Kraken's Progress Isn't Linear, So It May Be Time For GM Ron Francis To Focus On Future

The Seattle Kraken went into the NHL''s holiday break on a five-game losing skid that has sunk their record to 15-19-2 -- putting them in sixth place in the Pacific Division. And it's not as if the Kraken are a threat to climb up the Pacific; right now, they're seven standings points behind the fifth-place Calgary Flames -- and the Flames have two games in hand on Seattle. Meanwhile, the fourth-place Vancouver Canucks are nine points ahead of the Kraken, and the Canucks also have two games in hand on Seattle.

You can see, then, why the Stanley Cup playoffs seem more and more like a bridge too far for the Kraken. It's true that there's still more than half of the regular season to be played, but Seattle's inconsistency -- they've had one three-game win streak, one four-game win streak, and one two-game win streak, but otherwise, they've been unable to put together another two-game win streak all season -- gives you reason to believe that they won't be able to put together enough wins to get into the playoffs.

For that reason, should Kraken GM Ron Francis move full-steam ahead on forgetting about making the playoffs and instead focusing on the long-term? Did that process already begin with the acquisition of right winger Kaapo Kakko? We're inclined to say "yes" to both those questions.

As we've seen over the years with many NHL teams, progress is not linear. One year, a team can look like a world-beater, and the next year, the same team would look utterly lost. And that seems to be what's happening to the Kraken. The fact they made the playoffs in 2022-23 -- their second season of operation -- and the fact that they actually won a playoff round may have heightened expectations among Seattle's fan base. but their struggles since then point to a franchise still trying to find its identity. And that's what we've been seeing from the Kraken this season.

Ultimately, Francis' mission has to be centered around the macro picture and the long-term. There's surely a temptation for him to be a buyer at the NHL's March 7 trade deadline, but unless Francis is buying more young players to be part of the long-term picture, he needs to be a seller.

There aren't many pure rental players on Seattle's roster to trade by the deadline. Center Yanni Gourde, left winger Brandon Tanev and right winger Daniel Sprong are all going to be UFAs next summer, so Kraken fans should expect them to be traded. But other than that, Francis may choose to stand pat with the rest of his lineup. He isn't going to tear it all down, and if Seattle winds up with a top-10 draft pick, that will speed up the Kraken's evolution into a year-in, year-out playoff team.

Related: Kraken GM Francis Likes Look Of His "Cupboard"

It's certainly tough for Seattle fans to come to terms with where the Kraken are in the big picture right now. But you don't want to fool yourself into thinking your team is a legitimate Stanley Cup front-runner, and you choose to move into the mushy middle of the NHL -- far from the worst team in the league, and far from the best. That won't result in great things for Seattle, and that's why Francis has to be honest about where his team currently is.

If the Kraken move out of the holiday break by losing, say, four or five more games, the playoffs almost assuredly will be out of the question. And at that point, Seattle needs to start focusing on next season and beyond. This season appears to be a lost one for the Kraken, and Francis ought to be most concerned not with the present, but with the futur.