Disappointing Kraken head into offseason

Tye Kartye, Brandon Montour, Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen also scored for Seattle. Goaltender Joey Daccord allowed six goals on just 24 shots thanks to some lackadaisical defense from teammates whose minds were already on summer break.

The Kraken finished 35-41-6 for 76 points, five less than last season and 20 behind the St. Louis Blues, who clinched the second wild-card spot.

Seattle is in a three-way tie for the fourth-worst point total in the league, which could turn into a two-way tie if the Philadelphia Flyers earn a point in their final game Thursday.

Ville Ottavainen, whom the Kraken selected in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, was recalled from the Coachella Valley Firebirds and made his NHL debut Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Oulu, Finland native took the customary solo lap before the rest of the team hit the ice for warmups. He picked up an assist on Schwartz’s goal and played 14:24 with three hits in place of usual sixth defenseman Josh Mahura.

“It’s obviously brighter lights and all that, but it’s still hockey,” Ottavainen said in his first NHL media scrum. The 6-foot-5 blueliner opted to sit down to make it easier on the camera operators.

“There’s guys that you look up to and see as big role models, but it’s hockey. It was nice that I felt like I could compete out there.”

Ottavainen and John Hayden are the two players in Tuesday’s Kraken lineup who will have a chance to experience a postseason run this spring. They’re due to return to the Kraken’s top affiliate, where both spent most of the season.

Ottavainen chipped in three assists during 18 Firebirds postseason games last year, while Hayden has been a part of both deep playoff runs for the third-year American Hockey League franchise. The 30-year-old has 10 goals and five assists in 28 Calder Cup playoff games.

The schedule for Coachella Valley’s best-of-three first round series hasn’t been released.

As far as the NHL playoffs, L.A. had already clinched home ice and had nothing riding on Tuesday’s game, but didn’t play like it.

For the fourth straight season, the Kings will face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chandler Stephenson was awarded the Kraken’s second penalty shot of the season 3:19 into the game. Stephenson tore up the middle toward Kings goaltender David Rittich (28 saves) with a stick in his midsection courtesy of L.A. defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. He, like teammate Tolvanen on March 4, failed to convert the do-over.

Seattle dominated possession in the first 10 minutes and outshot the Kings 11-5 in the first period, but Samuel Helenius and Alex Turcotte scored 1:09 apart to send the Kraken into the intermission down 2-0. Turcotte’s was a power-play goal.

Montour, Beniers and Tolvanen all scored on the power play as well. Most of the league has a game or two left to play, but as of Tuesday afternoon the Kraken’s man advantage sat 26th (17.9%) of 32 teams, down from 17th last season. The penalty kill is 21st at 77.4% and moved down one spot from the prior year.

Fourth-line forward Mikey Eyssimont is a pending unrestricted free agent this summer and tried to go out with a literal flourish. He attempted a lacrosse move, nicknamed the “Michigan,” during the second period but hit the post.

“It looked like he came pretty close, actually. He’s a pretty skilled guy,” linemate Kartye said. “It didn’t hurt if that one ended up in.”

Kartye did make his mark, finishing an uneven sophomore season on a high note. He was a healthy scratch more in 2024-25 than he was the previous campaign. He appeared in 63 games and was seeing the ice so infrequently in February that he went down to Coachella Valley for a conditioning stint.

Kartye was killing a second-period penalty when he came up the side and let a wrist shot fly. His sixth goal and 13th point of the season made it 2-1.

Montour tied the game at 2. The Kings scored four unanswered goals before the third period was three minutes old. Schwartz went down to one knee to get one back, and Beniers returned from a frightening knee-on-knee collision in time to score his own.

Shane Wright had a shot at his own 20-goal season but had to settle for 19 goals and the primary assist on Tolvanen’s with Daccord pulled and 30 seconds left in the game.

The prospect of free Fan Appreciation Night gift cards and sneakers wasn’t enough to keep many of the fans from filing out of Climate Pledge Arena as the Kings ran up the score. Those fans missed the team awards, which came after the final buzzer.

Schwartz was already the Kraken nominee for the league’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is a leadership and humanitarian award, and the Masterton Trophy, which celebrates perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the sport.

He added the Kraken’s Guyle Fielder Award, given to the player who best exemplifies Fielder’s “perseverance, hustle and dedication.”

The Pete Muldoon Award winner, or the team’s most valuable player, was Daccord. He also won the three stars of the year award.

In his first year as a member of the Kraken, defenseman Montour won the fan favorite award.

Ticket prices and a third jersey

At a season ticket-holder event Tuesday, Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke announced yearly ticket prices would drop and teased a third jersey design that is set to be ready in time for the 2025-26 season.

Most every other NHL team has a sweater other than those for home and away games, be it a callback to years past or a new design worn at an outdoor game. Leiweke said the Kraken’s new look has been in development for several years.

The Kraken didn’t release photos or a mock-up of the new jersey.

“It is going to be unique,” Leiweke said. “It is going to make the fans actually feel part of the show.”

Francis sticking around

Leiweke also confirmed that general manager Ron Francis would be retained with a busy offseason ahead.

The Kraken are 141-152-33 under Francis, their original GM, and have made the postseason once in four years of play.

Francis was hired in 2019. In 2023, after the lone playoff run, he agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season.

Rumors spread that Francis would be let go midseason after Leiweke joined the struggling team on a road trip in January. Francis dispelled those rumors.

“When we look back and look what he’s done in Coachella Valley, the prospects that we have now in our system, our current roster, and what we’re faced with this summer — we have cap space, we have picks, our future’s bright,” Leiweke said.