Leiweke called the team a « work in progress » and appeared to directly read this from a paper saying the Kraken were « an unfulfilled promise and no one in the organization is satisfied ». I wouldn’t be surprised if this specific wording came from ownership.
They will conduct a « full independent audit of hockey operations » led by Botterill this off-season
Leiweke indirectly called out challenges in getting free agents to come and said they need to improve.
There will be a new annual report to fans and season ticket members. They will share this plus specific mile markers in May along with the annual report.
Botterill will speak publicly about this more after the season ends.
He says the fans « deserve better » and pledges « we are going to get it right »
Switching to media questions…
On the approach to team building, Leiweke used his first year at Tampa as a comparison saying that they got to the conference finals but « had to take a step back » because they knew they were missing key pieces. « I don’t know that’s the case with this team » but they will review this off-season. « We are going to get better » is a directive from ownership.
Botterill is staying for next season. « With change you can do things differently that you perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have done differently. And I think there’s things we can do differently to improve our hand »
Jerry Bruckheimer’s voice will be « heard a little more »
Asked about roster changes, he said that he wasn’t going to announce anything yet. The impression I got is that they want to complete that audit first but NHL teams rarely tell you the plan before they make moves.
Asked about the scope of changes to team philosophy from the audit, he says they are « quite competent in most of the things we do » citing their prospects and success with the AHL. But the struggle this season lets them « ask hard questions and do things we otherwise wouldn’t have done. » He points out that had they gotten into the playoffs they probably would have played Colorado, but « what we want to build is not a team that just sneaks into the playoffs » and instead build a « perennial playoff team » like Vegas.
On Lane Lambert’s future: he doesn’t « want to get into that » but thinks Lambert has « coached his ass off » and « we own a lot of people better » and need to provide « better things for him » mentioning systems, travel, medial, and player family support.
On Jason Botterill’s past 5 years with the team giving confidence for the future: Leiweke mentioned a lot of Botterill’s life experiences and said they need to support him better. Expects Botterill will operate in a different way and that he an Botterill agreed on what he was saying today.
On Francis: he was « fatigued » and « it was hard to take him from GM to President ». They will go back to the « GM will make the decisions » model they started with and that « was a decision ».
On rebuilding: they’ll have a better answer in 4 weeks once the audit is done.
On pressure to improve before the Sonics return: « sure there’s pressure but it’s no greater pressure than already existed » to « do right by our fans ».
On the audit: it will be an outside individual and Botterill has identified some of those candidates. « Time is of the essence »
On if they are closer to the Cup today than 3 years ago: Leiweke mentions the prospects and the solid system in Coachella. But « you miss the playoffs 3 years in a row and it is what it is ». This is not « a reclamation project » and they have prices in place plus four 1st round picks in the next 2 drafts. More details in 4 weeks.
undercoverles
« Jerry Bruckheimer’s voice will be ‘heard a little more' » – Someone tell him to bring back the Davy Jones Hat he stole from Pirates. Hockey is superstition land, and we went from game 7 in the 2nd round to not making the playoffs the next year when they brought in the belt, and falling hard after the Olympics with the helmet that I think only 2 of the boys have actually put on. I’m not saying it’s all because of that, but you don’t also invite bad luck into the locker room.
(This comment is half joking, i know there were some questionable moves made by GMRF in that off season too. But damnit *BRING BACK THE HAT)*
Different_Bat4715
Honestly, I don’t hate a lot of what he said. Sure it’s corporate speak, but at least it’s good corporate speak.
I’ve seen a lot of comments, mostly on r/hockey about how the owners don’t care. And I don’t really agree with that statement. I think we’ve seen what happens when owners don’t really care (see the mariners) and this doesn’t strike me as that. They’ve made mistakes. They know that they haven’t worked, and we’ll see what happens in the future. Now it’s all about where they go from here.
fongquardt
the lol quote about buying a fan a beer if they have a kraken hat on. just lol
rpm2shea
Not sure how you can say you’re doing a full independent audit when it is led by your current GM. They need to turn over every rock and look at everything that is being done in hockey ops with fresh and objective eyes.
[deleted]
[removed]
JuniorSherbet9558
do we really need to hear more from Jerry Bruckheimer?
A meddling owner is the last thing this team needs
canuckinseattle
All this is a total PR shield. The “credentialism” and Halo effect that Todd is throwing around here is shocking.
Who gives a shit how many assists he has or if he’s on the board of the HHOF. The cognitive bias is staggering.
