Jordan Eberle considers Game 7 loss a lesson learned for the Kraken

Kraken forward Jordan Eberle acknowledged Wednesday that it will take a while for the sting of a Game 7 elimination in Dallas on Monday to fully dissipate before assessing where the playoff series was lost.

Eberle and teammates spent the morning conducting exit interviews at the Kraken Community Iceplex before breaking for the summer. He said he’ll likely in the weeks ahead have a better grasp of what could have been done differently against the Stars, though he said the Kraken should probably focus more next season on maintaining their aggressive style every game.

“I think we’ve developed a way and a style that’s quite fast and playing aggressive that we’ve had success with,” Eberle said. “I think for me, the biggest thing – and I go back quickly to maybe Game 7 – it’s just gaining the confidence that we can do that in the toughest situations, which is Game 7, and have success.

“I just felt that we were a bit sluggish and scared and maybe waiting for something bad to happen rather than going at it. And I think those are situations where maybe veteran teams have been through it before, they’ve experienced that and they’re just like, ‘We’re going to go play and play aggressive.’ Whereas we haven’t gone through it. So if we can gain some belief that we can do that all the time, then we can be confident, and we can win hockey games.”

Eberle added that the power play could have been better in key moments.

“I mean, there are plays that are going to haunt me the rest of the summer for sure,” he said. “Playoffs are such a momentum thing where you can look back and say, ‘If we did this or did this,’ but I still think it’s a little fresh for us to go through that.

“I think we can be proud of what we did but at the same time understand how hard it is to get to the playoffs and how hard it is to actually have success in the playoffs.”

The Kraken dropped three of the final four games to Dallas after going up 2-1 in the series with a Game 3 blowout win at home. They had a shot to take a 3-1 series stranglehold in Game 4, also on home ice, but came out tentative in a 6-3 loss that was possibly their worst-played contest of the series.

The process of upgrading the team begins now, with the Kraken identifying whom to retain among pending free agents. Unrestricted free agents expected to leave include defenseman Carson Soucy, forward Joonas Donskoi and goalie Martin Jones. Forward Ryan Donato could be retained on a short-term deal similar to the one he signed last summer.

“Obviously, I’d love to stay,” Soucy said Wednesday.

But a player who earned $2.75 million this past season as a third-line defender appears steep for a team with prospect Ryker Evans in the AHL and veteran Jaycob Megna in the NHL fold.

Restricted free agents – whom the team gets first crack at signing and can match any competing offer for – include Vince Dunn, Cale Fleury, Will Borgen, Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong.

Kraken general manager Ron Francis and coach Dave Hakstol were scheduled to address the media Thursday about how the season went and their plans for the summer.

They are expected to get forward Andre Burakovsky back from injury and have last summer’s No. 4 overall draft pick, Shane Wright, competing for a regular lineup spot. Wright’s ascension could make for some tough Kraken calls on players such as Geekie, Donato and Sprong given the lineup crunch.

“I think I kind of earned everything that was given to me this year, I guess,” said Geekie, due a raise on his $1.4 million salary after serving as a fourth-line center and seeing playoff “top six” duty at right wing. “I didn’t really take anything for granted, and I thought I took a lot of steps. I showed I can do a lot of things up and down the lineup.”

Sprong, who scored 21 goals as a fourth-line winger after signing late in training camp, said his “numbers speak for themself” and added that he’d like to return but “it’s part of the business. Ron and those guys are going to have to make some decisions, but it’s the same with me, and that’s why you have an agent.”

Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz said the team’s playoff run was “a big step in the right direction” on and off the ice. Now, he said, the challenge will be building off that.

“You look at teams that made the playoffs last year and they didn’t make the playoffs this year,” he said. “So it’s never easy. The league is so good.”

Schwartz would like to see the team approach training camp with “the right mindset” in four months.

“It was really fun to see individuals on this team really grow and see their games elevate at such a good level,” he said. “And then obviously, the hockey and the energy and the buzz in Seattle. To see that grow was pretty amazing to be a part of.”

And that local hockey growth is something veteran teammate Eberle will remember throughout the summer. Eberle said he’d worried after the team traded so many players at the March 2022 deadline but was reassured improvements were coming.

Now, with the additions last summer of Burakovsky, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Justin Schultz – along with adding rookie Matty Beniers, waiver-wire gem Eeli Tolvanen and AHL call-up Tye Kartye – he’s fully confident the front office can build off this postseason.

“You have a lot of faith in what they’re doing and the way they’re building this team,” Eberle said. “And then obviously, we made it as far as we did. I think they have done an exceptional job. I’m excited to be here. My wife and I, we love playing in Seattle. It’s a great place. You wake up, you see the mountain and the lakes, the organization, the buildings. It’s just been first class for us. So we’re excited for the future here.”