Analysis: Kraken’s fan base disappointed in missing playoffs. Here’s why that’s a good thing

Though it’s tough to tell amid a season in which the Seattle Kraken’s playoff hopes vanished weeks ago, there has been progress by the franchise on certain fronts.

So, with Thursday being the team’s final home game of 2023-24, I thought I’d mention some bigger-picture things that stand out.

I’m not talking about Shane Wright scoring four goals in four games against subprime opponents. It’s great to see Wright playing confidently, but we’ll know better next season just where he’s at and how quickly he’ll help this team get back to the playoffs that eluded them this time.

No, by progress I mean the Kraken as a local sports product now compared to two years ago when they also endured a difficult season. I’m thinking specifically about last month’s Climate Pledge Arena ceremony honoring Jordan Eberle’s 1,000th game compared to when the same was done for then-captain Mark Giordano back in March 2022.

The situations were markedly different. Two years ago, the fans barely knew who Giordano was, and the whole thing seemed contrived and awkward.

It didn’t help that anyone in the building paying attention beyond just being there to see the remade arena knew Giordano was being held out of the lineup so he could be traded. It was like, “Hey, who are you again? Good to meet you. Congrats on the 1,000. Have a nice life.”

Seriously, that was one of the strangest captaincies in the history of pro sports.

Now, contrast that with Eberle, who had the benefit of being part of last spring’s impressive Kraken run deep into the second round of the playoffs. That seemed to wake casual fans up to this city even having an NHL team, and Eberle wound up scoring a signature franchise goal to defeat Colorado in overtime and swing that opening-round series.

Fast forward to now and, despite playing themselves out of the hunt, people at least know who the Kraken are. They certainly know who Eberle is and gave him a rousing ovation for his 1,000th game shortly after he’d signed a two-year contract extension — the first the Kraken have given a pending unrestricted free agent in season.

So, the cheers for Eberle were genuine and coming from a background of knowledge about what he’s meant. With Giordano, the 1,000-game celebration seemed borrowed given he’d played only 51 with the Kraken before reaching that milestone.

In Eberle’s case, after picking up an assist on Wright’s goal in Tuesday’s win over Arizona, he’s appeared in 234 regular-season Kraken games and another 14 playoff contests.

Nothing borrowed about that. Eberle may have started in Edmonton and been to the conference final with the New York Islanders, but he belongs to Seattle now. And that’s progress for the franchise.

It’s also progress to see fans upset with how the team finished March before this mini streak against San Jose, Anaheim and now, Arizona. Winning four of six has removed some stench from what was happening prior, but fans had every right to be ticked off before a softer schedule turned in the Kraken’s favor.

That’s what expectations do.

Two years ago, expectations were limited. Many fans were happy with just having an NHL team. Some were intrigued by a new sport. Plus, built-in COVID-19 excuses ensured the Kraken mostly got a free pass.

But that changed last season. Folks saw what the team was capable of. And whether you believe the 100-point campaign and two-round playoff run was overperformance, it certainly raised expectations beyond this season’s relative underperformance.

So, that’s good as well. The bad news would be if nobody got upset by the team’s play. That would make it a novelty act.

This isn’t 1974 or 1992 anymore. The days of expansion franchises wandering a decade-plus in the wilderness are long over. The NHL is built for quicker success, knowing new franchises must shed the novelty tag and gain true fans that care and get angry when things go south. That’s why the Kraken were competitive by Year 2. And why fans are rightly upset by Year 3.

Believe it or not, that’s progress. The Kraken have fans who care. They just need to take better care of them. And need more like them.

Some quick fixes will include a better television deal. Hopefully one that breaks from ROOT Sports and shows more games over-the-air on free stations.

Another will be to win more games.

Yes, the Kraken must fix their offense. Wright may be one solution, but general manager Ron Francis should go beyond and bring in reinforcements. He can do this with free agents. OK, you want me to pick one? Sigh. Sure, let’s go with Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers. That’s one. If you don’t like him or he’s not available, pick another. And if no free agents are good enough, Francis will need to swing a trade. Teams identify potential acquisitions years in advance, so just because the average fan with access to CapFriendly.com can’t see solutions doesn’t mean they aren’t there for a capable NHL front office.

But sticking with the same crew and hoping for better simply by adding Wright and getting rebounds from Matty Beniers and Andre Burakovsky leaves too much to chance.

The team must investigate why players spent too many nights not playing a proverbial 60-minute game. I mean, you can go back and read countless game stories in which players admitted to it.

They must identify which players couldn’t execute coach Dave Hakstol’s system consistently. Or, whether the system itself was the problem. The “energy level” would mysteriously go MIA last season as well, though not as frequently.

Also, offensive contributors Beniers, Burakovsky, Jared McCann and Vince Dunn have missed too many games from cheap shots taken. Can the Kraken fix this internally through a collective attitude change demanding tougher responses to such hits? Or must they import players that better deter opponents?

The Kraken need to figure it all out. They can’t risk next season going like this.

The good news? The Kraken’s situation is far from hopeless. They were a goal away from eliminating Dallas last spring, and the Stars look like they might win the Stanley Cup this year.

More good news? The Kraken have fans who remember those good times and care enough to be hungry for more.

Now, the Kraken must do their part to hold on to those fans, bring in some new ones and make Climate Pledge a must-attend destination again.