An NHL schedule tightly packed with more games over shorter time frames to accommodate the Winter Olympics sees the Kraken run a gauntlet of prior playoff teams both early and late
The Kraken crew puts their heads together to brainstorm a new schedule announcement video for the 2025-26 season!
A deeper, bigger, tougher Kraken team built to withstand the rigors of a condensed schedule will get tested early with eight of 10 opening October games coming against playoff squads from last spring.
The team’s 2025-26 schedule, released on Wednesday, should generate plenty of national interest the first two home games alone, starting with the Thursday night season opener Oct. 9 against the Anaheim Ducks — marking the Kraken debut of head coach Lane Lambert and return of Ducks counterpart Joel Quenneville following a four-year league absence. Two nights later comes the first of eight early Kraken games against playoff teams as the Vegas Golden Knights and marquee free agent signing Mitch Marner come to Climate Pledge Arena for a Saturday night showdown.
The Kraken then hit the road for one of two season long six-city road trips, this one to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington and Winnipeg before finishing the month at home Oct. 25 against the Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton Oilers and then Montreal on Oct. 28 to wrap up their season series with the Canadiens at the earliest point in franchise history.
This season’s schedule is condensed into just more than five months as opposed to six to free up most of February so NHL players can participate in the Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy. As such, the games are tightly packed into smaller time frames that could test player stamina both physically and mentally.
The Kraken have prepared for this grind by improving depth throughout their roster, most notably by trading for rugged Dallas Stars winger Mason Marchment and signing tough defenseman Ryan Lindgren the first day of free agency. They also added veteran Minnesota Wild forward Frederick Gaudreau via trade and signed a third goalie in Matt Murray to join the prior tandem of Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer.
This marks only the second time the Kraken have opened the season at Climate Pledge and the first time doing so there at night following last year’s matinee debut.
The home schedule really picks up in November, with eight games at Climate Pledge including “Original Six” visits by Chicago and the New York Rangers on Nov. 1 and 3, respectively, followed later in the month by Winnipeg, Dallas and Edmonton playoff teams from last season. In fact, the Kraken will have played the Oilers three times and last spring’s playoff Jets, Stars and Canadiens teams twice apiece before the season is two months old and ahead of their first time facing Pacific Division rival Vancouver.
The Kraken don’t face the Canucks until a Dec. 29 home game but then play them four nights later in British Columbia.
Two-time defending Cup champion Florida makes its lone Seattle appearance on March 15 for a late afternoon Sunday start. Sunday home matchups have been moved up to 5 p.m. PT from the prior 6 p.m. PT in response to demand from season ticket members, except for a 1 p.m. PT game on Jan. 25 against the New Jersey Devils.
Saturday home games all begin at 7 p.m. PT, with two exceptions coming Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. PT against Edmonton and April 11 against Calgary at 4 p.m. PT.
January is the team’s busiest month with 17 games on-tap – including a season-high nine at home against squads that include prior playoff teams Minnesota, New Jersey, Washington and Toronto.
March could also be exciting if the Kraken remain in contention, opening with seven of the first eight games at home and opponents including expected playoff contenders Carolina, Ottawa, Colorado, Florida and Tampa Bay. The lone non-home game that stretch is in Vancouver against the Canucks ahead of the team finishing the month with the second six-game road trip – this one to Nashville, Columbus, Florida, Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Edmonton.
Other home matchups of note include “Original Six” visits by the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 6, Boston Bruins on Jan. 6 and Toronto on Jan. 29. Vancouver comes in again on Feb. 28, the only home game played by the Kraken that Olympics-laden month along with four road contests.
The March visit by Tampa Bay also could be interesting as former Kraken alternate captain Yanni Gourde is expected to make his first visit back to Seattle.
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The Kraken are offering five curated six-game ticket packages that take in several of those key home matchups.
A “Home Opener 6-Game Pack” will encompass the season debut against Anaheim and new coach Quenneville, the first game against the Canucks and the lone visits by the Cup champion Panthers and the Maple Leafs.
The “Runners 6-Game Pack, pres. by Brooks” comes with a pair of running shoes and contains exclusively prior playoff teams as opponents, starting with a preseason game against the Oilers on Oct. 1. It also will feature November visits by Winnipeg and Dallas, Los Angeles in December, Minnesota in January and then the Lightning in March.
The “Coors Light 6-Game Pack” comes with an ice-cold Coors Light for each game in it and starts with a Nov. 11 contest against Columbus. That’s followed by Minnesota in December, a New Year’s Day game against Nashville, the New York Islanders later in January and then St. Louis in March and Utah in April.
Finally, there will be two different “Weekend 6-Game Packs” with a “Red Line” version containing four playoff teams and three “Original Six” squads. It starts with the Oct. 25 afternoon visit by Edmonton, a November foray by the New York Rangers, then Detroit in December, New Jersey in January, Ottawa in March and Chicago in April.
A “Blue Line” version of the “Weekend 6-Game Pack” includes the preseason opener with Vancouver on Sept. 21, the October visit by Marner and the Golden Knights, the San Jose Sharks in November, Philadelphia in December, Anaheim in January and Calgary in the second-to-last home game on April 11.
That Calgary game is part of a final stretch run that promises to be another endurance test as the Kraken play nine times the closing 16 days of the schedule. Seven of those games will come over the final 11 days – six of them against prior playoff teams – including three in the last four nights.
As was the case last season, the Kraken conclude the home portion of their schedule against the Los Angeles Kings, that game on April 13.
From there, the Kraken play two final road games back-to-back in Vegas and Colorado on April 15 and 16 to end the regular season.
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