As the Seattle Kraken have trailed off in the race for a playoff spot this season, one figure’s absence has clouded the club’s slide. Defenceman Vince Dunn has not played since March 4 versus the Calgary Flames due to an upper-body issue. Even though the team’s deficiencies are more due to its offensive ineptitude, it should be noted that the Kraken has only won one game since then.
With the season winding down, we look at one of the bright spots on Seattle’s roster. Defencemen don’t always get the glory—they rarely do, in fact—but having a solid, dependable blueliner can make a huge difference, especially for a franchise still finding its way in the NHL. Vince Dunn undoubtedly fits that description.
Vince Dunn is Already a Kraken Stalwart
Dunn isn’t one of the more popular players in the NHL. That’s not to say that people don’t like him, but rather, he’s never reached the same heights of notoriety as Erik Karlsson, Cale Makar, or Quinn Hughes. He’s more the type of player who does his job, does it well, and gets on by. After all, it got him a Stanley Cup ring with the St. Louis Blues. We won’t reiterate his entire history as Hockey Writer staff member Sean Raggio already took care of that a couple of years ago.
Related: Meet the Seattle Kraken: Defenceman Vince Dunn
However, the 27-year-old’s contributions to the Kraken cannot be overstated. This is true even though the Kraken’s history is brief and, truth be told, spotty. To be completely fair, his 2021-22 numbers were hit-or-miss. At the time, he tallied the most assists in a campaign (28), but his plus-minus was a minus-21. It was a rough first year for the franchise.
Since then, he’s been one of the club’s better players, preventing opposing sides from scoring and contributing to the attack. In 2022-23, the franchise’s best season to date, he was second on the team in scoring with 64 points, courtesy of 14 goals and 50 helpers. His plus-minus, and that of several teammates, improved to a plus-28. His productivity continued in the playoffs with seven points in 14 games and a plus-4.
Dunn: A Rare Bright Spot this Season
That strong play has carried over into the present campaign. The only knock on him, and this is unfair, is that he’s missed several games. As previously established, he’s already been out of commission for most of March and had to sit out four games in January. A few statistics stand out when looking at his own and those of the Kraken, both when he’s on the ice and away to nurse injuries.
The Kraken have played seven contests since the March 4 injury in Calgary. Their record is only 1-5-1 during that span. Seattle has also coughed up at least four goals in four of those matches. As Seattle Times writer Kate Shefte astutely points out in a piece this week, the club went a dismal 0-4 during his absence in January (from ‘Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn not with team on road trip,’ The Seattle Times, March 21, 2024). So, in 11 games without the Mississauga native, the Kraken are 1-9-1. One doesn’t have to be great with numbers to read between the lines.
Out of the top 10 points getters on the roster, Dunn is one of only three with a positive plus-minus. To say nothing, he has the strongest at plus-8. As of Friday, March 22, only Tomas Tatar, who arrived earlier this season via trade with the Colorado Avalanche, is better at plus-9. Speaking of tallying points, with fewer games under his belt than most of his teammates – 57 to be exact – Dunn is third on the team with 45 points (11 goals and 34 assists). He’s also a workhorse, logging an average of 23:15 per contest.
Dunn’s Consistency is the Key to Success
Things get even more interesting when looking at the plus-minus game-by-game. Don’t worry; we won’t go through all 68 games played up until now; just look at the general trends. They reveal an impressive consistency that, by and large, the Kraken lacks.
March is a bit of a cheat since Dunn has only partaken in two games, but he finished both at a plus-4. The earlier months are real eye-openers, though. The only bad month Dunn experienced was October at minus-5. The club got off to a miserable start, losing seven of the 10 games that month. The first half of November was just as bad, and the defenceman’s play was a part of that, but he dug himself out of a hole and broke even.
Since the New Year, Dunn has been incredibly productive on both ends of the ice. In January, he was a plus-6. Furthermore, there were only three games out of nine, for which he finished in the red. His strong play bled over into February, during which he finished with a plus-4 in nine games. It could have been better if it had not been for a dreadful night against the Detroit Red Wings. The Michigan-based team won 4-3 in overtime, and Dunn was on the ice for three Detroit goals. All told, he’s been plus-10 since January 1 while battling through injury.
For what it’s worth, this author was at the Kraken-Canadiens game last December and saw Dunn score a goal with a slap shot on the power play. He can rip it; make no mistake about that. Whatever offseason moves the Kraken believe they need to make, Dunn should be kept for the long haul. He is by far their best defenceman and is a wonderful two-way player. At only 27, one might argue that he’s not Dunn yet.