Credit: Seattle Kraken
By Sean Keeley on

While the season hasn’t gone too smoothly so far, the Seattle Kraken put up a solid effort Tuesday night against the league-beat Colorado Avalanche, taking a 3-2 lead into the third period before eventually losing 5-3.

That loss was the Kraken’s ninth in 10 games, and the team is spiraling out of playoff contention. That doesn’t make for fun experiences at post-game press conferences, but it’s also part of the job for any head coach.

However, according to several media members on hand, the Kraken didn’t allow anyone other than team website editor-in-chief Bob Condor to ask head coach Lane Lambert questions during the post-game press conference.

A presser that, it should be noted, lasted all of 57 seconds.

How about Philipp Grubauer’s night?” asked Condor.

Played well,” replied Lambert.

Any update on Montour?” asked the reporter.

No,” replied the coach.

As noted by Glenn Dreyfuss of the Kraken site Davy Jones’ Locker Room, the press conference’s conclusion was curt and uninformative, with no pushback or rebuttal, which was perhaps the point.

While they’re not the first NHL team to do this, many who follow the Kraken closely or cover it as media were quick to note how strange and different this all was for the franchise.

Surely anyone with empathy can understand why Lambert might not have wanted to deal with tough questions or why the Kraken might have wanted to give their coach a break. However, as noted previously, this is the job. And a healthy relationship with the local media, including being available to answer questions (or decline to comment), is always better in the long run.

Fans and viewers aren’t dummies; they can see when someone is trying to influence the narrative or run from reality, and that can impact their desire to support the team way more than if you just sat there and “took it,” so to speak.

The situation mirrors a similar press conference in which the Minnesota Timberwolves head coach received few questions after a tough loss because no team beat reporters were in the scrum. However, in that instance, it was a road game and a travel issue. Given that this was a home game for the Kraken, the excuses for a sub-minute presser following a loss are paper-thin.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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