Seattle Kraken enter critical offseason of evaluations after third straight year out of the playoffs

SEATTLE - Pretty much everyone involved with the Seattle Kraken knows what they've delivered hasn't been good enough, and they have to fix it moving forward.

Deciding exactly what that fix needs to be will be the primary objective for the team over the offseason after they missed the playoffs for a third straight season.

"We failed. That's just the reality of it," defenseman Adam Larsson said. "We missed the playoffs (for) the third year in a row. It's hard to pinpoint one thing that went wrong."

Less than 24 hours after ending their season in Colorado, the team was back at Kraken Community Iceplex to put a bow on a year that emphatically face-planted after the team returned to play in late February. The team went just 7-17-2 over the final 26 games of the year, falling from third place into the Pacific Division all the way to the sixth-worst record in the entire NHL.

It puts the Kraken in the worst spot it could possibly be – not bad enough to have top chances for a lottery pick, and not good enough to be truly competitive. In a draft class that has a general consensus of having four top-tier talents in Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenbert, Keaton Verhoeff and Chase Reid.

But that's the reality for the Kraken. The task now is finding how to make sure they're aren't back here again next season.

"It hurts, it stings, and it wasn't good enough, but there was positives," head coach Lane Lambert said. "So, you know, you have to look at it from a big picture situation, but at the end of the day, it's only going to get harder from here. You know, expect training camp to be harder, expect next season to be harder, and we've got to find a way over the hump."

Tod Leiweke – the Kraken's CEO – told reporters last week that the team will have an independent audit to take a look at their hockey operations to figure out where they need to be better. Lambert and several players were asked for their thoughts on why the team wasn't able to get to the finish line when all was said and done. And it provided a ranging set of opinions.

"I'm here for the long haul," defenseman Brandon Montour said. "It's not stopping now. Obviously frustrating, disappointing how I couldn't have done more to help. You know, again, we failed the last two years, but change happens, especially when you lose. And we got to find ways, starting today that get us better and get us to reach our goals. And that's what I came here to do."

Larsson said the onus falls on the veterans in the team to examine their own games and find a way to do better.

"Overall, we took some strides but we ultimately missed the goal here," Larsson said. "As the team moves forward, I think the guys that have been here for a while need to take a hard look in the mirror and the guys that comes back next year has to be ready to go. … We all have to be better individually, collectively."

Meanwhile, forward Jared McCann said he wants to do more to help the younger players to develop so they can better support the guys that have been here longer.

"There's no easy way to put it," forward Jared McCann said. "We put ourselves in a good spot going into the Olympic break. I wish I had a clear answer for you when it came to, like, coming out of it, you know what changed? But yeah, like, the feeling throughout the entire organization is just disappointed."

"I think for me, you know, for the young guys, just trying to help them as much they could this year with growing. I feel like that they're a huge part of this organization moving forward, they're going to be the stepping stones to whatever happens.

"We need guys to buy in and to take this very seriously, especially the summer, right? When you lose, year after year, things change, right? Ron's been here since the beginning, right? He's the guy who signed me to my first extension. And you know, I think you know what the younger guys need to take it more seriously when it comes to, you know, things change if you don't win."

Trade deadline acquisition Bobby McMann is one of four unrestricted free agents for Seattle this offseason, along with Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolvanen and Jamie Oleksiak. McMann had 10 goals and 14 points in 18 games played with the Kraken since joining the team in March and will be the biggest priority to keep for the team.

McMann is a late-blooming player at 29 years old. This contract might be the only sizable contract he'll be able to sign during his NHL career, and he should take as much as he can get. But beyond that, McMann said he was comfortable during his time in Seattle so far and that he could see staying with the Kraken in the future.

"It's an organization that's treated me super well," McMann said. It's a city that I've really enjoyed since coming here and got to know a little bit. So it's something that I could see happening and sticking around. But obviously I've got to do some reflecting and thinking and trying to, I guess, talk with my agents and figure out what the plan is.

"The biggest thing is winning. I want to be in a spot that there's a chance to win, or at least have a competitive approach to every season, to be a team that can be in the mix and in the conversation of being in the playoff picture, but then also a chance to go for it all. And then on top of that, I want opportunity, and I think most players do. You want to be a contributing factor."

Schwartz and Tolvanen both expressed how they've enjoyed their time in Seattle as well, but acknowledged that the future is unknown.

"I love it here in Seattle. Really grateful and thankful that I got the opportunity to come here," Schwartz said. I don't know what's going to happen going forward. I'll take a few weeks, but I've really enjoyed my time here. Met some amazing people, great teammates. You know, it's frustrating that we haven't been able to, you know, I feel like the last three years, you know, elevate. I don't know, points wise, where we were at throughout the three years, but I feel like we're kind of in the same position, and that part's frustrating for everybody the organization.

"When you aren't winning, that's when you know changes happen. Nobody knows what's going to happen going forward. I'm certainly interested in coming back here and helping this group."

Lambert was just hired last offseason and Leiweke praised his performance last week.

"I think Lane has coached his ass off this year, and I think that we owe a lot of people better and we're going to try and provide better things for him," Leiweke said.

Lambert said he hasn't been told directly that he's remaining on, but he's working under that assumption and said it's business as usual for the offseason.

We've got a lot of work to do," he said. "Looking forward to getting to work, and I'm looking forward to September."

MORE KRAKEN NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

Seattle Kraken end season with 2-0 loss to Colorado Avalanche

Reilly Smith scores twice as Golden Knights beat Seattle Kraken 4-1

Seattle Kraken lose final home game of season in 5-3 loss to Kings

Seattle Kraken Fan Appreciation Night

Nikke Kokko stops 26 shots in 1st NHL start as the Seattle Kraken beat the Flames 4-1

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.

Seattle KrakenSportsNHL