Seattle Kraken becomes last team without a captain

With the appointment of Clayton Keller as captain of the Utah Hockey Club, the Seattle Kraken are now the only NHL team without a captain. The Kraken are about to enter their fourth season in the league and have only had one captain in that time.

When the Kraken opened as a franchise in the NHL, they named veteran defenseman Mark Giordano as their first captain. Not even a full season later, they traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Kraken have been without a captain since the 2022 trade deadline. They had a few names that could take on the role of leader in the locker room, but no one stood out as true captaincy material.

They don't need to fill the captain's role for the 2024-25 season, but the Kraken have a few names that could fit into franchise history as a second captain. Names like Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann immediately come to mind.

They have been with the franchise since its inception and are one of the most recognizable names in hockey in the Pacific Northwest. The same goes for defensemen like Vince Dunn or Jamie Oleksiak.

However, to be captain in Seattle, it would be wise to focus on someone who is committed to being around for a while. That makes Matty Beniers a top candidate.

Beniers just signed an eight-year contract with the Kraken and was their first draft pick in 2022. He played 10 games in their inaugural season and then followed that up with a 2022-23 season in which he won the Calder Trophy as a rookie of that year.

Age may make Beniers a premature captain in the NHL considering he is only 21 years old, but he has a bright future, is expected to be a leader and can lead the Kraken to glory.

In addition to Beniers, other top candidates would be Dunn and McCann. Their contracts still run for three years and will likely be approached for an extension in due course.

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