Seattle SPORTs Now

    For Dave Hakstol, the only Seattle Kraken head coach in the team’s three seasons, the proverbial other shoe dropped yesterday afternoon. General manager Ron Francis, who by all accounts had a close relationship with Hakstol going back to their time together working with the Canadien Olympic team, announced that Hakstol’s contract had been terminated after three seasons. Assistant coach Paul McFarland, who coached the power play unit, a disappointing aspect of the Kraken season, has also been relieved of his duties. Assistant coaches Jay Leach and Dave Lowry along with goalie coach Steve Briere have been retained. “When we hired him, I thought he was a good coach and I still think he’s a good coach,” said Francis at yesterday afternoon’s press conference. “ THIS JUST IN- Emily Kaplan announced on ESPN’S hockey playoff coverage last night that Francis didn’t want to let Hakstol go, but several significant players came to Francis and said they didn’t want to return ne...

  The Seattle Kraken’s regular-season home finale with the San Jose Sharks was a microcosm of a lot of the Kraken problems this year. The home team compiled 50 shots on net but could only sneak one past a relatively unknown goalkeeper in the Sharks’ Devin Cooley. However, it was still a festive night at Climate Pledge Arena- Fan Appreciation Night- and if you didn’t win something it was your own fault. But it was also an interesting night for hard-core fans as the Kraken presented their 2023-24 awards. Here’s a look at the recipients and the folks who the awards are named after. Three Star Award: Joey Daccord given to the player who accumulates the most points in the three-star competition. One point is awarded to the number-three star, two to the second star, and three to the first star. Previous Winners- 2021-22 Philipp Grubauer 2022-23 Jared McCann Pete Muldoon, Most Valuable Player Award Jared McCann . Given to the player adjudged to be the most valuable player on the ice...

  The Seattle Kraken won’t make the National Hockey League playoffs this season but will have the opportunity to finish their home season on a high note. The Kraken play their final home tilt tomorrow night at Climate Pledge Arena when they host the lowly San Jose Sharks. Seattle has had some trouble with the Sharks on the road but usually seem to score a plethora of goals against SJ on home ice. Seattle (33-31-15) blanked the Arizona Coyotes (33-40-5) last night, 5-0, in its penultimate home game. Five different Kraken players lit the lamp- all five having fewer than ten goals this season- but Philipp Grubauer was the undisputed number-one star with 39 stops in the Kraken net. With a look towards next season, the Kraken had four rookies in the lineup – forwards Shane Wright, Ryan Winterton and Logan Morrison and defenseman Ryker Evans. Wright, who’s lately shown flashes as to why he was a valuable property coming out of junior hockey- scored his fourth goal of the campaign...

  The beginning of April has always meant one thing to me – baseball season. Along with the sport itself, a sign of warm weather on the way – the appearance of baseball cards. I bought my first package of baseball cards in 1964. A lot has changed since then. Five cards came in a wrapper, plus a slab of bubble gum, for the grand total of five cents. I remember purchasing baseball cards along with cards that commemorated TV shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E . and Gilligan’s Island . There was also a James Bond set although in retrospect the Bond movies weren’t exactly geared towards seven-year-olds like myself. I seriously started collecting baseball cards in 1967, already moving away from other card sets and comic books. That summer coincided with my actually starting to watch baseball on television. The Boston Red Sox, the team showed on local TV (I lived about 50 miles south of Boston) captivated the area by winning the pennant after a decade of sub-.500 teams. In those da...