Kraken’s Lower Lines Are Pulling Their Weight – The Hockey Writers Seattle Kraken Latest News, Analysis & More

As the Seattle Kraken strive to find any sense of consistency this season, the front office and head coach have tried a little bit of everything. Sometimes out of necessity – like captain Jordan Eberle’s ongoing long-term injury – other times because the results were not up to expectations. Line juggling is a fact of life in the NHL, and head coach Dan Bylsma has performed his fair share of acts this season. Which have worked and what other combinations remain to be unlocked if need be? Let’s discuss.

When Eberle Is Healthy

Even though the 34-year-old was never going to shoulder the responsibility of producing the most offense, Eberle’s output was quite good when he took a nasty fall in mid-November that has sidelined him since. He registered six goals and five assists for 11 points and a healthy plus-3 rating. 

According to Natural Stat Trick, he spent the most even-strength hockey playing on the right with Matty Beniers at center and Jared McCann over to the left. That trio combined for 109:04. Moreover, despite that the Regina native has been missing in action for over a month and a half, that group still ranks fourth among Seattle trios in ice time. That alone suggests Bylsma has done a decent amount of tinkering since the captain’s injury. Had something worked consistently, surely that trio’s ice time would rank lower than it does as of Jan. 4 (pre-Edmonton Oilers game).

McCann, Beniers, and Eberle haven’t put up world-beater statistics. Sticking to even-strength game time, their Corsi percentage was 49.40%, their Fenwick percentage 47.31%, and their expected goals percentage (xGF%) was no better at 42.25%. On the flip side, they out-shot the opposition, with their shot percentage (SF%) standing at 54.90%.

The Arrival of Kaapo Kakko 

On Dec. 18, the Kraken made a trade with the New York Rangers, sending defenseman Will Borgen to the Big Apple and welcoming forward Kaapo Kakko into the group.

Opportunity beckoned to give Beniers linemates with better chemistry. The 2023 Calder Trophy-winning center has played games with Andre Burakovsky and Eeli Tolvanen, Brandon Tanev and Jaden Schwartz, and a host of other temporary combinations. 

Kakko, partaking in his sixth NHL campaign, has now joined Beniers for 52:49, as has Jaden Schwartz. Their even-strength statistics have been encouraging judging by the 59.81% Corsi, 58.54% Fenwick, and 64.81% SF%. To top it off, the combination has netted five times whilst only conceding thrice.

In fact, Beniers is the center Kakko has played the most with, albeit through only seven games. There have been matches during which he, Beniers, and McCann combined for 19:04, although looking at their output, it’s no wonder Bylsma has not gone back to that well.

This creates an interesting dilemma for the head coach once Eberle is healthy again (presumably by mid-February, therefore after the 4 Nations Face-Off). The numbers for the aforementioned Eberle line were not amazing. Those for the Kakko line are superior but with a much smaller sample size.

Should Eberle join forces with Chandler Stephenson and Andre Burakovsky? More on that later. 

Bjorkstrand, Wright, Tolvanen Shine

One combination that few foresaw lasting as long as it has is the trio made of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Shane Wright, and Eeli Tolvanen. 

They are now second on the team, having skated together for 174:55, trailing only the wrecking ball crew of Brandon Tanev, Yanni Gourde, and Tye Kartye (186:43). This is extremely encouraging. Before this season, the jury remained persistently out on 2022 first-round draftee Wright, who former coach Dave Hakstol teased a few times but nothing more. Bjorkstrand was an All-Star nominee for the 2024 edition, and Tolvanen signed a two-year extension in the offseason. 

That this trio’s potential has come to fruition must be a huge sigh of relief given Seattle’s overall struggles. With a Corsi of 53.02%, a Fenwick of 54.47%, an SF% of 53.85%, nine goals for and five against, and a solid xGF% of 59.42%, there is no reason whatsoever to break them up. 

Related: Kraken’s Brandon Montour Records 200th NHL Assist

Because other players are earning way more money than they are, this trio is rarely placed any higher than third in the pecking order. The truth is it’s been playing mighty fine hockey. Just the other night against the Vancouver Canucks (Jan. 2, a 4-3 shootout defeat), they registered 0.37 expected goals for and just 0.16 expected goals against.

In fact, their trio has tied for the most goals with nine. Who is tied with them, you ask? The temporarily disbanded McCann, Beniers, and Eberle line. In third? The other combination we referred to in this section: Tanev, Gourde, and Kartye with eight. Yeah, the grinders. Well, they’re grinding goals.

Which begs a critical query. 

Chandler Stephenson’s Lines

Where is Chandler Stephenson in all this? Isn’t he making $6.25 million per season for seven years? How is it we’ve waved poetic, relatively speaking, about an injured player, another who just arrived in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, and the third and fourth units? 

Because not much as worked with the former Vegas Golden Knight. To be fair, it’s not as though he’s not putting up any numbers at all. He’s fourth on the club in points with 24, and only four points out of first place. He’s an assist machine, having helped create 20 goals for his teammates. McCann and Bjorkstrand come closest with 15 each. We are not here to bash the 30-year-old.

Even so, it’s been difficult to find the right combination for him. He played 116:04 with Schwartz and Bjorkstrand, 98:04 with Burakovsky and Schwartz, and 82:01 with Burakovsky and McCann.

The first trio (with Schwartz and Bjorkstrand) resulted in a Corsi of 51.79%, a Fenwick of 51.96%, and an SF% of 52.25%. They have allowed eight goals and scored seven.

The second line (Burakovsky and Schwartz) has a Corsi of 54.74%, a Fenwick of 51.45%, and an SF% of 49.43%, but hasn’t netted once and has conceded six times.

The presently utilized formation with McCann and Burakovsky is struggling mightily. Their Corsi is 36.31%, their Fenwick 32.59%, and their SF% is 32.86%. Not many goals have gone in their net (two), but they’ve also only scored twice. 

But the problem is that some of the players with whom Stephenson has had success are experiencing even better hockey on other lines. One doesn’t just break up other, more successful combinations because one player in particular can’t pull his weight. Then again, those numbers are really bad.

Eberle Can’t Come Back Soon Enough

It seems that Eberle can’t come back soon enough. His presence would stabilize things on certain lines. 

The solution will have to involve him, Stephenson, McCann, Beniers, Schwartz, and Burakovsky. Three of those (Beniers, McCann, Burakovsky) are under 30, so it’s not as if Bylsma would be relying on a top six all over 30. By the same token, this is what general manager Ron Francis agreed to when he gave Stephenson that contract. It certainly wasn’t to have a fourth-liner that cost $6.25 million per annum. It was to add Stanley Cup pedigree in the top six. 

Like it or not, this is what the Kraken will need to figure out. With Beniers finding his scoring touch recently, one wonders what the McCann, Beniers, and Eberle combination will look like in the season’s second half. What would Stephenson look like alongside Kakko and McCann, or Kakko and Schwartz?  For now, Seattle will need to navigate rocky waters until their talisman returns, just as the mythological Kraken has to on a regular basis.