Seattle Kraken forward Brandon Tanev’s face keeps popping up. Pick a social media, there he is, the classic eyeballs, this time while he’s holding fresh fish.
This adventure began on Tanev’s Instagram page and continued on Seattle Kraken twitter.
Proof the boys like to fish.
During the bye-week / NHL All-Star break we were slightly inundated with fish pic’s. One of the fellas out there was goalie Philipp Grubauer, but this time around, instead of hitting the high seas like Tanev, “Grooby’s” hitting the inlet waters of Alaska.
Former Seattle Kraken turned Boston Bruin Morgan Geekie seems to have nailed down a mattress endorsement, touting the qualities of one brand while hanging out with his infant child.
Even his dog approves.
And then there’s Buoy …
I’m not sure who that is or where he is, but the Kraken mascot is rocking out.
And then the mic-drop. The (Oliver) Bjorkstrand baby.
Ex-Kraken Waitin’
Martin Jones, who had such a remarkable season in so many ways for the Kraken in 2022-’23 before cooling off near the end, is still a goaltender looking for a gig. The North Vancouver, British Columbia native was digging his proximity to those roots while playing in Seattle, while also playing a huge role in helping earn the club its first ever playoff berth.
Jones was the key figure in the Kraken’s record seven-game road winning streak early in the new year and he filled in admirably when starter Grubauer was out with injury. The now 33-year-old “Jonesy” was 27-13-3 with a 2.99 goals against average, a .887 save percentage and three shutouts in 42 starts.
Jones and Jaroslav Halak, who played with the New York Rangers last season, are both veteran goalies on the market who could help out while backing-up a younger number-one. Halak is just five wins from 300 for his career. He mentioned two seasons ago while with Vancouver that he’d love to reach that mark and he’d probably be there already had that 2021-’22 Canucks club offered him any “run support”.
Jones, five years younger than Halak, has posted 225 career victories.
Speaking Of The Canucks
Assistant general manager Derek Clancey took the opportunity to get out of the organization and head to Toronto to join the Maple Leafs. His job title didn’t change although a “Player Personnel” tag was added to the end in a move announced on Tuesday.
“We are excited to add Derek to our hockey operations department,” Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving said in a statement. “I feel Derek is one of the premier talent evaluators in our game. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and will play a big role as we continue our goal of building a championship team.”
Clancey worked as a pro scout for Treliving in Calgary in 2021-’22 when the latter was still the general manager of the Flames. That followed 14 years for Clancey in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
Dumb Not To Grab Dumba?
We’re curious to see just how long right-shot defenseman Matt Dumba hangs around on the unrestricted free agent (UFA) list. Could the Seattle Kraken be in on landing him as part of a cheap deal? We’ve brought this up before, and why not.
He’s slowed down offensively, but the 28-year-old should be in his physical and psychological prime. He played 79 games last season and might just flourish with a change of scenery. That change is going to happen one way or another as the decade-long member of the Minnesota Wild hangs in UFA land.
Teams won’t want to overspend on him and most can’t because of the salary cap, but what a tempting addition he could be, a veteran righty D-man who might prolong his career by focusing on the D-zone.
Not sure if he’s good or bad in the dressing room or somewhere in-between, but we can find out.
ICYMI Tuesday:
— Seattle Kraken of the Future: Oscar Fisker-Mølgaard
