Feature photos courtesy of Getty Images & Chandler Stephenson
Chandler Stephenson is not the only one in his family excited about heading to Seattle.
When it became official that Stephenson had signed a seven-year deal with the Seattle Kraken as a free agent on July 1, the two-time Stanley Cup champion had to break the news to his two-year-old son, Ford.
“He still walks around at times, saying, ‘Vegas Golden Knights!” said the 30-year-old centreman, who played the past five seasons with the squad prior to signing with Seattle.
“Now we have him saying, ‘Seattle Kraken!’ so he might be a bit confused right now. We showed him the video of the pregame intro at the arena where they have the projection of the tentacle on the ice, and he really likes that – he’s into sea monsters, dinosaurs and things like that.”
It has been a whirlwind for Stephenson and his wife, Tasha, and their two kids, Ford and three-month-old Nellie. Since the contract was signed, the couple has received an outpouring of support from Kraken players and their respective partners.
“We had about 30 minutes to make the decision to sign with Seattle,” Stephenson said with a laugh. “Everyone has been great to us – players and people from the organization have reached out and are willing to help in any way they can.
“My wife has heard from wives and girlfriends on the team as well, which has been nice for us too.”
It also helps when you already know some of those players.
“We went for lunch with Jaden Schwartz and his girlfriend,” said Stephenson, who like Schwartz, hails from Saskatchewan.
“I get to play again with Andre Burakovsky, who I played three seasons with in Washington, and Philipp Grubauer, who I also played with in Washington. I don’t know him personally, but I played for the same junior team [Regina Pats] as Jordan Eberle did. My first year there, 2010-11, was Jordan’s first year of pro hockey.”
Stephenson will join another big name who inked a free agent deal with the Kraken this July in defenceman Brandon Montour, who recently won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers.
“It’s a great group,” said Stephenson, who finished third in the Fastest Skater competition at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game with a time of 14.197 seconds.
“You just take one look at the lineup to understand that.”
Stephenson hasn’t had much time to turn his thoughts to the 2024-25 NHL regular season quite yet, but when he is eager to see the puck drop.
“You are still processing everything – packing up, going to a new city and finding a place to live, establishing roots – but when you do think about the season, you definitely get excited about it.”
One huge plus for the forward is knowing he won’t have to face Seattle anymore.
Stephenson recalled the 2024 NHL Winter Classic as a perfect example of what made the Kraken a tough team to play against.
The contest saw Vegas fall 3-0 to the Kraken at T-Mobile Park, home of MLB’s Seattle Mariners.
“When you play them, they are all over you. You have two guys on you as soon as you touch the puck, you pass it to a teammate and then they have two guys on them – they are relentless.
“They are frustrating to play against.”
Stephenson, who posted 10 goals and 20 points in Vegas’ 2023 Stanley Cup run, will no doubt fit right in.
“As we get closer to going there, we are getting more and more excited about it.”
Stephenson and his wife aren’t alone in those thoughts.
One of Seattle’s newest and youngest fans is just as pumped.
“He [Ford] has got a lot of energy and I think he’s going to have a blast at the home games.”