I’m 100% certain he was instrumental in getting the end to end operations going, but he NEVER should have been in charge of roster decisions. Terrible decisions from day 1.
Clear the room out end to end. Start from scratch.
P.S. don’t get me started on the KCI design. It’s awful.
Trick_Situation_4421
Maybe I’m pessimistic, but this seems like a giant, neon, « OWNERSHIP IS THE PROBLEM! » sign.
Are you serious? They’re still « not sure » it’s necessary to take a step back, and somehow believe we’re going to immediately get better? Even though they finally see the futility of trying to find star talent in FA in the modern NHL?
Sounds like they genuinely don’t get how to actually, practically build a roster over time. Which we knew but apparently somehow they still don’t.
At least they’re doing something, but I don’t have a lot of confidence it’ll be the RIGHT thing.
jimb0_sliice_
At least make the drinks cheaper than 9$ for piss beer so I can drown my sorrows
A_crackinthecup
Basic PR nonsense that says nothing except we don’t know what happened. No confidence in any of the front office except they know how to CYA themselves while they blame someone else
surfingeagles
This organization doesn’t know what they are doing. Are they watching the games? It is obvious what they need to do and if bringing in an outside auditor is their solution, than they just need to clean house and bring in someone from a successful organization to take over.
juanthebaker
We’ll see what they take from this audit. I’d be curious to hear the directive of the audit as well. Is it, how do we reach playoff success as soon as possible? Or is it, how do we build a perennial contender?
« We are going to get better » being a mandate from ownership is the rub for me. Between that and his comments about a very active summer, it’s hard to imagine ownership would accept a « tear it down and develop the kids » kind of answer.
Everyone knows we’re desperate. I worry we’re headed toward selling the farm in wild overpays for two aging household names that cripple the long term outlook in exchange for 2-3 years of first or second round exits.
I don’t want to be so pessimistic. It just sounds like the same over-eager pressure from the top that we’ve heard the last several years, and that’s led us to this point.
scoutsamoa
« We’re going to roll it back again, but we’re going to try really really hard this time, I promise! »
krakenstan
What do you suppose the point of this audit is? I’m not getting it I guess
16 Comments
Some things that stood out to me
Leiweke called the team a « work in progress » and appeared to directly read this from a paper saying the Kraken were « an unfulfilled promise and no one in the organization is satisfied ». I wouldn’t be surprised if this specific wording came from ownership.
They will conduct a « full independent audit of hockey operations » led by Botterill this off-season
Leiweke indirectly called out challenges in getting free agents to come and said they need to improve.
There will be a new annual report to fans and season ticket members. They will share this plus specific mile markers in May along with the annual report.
Botterill will speak publicly about this more after the season ends.
He says the fans « deserve better » and pledges « we are going to get it right »
Switching to media questions…
On the approach to team building, Leiweke used his first year at Tampa as a comparison saying that they got to the conference finals but « had to take a step back » because they knew they were missing key pieces. « I don’t know that’s the case with this team » but they will review this off-season. « We are going to get better » is a directive from ownership.
Botterill is staying for next season. « With change you can do things differently that you perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have done differently. And I think there’s things we can do differently to improve our hand »
Jerry Bruckheimer’s voice will be « heard a little more »
Asked about roster changes, he said that he wasn’t going to announce anything yet. The impression I got is that they want to complete that audit first but NHL teams rarely tell you the plan before they make moves.
Asked about the scope of changes to team philosophy from the audit, he says they are « quite competent in most of the things we do » citing their prospects and success with the AHL. But the struggle this season lets them « ask hard questions and do things we otherwise wouldn’t have done. » He points out that had they gotten into the playoffs they probably would have played Colorado, but « what we want to build is not a team that just sneaks into the playoffs » and instead build a « perennial playoff team » like Vegas.
On Lane Lambert’s future: he doesn’t « want to get into that » but thinks Lambert has « coached his ass off » and « we own a lot of people better » and need to provide « better things for him » mentioning systems, travel, medial, and player family support.
On Jason Botterill’s past 5 years with the team giving confidence for the future: Leiweke mentioned a lot of Botterill’s life experiences and said they need to support him better. Expects Botterill will operate in a different way and that he an Botterill agreed on what he was saying today.
On Francis: he was « fatigued » and « it was hard to take him from GM to President ». They will go back to the « GM will make the decisions » model they started with and that « was a decision ».
On rebuilding: they’ll have a better answer in 4 weeks once the audit is done.
