Kraken hope to build after disappointing inaugural campaign

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For all the excitement and anticipation leading up to the first puck drop, the inaugural season for the Seattle Kraken ended up looking like nearly every other NHL expansion season from the past 30 years.

The comparisons with the last expansion team, the Golden Knights, were inevitable and the high bar set by Vegas by winning the Western Conference in its first season almost ensured Seattle's first outing was going be disappointing at some level.

Perhaps not this disappointing.

There were injuries and illness — a concern about COVID-19 cases nearly derailed the first game in Vegas. Goalkeeping was poor early, the defense was leaky at times and scoring was up and down. The Kraken were regularly competitive and only rarely overmatched. But it took the better part of three months for Seattle to successfully execute coach Dave Hakstol's system on a consistent basis.

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Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer tosses a stuffed salmon to fans after the team's NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Friday, April 29, 2022, in Seattle. The Kraken won 3-0. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

"Sometimes we look at two periods and we play unbelievable, we control the game. And then we have a lapse and everything kind of crumbles a little bit," goalie Philipp Grubauer said. "So we need to find the structure and the belief in each other and make sure we’re consistent enough next year."

Seattle finished the season 27-49-6, including a miserable nine-game losing streak in December and January and a stretch of 11 losses in 12 games in February and March. Making the playoffs was an afterthought even before the