Stat Hockey’s Seattle Kraken 2023-24 Line Projections

This is a look at the Seattle Kraken 2023-24 line projections. It will cover all forward lines, defense pairings, goaltenders, and scratches.

Projected Lineup

F

Jared McCann – Matthew Beniers – Jordan Eberle

Jaden Schwartz – Alex Wennberg – Andre Burakovsky

Eeli Tolvanen – Yanni Gourde – Oliver Bjorkstrand

Brandon Tanev – Shane Wright – Kailer Yamamoto

S- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Devin Shore

D

Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson

Jamie Oleksiak – Will Borgen

Brian Dumoulin – Justin Schultz

S- Jaycob Megna

G

Philipp Grubauer

Chris Driedger

Forwards

Not much has changed from last season as the Kraken forward group is as deep as ever. The top line performed better than a lot of people thought and there’s no reason to break them up. Beniers is the star of the team but he’s no superstar just yet. McCann continues to get better, so it will be exciting what he can do this season. As for Eberle, he is the stable veteran presence on the line. He’s no slouch either, even at age 33.

The Kraken are hoping Burakovsky can stay healthy for more of the season because he is very underrated. From the second line, he could reach 70 points this season. This will no doubt boost his linemates as well. Wennberg is no goal scorer and may or may not hit 40 points again, but he is a takeaway machine and shows what is needed of him. Schwartz can’t stay healthy for an entire season, but he has always been effective when he is. He’ll be passing the puck more than shooting like Wennberg, so Burakovsky will have a lot of good looks for goals this season.

The third line will be just as dangerous as ever with Gourde, Bjorkstrand, and Tolvanen. Gourde is a strong third line center that can arguably play higher. He can put up points and play physically, a perfect combo for a third line player. Bjorkstrand has a knack for finding the back of the net and can score 20-plus goals from the third line. As for Tolvanen, he was a great pickup right away last season. He’s still young and being given a role on the third line makes the most sense.

The Kraken might have lost Daniel Sprong and Ryan Donato from their fourth line, but gained Yamamoto and Wright. Yamamoto is a lock to make the team, but Wright has been given a pass to play in the AHL this season. If he’s not ready or the fourth line just isn’t giving him the best opportunity, he could find himself in the minors getting lots of playing time and continuing to develop. There are a couple of veterans who could fill in seamlessly.

Defense

The top pairing of the Kraken were excellent last season. Dunn broke out offensively and became the number one the team was looking for. Larsson stepped up offensively, but also perfectly worked alongside Dunn and was great defensively as well. I wouldn’t doubt that these two can be even better this season.

I think it’s time for Borgen to take a step forward. This should see him in a full time top-four role. He is the youngest of the team’s defense, physical, and has a keen focus on the defensive end. Oleksiak, or even Dumoulin at times, should help this second pairing be a shutdown force this season.

Related: Stat Hockey’s San Jose Sharks 2023-24 Line Projections

Dumoulin is the newest addition to the back-end and if he’s not on the second pair, he can help Schultz out a lot in the defensive end. This could be a second or third pairing realistically. One can provide a good deal of offense while the other provides solid defensive play.

Goaltending

The Kraken got a bounce back season from Grubauer and it helped immensely. He will once again be the number one in Seattle, but the backup role is in question. The Kraken have been waiting for Joey Daccord, but Driedger is healthy again. It will definitely be a battle to watch there. Competition is always good and the Kraken will have more than adequate goaltending again.