonton Oil Kings. They should also draft guys that are falling in the draft because they may end up being steals in the long run. 

2021-22, and 2022-23 Seasons 

In their first two seasons in the NHL, they should try and get as high of a draft pick as they can. Both the 2022 and 2023 NHL drafts are going to feature a lot of star power.  In the 2022 draft, the three headed monster of Shane Wright, Brad Lambert and Matthew Savoie are all expected to be franchise centerman at the NHL level. If Seattle can get one of these players to add to their roster along with guys like Lambos, and Pastujov, and maybe Cossa, this Seattle team will be absolutely insane. Their 2nd season should also feature another tank year. 2023 features snipers like Connor Bedard and Matvei Mitchkov. Bedard is an elite centerman and Mitchkov is an elite winger who can torcher the other teams goalies with there elite goal scoring ability. If Seattle could have a line of Pastujov - Wright - Mitchkov, that could be the best line in hockey at one point. 

2023-24 and Beyond: 

In the next few seasons after 2022-23, the Seattle Kraken should start to creep more towards the playoffs each year and hopefully win the cup. Using this method, it’ll give Ron Francis superior young talent that he can keep together for years and hopefully build a dynasty. They’ll have a lot of money on the cap this way because all of the bad contracts will hopefully run out, giving them flexibility to sign effective players in free agency. 

What My Plan Does for the Seattle Kraken Financially: 

Although the Kraken won’t be “good” for the first few years, they’ll be an effective team for a while if they decide to be bad for the first few years. The Kraken fans will support the team regardless, and they’ll still get money from merchandise sales and when people buy food inside the arena. Yeah, it’ll hurt for a while, but rebuilding is the best way to win a cup in the NHL. Seattle will earn so much money with all their young talent and it’ll help them donate to more charities and help them give back to the community because the fans were a crucial part in making this team a possibility.

By: Luka Tkalcevic (Instagram: luka_tkalcevic, futurehockeystars)