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Justin Schultz's OT goal propels Kraken past Flyers

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Justin Schultz's OT goal propels Kraken past Flyers


Justin Schultz scored at 2:35 of overtime as the Seattle Kraken rallied to defeat the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 Friday night.

Fellow defenseman Vince Dunn scored in regulation and Oliver Bjorkstrand had two assists for Seattle, which won its fourth in a row and extended its point streak to eight games (6-0-2). Goaltender Joey Daccord, making his eighth start in nine games with Philipp Grubauer out with a lower-body injury, made 27 saves.

Travis Konecny scored a short-handed goal for the Flyers, who, despite the defeat, have earned points in 12 of their past 13 games (8-1-4). Goalie Carter Hart, who played junior hockey in nearby Everett, Wash., stopped 27 of 29 shots.

With the Flyers needing a line change in overtime, Bjorkstrand controlled the puck at the top of the offensive zone. He sent a pass down the right wing for Schultz, who tipped the puck between Hart’s pads for the winner.

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Konecny opened the scoring at 16:21 of the first period. Teammate Scott Laughton forced a turnover in the Philadelphia zone and then took a pass from Travis Sanheim to start a two-on-one rush with Konecny. Dunn got a stick on Laughton’s pass across the top of Seattle’s crease, but Konecny was able to recover the puck just below the goal line and reach back to stuff the puck just inside the left post as Daccord was prone on the ice.

The Kraken tied the score on the power play at 5:45 of the third. Alex Wennberg won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Bjorkstrand shoveled the puck back to Dunn at the left point. Dunn’s slap shot beat a screened Hart to make it 1-1.

The Flyers dropped to 1-0-1 on their four-game Western swing, which concludes with games Sunday at Calgary and Tuesday at Edmonton.

The Kraken, meanwhile, are set to play host to Vegas on Monday in the NHL’s Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park.

Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky returned after missing 29 of the previous 30 games with a pair of lower-body injuries. It was his first game since Dec. 7 and his second since Oct. 21. Burakovsky played on Seattle’s second line with Jared McCann and Wennberg.

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The Flyers’ John Tortorella coached his 1,500th NHL game. Tortorella moved into sole possession of 10th place on the league’s career victories list Thursday with No. 723 in a 4-1 decision at Vancouver.

–Field Level Media





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Seattle, WA

NFL offseason grades: Seattle Seahawks earn ‘B’ from Pro Football Focus

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NFL offseason grades: Seattle Seahawks earn ‘B’ from Pro Football Focus


The Seattle Seahawks have been among the most active teams throughout the 2025 NFL offseason, but there’s no guarantee that any of their moves will pan out. If anything, those around the league aren’t sure what to make of the new-look Seahawks.

While the defense should be better this season, their offense is a total mystery due to the many new faces. The team added three new quarterbacks, totally revamped its wide receiver room and selected an offensive lineman in the first round of the draft.

Is quarterback Sam Darnold an upgrade over Geno Smith? Will Cooper Kupp make up for the loss of DK Metcalf at wide receiver? Did Seattle do enough to fix its offensive line?

Obviously, no one can answer these questions until the season kicks off, but Pro Football Focus handed out offseason grades to all 32 teams. The Seahawks earned a “B” grade for their 2025 offseason haul.

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“Hiring Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator was a good move, as his work in New Orleans under unideal circumstances was encouraging,” wrote PFF’s Trevor Sikkema. “He fits right into a lot of the strengths of Seattle’s roster, especially with deploying a zone rushing attack.

PFF considered the switch from Smith to Darnold, another former NFL journeyman, to be a “net negative,” but praised the team’s changes at wide receiver.

“The Seahawks subbed in Sam Darnold for Geno Smith, which appears to be a net negative,” Sikkema continued. “They did well to swap their offensive weapons, switching D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett for Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. I also like their defensive additions of DeMarcus Lawrence and Nick Emmanwori.”

Darnold Smith

Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) hug after the game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The quarterback decision will ultimately determine whether the offseason was a success for Seattle. The Seahawks will have to prove that giving up Smith for a late-Day 2 pick and replacing him with Darnold following one productive season in Minnesota was the right move.

In a way, the team hedged its bet on Darnold by drafting Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe in the third round. If Darnold starts seeing ghosts in the pocket, Milroe gives Seattle a more mobile option for this season and beyond.

