Every organization in the NHL has their share of great decisions as well as massive blunders. Here at the Hockey Hot Stove, we’re excited to dig into both the fantastic and the terrible in Tap of the Stick, Whack of the Pads.
First on the list is the Seattle Kraken. Who have made adjustments this summer such as replacing their general manager, coach, and making a splash among their depth contributors as they attempt to maneuver their way back into contention after missing the playoffs in both of the last two years.
Tap of the stick: Trading for Mason Marchment
Adding the son of Bryan Marchment to your workforce is rarely the wrong move.
Whether you’re managing an NHL team, a rough & tumble 80’s bar, or even a grocery store on the tougher side of town.
Freshy promoted Seattle Kraken GM Jason Botterill seemingly hit one out of the park in acquiring the six-foot-five winger on June 19. Marchment has recorded 47 points or higher in three of his last four seasons. He totes a +60 even strength goal differential over that span. His Dallas Stars have reached the Western Conference Final in each of the past three postseasons. Not bad for the low cost of a third round pick in 2026 and a fourth round pick in 2025.
He’s in his prime at the age of 30, he can produce more if he gets a bump up from his 15:20 average time on ice last year, and, hey, maybe he’ll even play 82 games. Something he hasn’t yet accomplished over five NHL seasons.
The intangibles he brings are just icing on the cake. After all, you don’t get rides to and fro minor hockey from Bryan Marchment without learning a thing or two.
Did we mention that Mason is entering a contract season, has a modest $4,500,000 cap hit, and has a pool of 21 teams (10-team No Trade Clause) that can bid on him as a rental if things go sour?
Whack of the pads: Burying Ryker Evans
Botterill dipped his Botter-bill into the free agent pool on July 1st when he signed stay-at-home blue line target Ryan Lindgren to a four-year, $18,000,000 contract.
Great right?
In a way, yes, but in another way, Jason Botterill betrayed the Chosen One on Seattle’s defence core. That being 23-year-old Ryker Evans.
Playing his first full season of NHL hockey last year, the six-foot smooth-skating defenceman proved himself while being given a dog’s breakfast of consistency when it comes to who he played with.
5v5 Minutes – Pairing with Ryker Evans
Evans-Montour: 480:54
Evans-Larsson: 317:42
Evans-Mahura: 236:30
Evans-Borgen: 180:24
You may have noticed two things here.
One, that’s a ton of minutes. Averaging 19:29 with no real home for a defence partner is impressive for the player, but kind of messed up for former Head Coach Dan Bylsma, who had coached Ryker for all three years of his professional hockey career. The first two seasons at the AHL level with the Coachella Firebirds and this year they both moved up to the NHL. In Evans’ case, it was a move to full-time after playing 36 games with the Kraken in 2023-24 to go with part-time AHL duty.
Two, Evans generally stuck to the left side, or played with right-side defenders.
Despite the lineup chaos, the former Regina Pat finished the season with five goals and 20 assists for 25 points to go along with a -12 even strength goal differential.
There is an argument to be made that Ryker was possibly mismanaged in terms of consistency, but it’s undeniable that Bylsma believed in him. Ranking fourth in average ice time without a permanent spot on the top four is as impressive as it is uncanny.
So, where is the betrayal here?
Botterill went out and signed a veteran UFA defenceman.
One that plays the same (left) side and who will expect decent minutes. There are already two left-side defencemen above Evans on the depth chart in Vince Dunn and Jamie Oleksiak.
We will see how newly hired Head Coach Lane Lambert decides to deploy his blue line, but you can expect things to get awkward in Evans’ sophomore season.
The 2023 second round pick must now must oust one of Dunn (28), Oleksiak (32), or Lindgren (27) to start the season on his natural side. All three have the benefit of NHL veteranship and will likely be given the tie-breaker if Ryker doesn’t blow the doors down in camp.
“So, whether it’s left or right, we wanted to bring that element into our group,” said Lambert of his defence after signing Lindgren. “We have some defensemen who can play the left side with left shots who can also play the right side. We’ll figure those things out as we move forward from that standpoint, but we really want to bring some competition.”
It’s possible that Lindgren is happy to move over to the right side. The two are likely to start the season together given that Dunn-Larsson and Oleksiak-Montour were Seattle’s established top four last year.
5v5 Minutes – Seattle’s Top Four
Dunn-Larsson: 927:36
Oleksiak-Montour: 809:24
What if playing one of the two on their off-side for the indefinite future isn’t a great idea?
What we do know is that Evans should be pushing for a top four role as soon as next season. The Calgary, Alberta product played upwards of 20 minutes a night in 31 of his 73 appearances last year, going a mere -3 at even strength in those games. With the proper mix of consistency and trust from his coach, Ryker has the trajectory to play a top pairing role on an NHL team. Lindgren’s addition makes it four veteran defencemen signed at least until the end of the 2026-27 season. Make it five if they re-sign the hulking Jamie Oleksiak, who the organization reportedly refuses to take calls on.
Verdict
Tap of the stick for getting a bargain deal on a market-friendly Mason Marchment, but a big whack of the pads for clogging up the developmental pipeline on the back end to one Mr. Jason Botterill.
Stats via Puckpedia, Moneypuck, and the National Hockey League.
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When adding Evans nu.bers at 5 on 5 versus the top 4 numbers, it appears as though Evans played more minutes than the top 4