Seattle GM Botterill's Early Moves Help Kraken, But Playoff Hopes Remain Distant
Since the Seattle Kraken announced in late April that longtime NHL executive Jason Botterill would be promoted to be their new GM, the Kraken have been one of the busiest teams on the trade front.
Indeed, Seattle has been hard at work under Botterill, acquiring left winger Mason Marchment from the Dallas Stars on June 19 in exchange for a fourth-round pick this summer and a third-rounder in 2026. Then, Botterill dealt veteran left winger Andre Burakovsky to the Chicago Blackhawks for center Joe Veleno. Finally, on Thursday, Botterill acquired center Frederick Gauthier from the Minnesota Wild for a fourth-rounder in this year's draft.
All things considered, the Kraken, on paper, appear to be improved. But the question is, by how much? Marchment posted 22 goals and 47 points last season, and we see him as a nifty acquisition. Botterill replaced Burakovsky's offence (10 goals and 37 points) last season with Veleno's modest offense (eight goals and 17 points) in a salary dump that freed up $3.225 million and installed Veleno as a depth forward. And Botterill used the money he saved in the Burakovsky deal to add Gauthier to fill a need on Seattle's fourth line.
You can see what Botterill has been trying to do – firm up his secondary forward slots with players who have established themselves to a fair degree. However, the Kraken still don't have much in the way of elite talents to compete with the top teams in the Pacific Division. Sure, Seattle has some high-end assets – centers Matty Beniers and Shane Wright have high expectations on them, but neither have asserted themselves as true top players.
For that reason, we still don't see the Kraken as a Stanley Cup playoff team next season. The Pacific has playoff locks in the Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings – and after that, the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are going to be fighting for a playoff berth in 2025-26. Even the Anaheim Ducks, who finished four standings points ahead of Seattle last season, are looking like they're going to push for a playoff spot.
All of that is to say that, even with their multiple changes, the Kraken are going to face an uphill battle to get into the post-season. You have to give Botterill credit for being aggressive and proactive in his moves, but he hasn't come up with the big fish that this Seattle team really needs to make the jump from fringe playoff candidate to certain playoff squad.
Botterill has lots of time this off-season to continue remaking his roster, but as it stands, he needs more skill for his team to truly compete with the Pacific's first-rate franchises. Botterill obviously wants his group to be in the mix for a playoff berth next season, but we see his team as still being in the mid to lower tier of the division. And nothing other than significant, marquee-name acquisitions are going to change that.
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