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Massive free agent signing named Seahawks’ most head-scratching move

Seattle Seahawks earn disappointing grade for aggressive 2025 offseason

Kenneth Walker III lands in disrespectful place in post-draft RB rankings

Mike Macdonald says Seahawks need to find more reps for first-rounder



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Seattle, WA

Daniel Jeremiah dispels 1 Seattle Seahawks draft criticism

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Daniel Jeremiah dispels 1 Seattle Seahawks draft criticism


The Seattle Seahawks have received widespread praise for their 2025 draft class.

Seahawks won’t play an international game this year

With their first-round pick, they addressed their most glaring need by drafting offensive lineman Grey Zabel. Over the next two rounds, they added a trio of intriguing players with rare athletic traits: versatile safety Nick Emmanwori, field-stretching tight end Elijah Arroyo and dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe.

And in the later rounds, they grabbed several potential value picks in defensive lineman Rylie Mills, wide receiver Tory Horton, running back Damien Martinez and wideout Ricky White III.

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The high marks for Seattle’s draft class were further reflected in a recent article by The Athletic’s Mike Sando, who spoke to NFL team executives to gain their perspectives on opposing teams’ drafts.

“The top of the draft was really good for them,” one executive said, according to Sando. “They got three of the better players in the whole draft.”

But despite that, there was one criticism.

“The catch: Seattle targeted non-premium positions with its first three picks,” Sando wrote.

As Sando mentioned, the Seahawks’ first three picks were a guard, a safety and a tight end. And in terms of salaries, those three positions are typically on the lower half of the spectrum in terms of salaries.

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That prompted Seattle Sports’ Mike Salk to ask NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah whether he thinks it’s an issue that the Seahawks spent their first three picks on non-premium positions.

“I don’t think so, because I don’t think they forced it,” said Jeremiah, a former NFL scout, to Brock and Salk. “… You can go in there with a plan in place (to) address the premium positions. But if it falls a certain way, you get in trouble when you’re trying to just force it and jam it in there.

“At the end of the day, the goal is to have blue (chip) players. You want to have elite players scattered across your roster. And depending on who you talk to, they’ll tell you, we need to have eight to 12 blue-caliber players – guys that could be considered in the top 10 of their position in the NFL.

“So if you can get one of those elite players at one of those non-premium positions – (especially) in a draft like the one we just had (with limited blue-chip prospects) – that’s just doing it smart, in my opinion.”

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Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks news and analysis

• Huard: Encouraging sign for Seattle Seahawks in ’25? Their ’26 free agents
• Bump: Seattle Seahawks’ offense will be top 10 in this area
• Is Seattle Seahawks’ next franchise QB currently on roster? Jeremiah weighs in
• Bump: How Seattle Seahawks’ rookie safety will be a benefit to Witherspoon
• Cowherd: Seattle Seahawks QB Milroe could be dangerous red-zone weapon

 





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Seattle, WA

Seattle Storm waive guard whose brother plays for Seahawks

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Seattle Storm waive guard whose brother plays for Seahawks


Guard Serena Sundell, the younger sister of the Seahawks offensive lineman Jalen Sundell, was among a trio of players waived by the Seattle Storm on Monday.

Seattle Storm lose another player for season to ACL injury

The Storm also cut 2024 third-rounder Mackenzie Holmes and Brianna Fraser as they appear to have set their roster for the start 2025 season, which begins with a road matchup Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury.

Serena Sundell, a 2025 third-round pick out of Kansas State University, led the nation with 7.3 assists per game and set Kansas State’s program record with 262 assists last season. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds. She was a two-time All-Big 12 selection and named as an AP All-American honorable mention this past season.

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With Sundell being waived, none of the Storm’s three third-round picks from the 2025 draft made the roster. The team waived guards Jordan Hobbs and Madison Conner last week.

Holmes, a 6-foot-3 forward, missed all of last season while recovering from surgery on her left knee. The former Indiana University standout was a two-time All-American with the Hoosiers. She averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks during a decorated five-year career at Indiana.

Fraser, a 6-foot-3 forward, was a McDonald’s High School All-American in 2015 before playing four seasons at Maryland. She’s played for multiple professional teams overseas and participated in training camps for the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun but hasn’t appeared in a WNBA regular season game.

The Storm’s roster is now down to a league-minimum 11 players. That includes forward Katie Lou Samuelson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. General manager Talisa Rhea told reporters last month she expects the team to start the season with 11 players.

More Seattle Storm and WNBA news

• Sue Bird to be first managing director of USA women’s team
• Seattle Storm’s No. 2 overall pick Malonga impossible to miss
• 2025 WNBA Draft: See all the Seattle Storm and local picks

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