He may be under the radar for playing with the Seattle Kraken, but forward Jared McCann has emerged as one of the National Hockey League’s top marksmen.
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On Friday in Columbus, he threaded the needle to lead the Kraken to a 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets.
In doing so, McCann became the first player in Seattle team history to score 30 goals in a season. He had 27 last season.
In 2022/23, the 26-year-old Ontarian scored an equal 1,887 goals per 60 minutes of play.
Only Jack Hughes (1.928) did better on the Bettman circuit.
For the record, despite his talent as a maverick, McCann has been traded three times in his career and was selected in the expansion draft.
The Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs failed to appreciate his offensive potential.
In the duel of the day, his line partner Jordan Eberle also hit the mark. This made him the second player in Kraken’s young history, after McCann, to accumulate 50 points in one season.
Alex Wennberg and Brandon Tanev added goals for the visitors. Adam Boqvist and Patrick Laine blasted the Nationwide Arena cannon.
– Furthermore, Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen indicated in a press conference ahead of the meeting that he expects forward Alexandre Texier to be back with the team this season.
The Frenchman spent the entire season in Switzerland, at Zurich SC club.