Captain Jordan Eberle has been recalled to the Seattle Kraken after a pelvic injury sidelined him in mid-November. He was loaned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate team but did not appear in a game for them. The Captain is on his way back to the big league and we love that. What will it mean for the Kraken?

Longtime NHL’er Eberle has had some big moments in his monstrous 1,035 games played including a blow the roof off overtime winner in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 4 of Round 1 against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche. The biggest and most exciting goal in the young Seattle Kraken franchise history tells you that this guy feels no pressure and that maybe no one shows up more. What a moment that was in Seattle for their first home playoff victory.

One of my favorite sports moments that I’ve been at in my life, Eberle had an opportunity off a blocked shot and buried it. Never a doubt. Throughout his years in the NHL, playing with the Edmonton Oilers for 7 seasons and the New York Islanders for 4 seasons, Eberle had some big games. He scored the first hat trick in the Kraken’s franchise history as well. Just take a look at this guy’s first career NHL goal.

Eberle hasn’t played a game since November 14th but with the energy he brings and the passion he has to wear the C and lead the team I see him making an immediate impact. This season he has 11 points in his 17 games played and will most likely slot in on top line and top power play, injecting some life into a floundering Kraken squad. 11 points out of a playoff wild card spot with 25 games left is a huge hill to climb but maybe, just maybe, him and the boys will make this final push an exciting finish.

It’s tough to see how the lines will shake out for the Kraken, as we are on the break for the Four Nations Face-Off which ends Thursday. We will see practice lines at some point before Saturday’s game but here’s a possible shakeup I could see happening-

McCann – Beniers – Eberle
Schwartz – Stephenson – Kakko
Tolvanen – Wright – Bjorkstrand
Burakovsky – Stephens – Tanev

Kartye

These lines were put into a blender for sure, I know, but Eberle’s return on the horizon could really shake things up for the team. He also may slot in on the 2nd/3rd line with them putting him with the young Shane Wright for a sort of offensive shut down line with 3rd liners usually out against less skilled opposition. Check back in to see how wrong I end up being.

Unfortunately based on remaining strength of schedule the Kraken sit with the second most difficult remaining behind the Detroit Red Wings. Perfect that my two teams have the hardest test of all 32 in this final stretch and push for the playoffs. Oh well, that just makes it all the better if we see some success. For the Kraken who are neither hot nor cold right now, who can really say how they finish out the year? A power play percentage of 18.1 could see a rise with the return of Eberle, as well as an 11.1 even strength shooting percentage. 11.1% is right around normal/average, but with this injection we could see the boys gain some confidence and once you have confidence? Now you’ve got somethin. With Joey’s play in net and the Captain back on the ice this Kraken team needs your attention, they have a chance to do something special here.