The Kraken have managed pretty darn well considering a very unfortunate overlap. That would be the long-term injury to top defenseman Vince Dunn and the upcoming multi-month absence of captain and clutch forward Jordan Eberle.
The club lost Dunn in the 2nd period of a game way back on October 17th at home against the Philadelphia Flyers. He hasn’t played since.
That news is improving. The team’s leading scorer among D-man in all three years of its existence is expected back this week after skating with the team over the weekend.
This season Dunn had three points over the three-and-a-half games that he played.
Just as his absence winds down, the Kraken must deal with the news that captain Eberle will be out for at least three months following successful pelvic surgery on Friday. He’s been out since slamming into the boards against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 14th. He had six goals and 11 points in 16 games played.
That’s it. Much like for most of the last three seasons, other than with the exception of reoccurring maladies for goalie Philipp Grubauer and underperforming, high-priced forward Andre Burakovsky, Seattle has been remarkably healthy since joining the NHL.
This year is likely their biggest challenge.
Oh well, three sentiments are often repeated: no opponent is going to feel sorry for you, and/or every team goes through it, and/or time for the next man to step up.
Seattle fans should be optimistic considering how well the team has handled things up until now.
