Seattle Kraken pledge commitment to take team to next level after another disappointing season

SEATTLE - The Seattle Kraken will be changing this offseason, but whether it's enough to return to the playoffs or to satiate frustrated fans remains to be seen.

General manager Jason Botterill and team CEO Tod Leiweke spoke with reporters on Wednesday about a third-straight season out of the playoffs and their plans for making the organization more competitive on the ice.

"While I think the future of the Seattle Kraken is very bright, bottom line is we're not where we want to be after five years," Botterill said.

For fans wanting big changes and for the team to commit to a rebuild, they wouldn't have liked what they heard on Wednesday. Leiweke reiterated that they feel they have many pieces in place to become the team they want to be. Now, it's about adding to that group.

"We were feeling really good about the team and that was a really hard period of time," Leiweke said of the end of the season. "None of us were happy, and I've said that before. But we're going to put this adversity to good use, and we are going to examine exactly where we are in this journey. And the goal is not just to make the playoffs. The goal is to build a long-term winning team. And as Jason said, I think the pieces are in place, and I think our ownership feels that. We've got to add to those pieces. We've got critical pieces in place. We've got to add and push this to another level.

"We are going to examine and turn over every rock, no stone unturned, to get this team kicked to another gear."

Botterill talked about the team being in the playoff hunt until very late in the year, which was absolutely true on the surface. However, that was only due to the utter ineptitude of the Pacific Division this season. 

Over the last three seasons, the Kraken finished with 81 (2024), 76 (2025), and 79 points (2026). The 90 points needed for the Los Angeles Kings were the fewest needed by a playoff team to earn a postseason spot in a full season since the 2018-19 Colorado Avalanche, who also had 90 points. In most seasons, the total is well into the 90s.

In reality, the Kraken weren't that close to being truly competitive. While they could seemingly beat any top team on a given night, they also lost many games to teams that – like them – aren't still playing hockey.

And without developing a true star player or landing one from elsewhere across the league, it's hard to see a path to the type of success the Kraken are preaching about. Maybe Matty Beniers takes a big step forward and becomes a real standout top-line center. Perhaps Berkly Catton and Jake O'Brien develop and provide scoring prowess as seen from young stars around the league like Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, Matthew Schaefer, or Beckett Senecke. 

In two weeks' time, maybe the Kraken will win the NHL Draft lottery and have Gavin McKenna fall into their lap.

"We’re excited about some of the younger players coming in, but we obviously understand that young players can’t step into top-line roles right off the bat," Botterill said. "If we can, find a mix, (add) a player or two that have more of a track record of producing in the National Hockey League.

With the salary cap rising significantly compared to the flat-cap years necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, teams across the NHL have had far more flexibility to keep their top stars under contract. That's led to fewer impact players reaching free agency altogether. So finding those pieces that can adequately support the developing young players could be a challenge.

"There’s not a plethora of players out there, certainly high-end players, because teams have just had the cap space to certainly re-sign their own guys," Botterill said. "So I think it just goes to show you the importance of drafting and development.

"We'll look at the free agent market, but that can't be our only avenue. We'll evaluate trades and we'll find creative ways of continuing to develop in our young players."

It would also help if they don't let Bobby McMann get away.

McMann had 10 goals and 14 points in 18 games played with the Kraken after joining the team at the NHL trade deadline in March. He's set to be an unrestricted free agent, along with Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolvanen and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.

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 on the market. But Botterill said that McMann has stayed in town to explore the city further since the season ended and has gone on a group golfing trip with some of his Kraken teammates.

"He's very serious about his craft, about continuing to improve his game," Botterill said. "I think he certainly enjoyed working with our coaching staff and our development staff on just his own game from that standpoint. For someone who just came in recently, sticking around with their team for a little bit, sticking around the area to get to know a little bit more. We clearly understand Bobby's going to have options as we move forward here. We've been in touch with his agents. We'll certainly keep those dialogs going to see if we can get a fit."

With Ron Francis departing the organization after being relieved of his job as president of hockey operations, everything is now firmly on Botterill's plate. Botterill confirmed that he had the final say on roster decisions throughout the last year despite Francis' continued presence. While he consulted Francis on various decisions, it was Botterill who made the calls.

Leiweke said that Botterill isn't threatened by the upcoming audit of hockey operations, which will report directly to owner Samantha Holloway. While a hire to run the audit has not yet been made, Holloway has been meeting with players and coaches already to get a sense from them as to where they need to improve.

"It's interesting the feedback that comes from coaches and players," Leiweke said. "There is a consistency of saying, you know, we want this to be a winner. We think the pieces are here. We've got to push harder and hold everyone more accountable. And that's really what that's all about."

To some fans, sticking with Botterill as general manager – a figure who has been with the team since their inaugural season – and mostly the same hockey operations department, only without Francis at the top, isn't enough of a change to make the proper strides forward. The decisions the team has made that have gotten them to this point were made mostly by the same group that continues to head hockey operations.

Perhaps the audit does lead to some changes in hockey operations that does adequately address the team's shortcomings. With respect to 2022 fourth-round pick Tucker Robertson, the Kraken haven't traded any meaningful drafted prospect as part of a move to add an NHL-level player to their roster. That's an area that could change moving forward as well now that the team has a sizable system of prospects to deal from.

Botterill did stress that they need to change the mix of their forward group this offseason, which could imply that Schwartz and Tolvanen won't be back next season.

"We know exactly how Lane wants to play, play with a lot of assertiveness, aggression, speed. If we could continue to find players that are willing to go the net and just create more chances there. I think that those are the big things that we'll be focused on," Botterill said.

Perhaps the ping-pong balls fall favorably for an elite talent to head their way in June. Maybe Botterill is able to swing a deal for a top-line standout like Jason Robertson, Nico Hischier, Matthew Knies or Robert Thomas this offseason. If any of that happens to come to pass, the outlook for the Kraken could change rather quickly.

But fans aren't out of line to ask the team to prove it's not just more of the same moving forward.

MORE KRAKEN NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE

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