Last season: 34-35-13, missed playoffs.
COACH: Dan Bylsma (320-190-55 in 8 seasons with Pittsburgh and Buffalo, 1 Stanley Cup title), hired May 28.
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 8 vs. St. Louis.
DEPARTURES: F Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, G Chris Driedger, D Brian Dumoulin, D Justin Schultz, F Kailer Yamamoto, F Tomáš Tatar, coach Dave Hakstol.
ADDITIONS: Bylsma, F Chandler Stephenson, D Brandon Montour, D Josh Mahura.
GOALIES: Joey Daccord (19-18-11, 2.46 GAA, 0.916 save percentage) and Philipp Grubauer (14-16-2, 2.85 GAA, 0.899).
BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 66-1.
The organization underwent its first significant shake up following a disappointing third season with the firing of coach Dave Hakstol and the decision to hire former Stanley Cup champion coach Dan Bylsma. His task will be to bring some punch to an offense that regressed badly last season. His coaching staff includes Jessica Campbell, the first woman to work as an assistant coach on an NHL bench. The Kraken signed center Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Brandon Montour to big contracts in the hope of adding some offense to a team that last year was strong defensively and received terrific goaltending from the combo of Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer. Seattle will need Jared McCann to continue his evolution into a top scorer, could use a rebound season from Matty Beniers and should see the full-time arrival of top prospect Shane Wright. The Western Conference is loaded but Seattle could content for a playoff spot if others in the Pacific Division regress.
The good: Montour and Stephenson are the kinds of upgrades Seattle needed, even if their seven-year contracts worth nearly $94 million become anchors later on. Montour gives the Kraken a second points scorer on the blue line along with Vince Dunn without sacrificing one of their strengths last season limiting high-danger scoring chances. Stephenson’s arrival also means McCann can play on the wing instead of center and keeps Beniers from having to match up against other top center lines.
The not-so-good: There is regression to the norm and then there is plummeting. Seattle’s shooting percentage in its playoff season was 11.6%, second in the league. Last season, the Kraken shot 9.1%. The offense must improve. Hakstol’s system was stagnant and Seattle was too inconsistent on the power play. The new additions should help but Seattle must get better seasons from Beniers, Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde and something from the fourth line for the offense to improve.
Given a chance to be a regular starter, Daccord become a fan favorite letting his personality show during a terrific season. Seattle needs more of that – the good goaltending and a little bit of excitement on the ice. Montour should be an immediate boost on the blue line and former first-round pick Wright has a chance to become a regular in the lineup after a strong season playing for Bylsma at Coachella Valley in the AHL.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, left, and Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright, right, battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goald during the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Seattle Kraken's Jared McCann (19) and Edmonton Oilers' Ben Gleason (6) battle for the puck during first-period preseason NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Seattle Kraken's Matty Beniers, right, tries to tip the puck past Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard (30) during first-period preseason NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An apparent Russian artillery strike hit a market in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and wounding three others, authorities said, on a morning when Ukrainians across the country were observing a minute’s silence for their military and war dead.
The strike happened as shoppers made their way between stalls at the city center market, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
He published a video showing the blurred corpses of people in civilian clothes lying near a stall with tomatoes and other vegetables.
Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office said the strike was “most likely” carried out by Russian artillery and hit close to a public transport stop.
The city has not recently been a hotspot in the war, now deep into its third year, as the fiercest battles have been taking place in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Russia’s army is pushing hard to take ground ahead of the winter.
Ukrainian forces have struck back with an incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, but the government is waiting to hear what further Western military and financial support it can count on.
The Kherson region was one of four, also including Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, that Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022 and is partly occupying. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw completely from those regions. Ukraine refuses.
Kherson fell into Russian hands after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. A Ukrainian counteroffensive recaptured western areas of the Kherson region, including the regional capital of the same name, nine months later.
The market attack came on the same morning as Ukraine celebrated Defenders’ Day, an annual public holiday that honors the country’s armed forces, veterans and war dead.
Across Ukraine, traffic stopped and people on sidewalks came to a halt at 9 a.m. to commemorate those defending Ukraine and those who have sacrificed their lives for the country.
The holiday was established in 2014 and first celebrated in 2015, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and occupation of parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
Though no official or reliable statistics are available, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are believed to have died fighting Russia over the past 10 years.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the occasion to appeal for further support from his country’s Western partners, following his visit last week to the United States.
“The daily Russian terror, the daily attempts to destroy life — all this can be stopped,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram following the strike on Kherson, adding that “Ukrainian strength and the determination of our partners must be greater than Putin’s desire to spread terror.”
In an address to the military, Zelenskyy thanked troops for their sacrifices.
“You dedicate yourselves so that Ukraine is not surrendered. Both those who were born warriors and those who became warriors. You changed your own lives so that our freedom remains unchanged,” Zelenskyy said.
“We see your courage. We see it every day and every night. On weekdays and weekends. In heat and frost. Always. Every minute. A minute whose value you know better than anyone else. A minute that can change absolutely everything,” he said.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, the Buk-3M self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile system prepares to fire at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Drivers stop their cars and passerby bow their heads to keep a nationwide minute of silence in memory of fallen soldiers, who defended their homeland in war with Russia, on Defenders Day in Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People hold photos of their relatives soldiers to keep a nationwide minute of silence in memory of fallen soldiers, who defended their homeland in war with Russia, on Defenders Day at the improvised war memorial in Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People hold photos of their relatives soldiers to keep a nationwide minute of silence in memory of fallen soldiers, who defended their homeland in war with Russia, on Defenders Day at the improvised war memorial in Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People react during a nationwide minute of silence in memory of fallen soldiers, who defended their homeland in war with Russia, on Defenders Day at the improvised war memorial in Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People react during a nationwide minute of silence in memory of fallen soldiers, who defended their homeland in war with Russia, on Defenders Day at the improvised war memorial in Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
