Kraken Star Working Through Slump

A Seattle Kraken star forward is working through a recent slump.

Dec 28, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Seattle Kraken forward Jared McCann (19) handles the puck against the Vancouver Canucks in the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images / Bob Frid-Imagn Images

The Seattle Kraken are hoping things in the second half of the 2024-2025 season go better than the first 40 games have. The team is languishing near the bottom of the Pacific Division with just 17 wins in the first half of the season.

There's no one on the Kraken more looking forward to a fresh start than star forward Jared McCann. Since the franchise's first season in 2020-2021, McCann's been a pillar for the organization and a leading scorer. Through the first half of this year, however, McCann is working through a lengthy slump.

The start of the 2024-2025 campaign was red-hot for McCann. He registered 20 points in the first 21 games and was on pace to establish new career bests across multiple offensive categories.

But then the next 19 games happened. His hot start faded and a cold streak replaced it. It's been a few weeks now, and the Kraken's star winger is still working out of the rough patch. The 28-year-old has just four goals and eight points over that span and has looked out of sorts for most of the game action.

One wild stat amidst his scoring struggles is his accuracy issues. At first glance, his shooting percentage of 12.9% is a bit lower than what he's been converting at with the Kraken. Taking a deeper look using MoneyPuck's advanced statistics, McCann is missing the net at a staggeringly high rate.

According to MoneyPucks' data, McCann has 228 total shot attempts so far this season, with 101 being counted as shots on goal. 65 of the remaining attempts have been blocked, but 63 have missed the net. That means 38% of his unblocked shot attempts are missing the net. For reference, his career high for shot atttempts missing the net over a full season is 102 shots. It seems like such a simple thing to point out that it couldn't be true, but McCann could benefit from avoiding corner picking and sharp shooting and start taking the higher chance option and put the puck on net.

For all of his struggles, he remains at the top of the Kraken scoring chart. He leads the team in points. and is tied with veteran winger Jaden Schwartz for the most goals. It's less a sign of McCann's scoring prowess and more an indication of how underwhelming the Seattle offense is this year.

The second half is a huge opportunity for McCann and the Kraken, and the star winger is undoubtedly eager to improve his offensive output. The team is depending on more from their top player, or else it will be the second straight year of missing the postseason and the third time in four seasons in the league.

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