Kraken Enter Holiday Break Needing To Improve In One Specific Area

The Seattle Kraken hit the NHL's holiday break on a sour note, losing five straight games including a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalache Sunday in Denver. And one thing was perfectly clear: this Kraken team needs an infusion of offense.

Indeed, in Seattle's current losing skid, the Kraken have generated six goals. That's it. And in three games in the current losing streak, Seattle has produced one goal or fewer. It doesn't matter who you put the blame on -- the reality is the Kraken as a group are not amassing nearly enough offense to regularly win games.

Does that mean Kraken GM Ron Francis needs to trade for help on offense? Yes, that's what we're getting at. Newcomer Kaapo Kakko might be able to help, but he's still a youngster whose offensive potential might only make him a 20-goal-scorer at best. Seattle needs more than that.

The Kraken are essentially capped out on the salary cap front, so Francis wll have to be creative in trades. But by the NHL's March 7 trade deadline, if Seattle is still on the fringes of the playoff race, Francis will have a stark choice to make: become a buyer, and add to the lineup, or become a seller, and focus on the long term. The status quo shouldn't be an option for Francis, as the Kraken's future and present needs to be better than what we've seen of late.

Certainly, the Kraken have important pieces already in place. But as the franchise evolves, there are clear areas that need to be addressed. And given that Seattle is currently 23rd-overall at 2.78 goals-for per-game, it's obvious what needs to be focused on.

Seattle has played well in stretches this season, but this latest losing skid makes it clear what has to happen for the Kraken the rest of the way this season and in the near-future. It won't be easy to bring in difference-makers on offense, but the alternative -- doing nothing, or focusing on areas other than offense -- is not the right way to go.

The Kraken need goals-for, and until they get it, their losing streak is likely to continue.