On pressure to improve before the Sonics return: « sure there’s pressure but it’s no greater pressure than already existed » to « do right by our fans ».
On the audit: it will be an outside individual and Botterill has identified some of those candidates. « Time is of the essence »
On if they are closer to the Cup today than 3 years ago: Leiweke mentions the prospects and the solid system in Coachella. But « you miss the playoffs 3 years in a row and it is what it is ». This is not « a reclamation project » and they have prices in place plus four 1st round picks in the next 2 drafts. More details in 4 weeks.
« Jerry Bruckheimer’s voice will be ‘heard a little more' » – Someone tell him to bring back the Davy Jones Hat he stole from Pirates. Hockey is superstition land, and we went from game 7 in the 2nd round to not making the playoffs the next year when they brought in the belt, and falling hard after the Olympics with the helmet that I think only 2 of the boys have actually put on. I’m not saying it’s all because of that, but you don’t also invite bad luck into the locker room.
(This comment is half joking, i know there were some questionable moves made by GMRF in that off season too. But damnit *BRING BACK THE HAT)*
Honestly, I don’t hate a lot of what he said. Sure it’s corporate speak, but at least it’s good corporate speak.
I’ve seen a lot of comments, mostly on r/hockey about how the owners don’t care. And I don’t really agree with that statement. I think we’ve seen what happens when owners don’t really care (see the mariners) and this doesn’t strike me as that. They’ve made mistakes. They know that they haven’t worked, and we’ll see what happens in the future. Now it’s all about where they go from here.
the lol quote about buying a fan a beer if they have a kraken hat on. just lol
Not sure how you can say you’re doing a full independent audit when it is led by your current GM. They need to turn over every rock and look at everything that is being done in hockey ops with fresh and objective eyes.
[removed]
do we really need to hear more from Jerry Bruckheimer?
A meddling owner is the last thing this team needs
All this is a total PR shield. The “credentialism” and Halo effect that Todd is throwing around here is shocking.
Who gives a shit how many assists he has or if he’s on the board of the HHOF. The cognitive bias is staggering.
I’m 100% certain he was instrumental in getting the end to end operations going, but he NEVER should have been in charge of roster decisions. Terrible decisions from day 1.
Clear the room out end to end. Start from scratch.
P.S. don’t get me started on the KCI design. It’s awful.
Maybe I’m pessimistic, but this seems like a giant, neon, « OWNERSHIP IS THE PROBLEM! » sign.
Are you serious? They’re still « not sure » it’s necessary to take a step back, and somehow believe we’re going to immediately get better? Even though they finally see the futility of trying to find star talent in FA in the modern NHL?
Sounds like they genuinely don’t get how to actually, practically build a roster over time. Which we knew but apparently somehow they still don’t.
At least they’re doing something, but I don’t have a lot of confidence it’ll be the RIGHT thing.
At least make the drinks cheaper than 9$ for piss beer so I can drown my sorrows
Basic PR nonsense that says nothing except we don’t know what happened. No confidence in any of the front office except they know how to CYA themselves while they blame someone else
This organization doesn’t know what they are doing. Are they watching the games? It is obvious what they need to do and if bringing in an outside auditor is their solution, than they just need to clean house and bring in someone from a successful organization to take over.
We’ll see what they take from this audit. I’d be curious to hear the directive of the audit as well. Is it, how do we reach playoff success as soon as possible? Or is it, how do we build a perennial contender?
« We are going to get better » being a mandate from ownership is the rub for me. Between that and his comments about a very active summer, it’s hard to imagine ownership would accept a « tear it down and develop the kids » kind of answer.
Everyone knows we’re desperate. I worry we’re headed toward selling the farm in wild overpays for two aging household names that cripple the long term outlook in exchange for 2-3 years of first or second round exits.
I don’t want to be so pessimistic. It just sounds like the same over-eager pressure from the top that we’ve heard the last several years, and that’s led us to this point.
« We’re going to roll it back again, but we’re going to try really really hard this time, I promise! »
What do you suppose the point of this audit is? I’m not getting it I guess
Friendly reminder that **Tod Lieweke** (or as we LA Kings fans so unaffectionately referred to him when he was destroying the Kings all theose years ago – Todd Lie Weekly) was a recipient of a [Donald Trump pardon](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/03/trump-pardons-real-estate-developer-indicted-under-his-own-doj-00676253) in December last year and is a convicted, fraudster POS who shouldn’t be trusted with the weather report.