Expansion teams like the Seattle Kraken, the NHL’s newest team, are supposed to be bad. A new team hasn’t had years to accumulate talent, and its players start out with no experience playing together. Almost by definition, it should take several years before any new franchise—in any professional sport—gets really good.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights upended that theory. The NHL’s 31st franchise debuted in 2017 and made the Stanley Cup Final in its first year of existence, then followed that up with three more playoff seasons (and two more conference final appearances) over the last three years. A team that didn’t exist five years ago immediately became one of hockey’s most dependable organizations.
2021 brings the debut of the league’s 32nd team and its second expansion franchise in the last five years. The Seattle Kraken will attempt to follow the Golden Knights’ example with a strong opening season. Expecting similar success out of the gate is a lot to ask of a new team, but there are a few reasons to think Seattle will be competitive within a short time of the franchise’s opening face-off. Here’s a closer look at the team’s prospects.
giving the new locker room at @KrakenIceplex a quick test run.
The expansion draft is designed to give a new team depth right away.
To stock their roster, the Kraken got to draft one player from every other team in the league except for Vegas, which was exempt on the basis of still being a new team itself. The expansion draft rules for Seattle in July 2021 were the same as those for Vegas in 2017: Other teams could “protect” seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender, or they could do away with offense/defense distinctions and lock down eight skaters of any position plus a goalie.
For an expansion team, the format cuts both ways. On the one hand, the rest of the NHL’s teams protected all of their best players. On the other hand, each team dresses 12 forwards and six defensemen every game, so the Kraken had the chance to stock their roster full of solid players from clubs around the league. The single goaltender protection limit also meant Seattle could select a couple of the league’s best backups—players who are presumably going to develop into better netminders than some teams’ current starting goalies.
In other words, every player Seattle drafted from another team is a legitimate NHL talent. The Kraken picked seven forwards who reached double-digit goals in the shortened 2020–2021 season, including two-time defending Stanley Cup champion center Yanni Gourde from the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team should have two playable goalies in former Florida Panther Chris Driedger (who had a sparkling 2.07 goals-against average in 23 games last season) and free agent pickup Phillip Grubauer.
General managers of the other NHL teams were not nearly as willing to trade with Seattle’s Ron Francis as they were with Vegas GM George McPhee four years ago, but Seattle pulled off a shrewd move by taking goalie Vitek Vanecek and dealing him back to the Capitals in exchange for a second-round draft pick.
The draft format prevented the Kraken from picking a top-end goal scorer, but there are other ways to find players who can put the puck in the net.
All the existing NHL teams protected their top scorers. That left Seattle to pick through depth players instead of those at the top of the Rocket Richard Trophy leaderboard.
But recent history says the Kraken will still have players who can score lots of goals. For one thing, many of the new Seattle players didn’t get many opportunities to be front-line scorers on their previous teams. They’ll now have a chance to step up and fill that role. Before joining Vegas in that franchise’s inaugural season in 2017, Swedish winger William Karlsson had scored 21 goals across five NHL seasons. When placed on a scoring line in Vegas, he scored 43 that year for the Knights.
That’s a huge breakout year, but it’s easy to imagine a few Seattle players posting career-best goal numbers. Keep an eye on Mason Appleton, a big forward the Kraken plucked from the Winnipeg Jets. Appleton scored 12 goals in 56 games last season after scoring eight in his first 82 with Winnipeg. Maybe he’ll continue his breakout this season.
The Kraken also made a few important free agent signings in ex-St. Louis Blues winger Jaden Schwartz (154 goals in 10 NHL seasons) and ex-Florida Panthers center Alexander Wennberg, who has seven years of NHL experience but is still young: He turns 27 in September.
The Kraken retained one of hockey’s most valuable assets: salary cap space.
GM Ron Francis has left himself more than $16 million in spending room under the NHL’s salary cap, according to data from the contract-tracking website CapFriendly. That will go down somewhat as the Kraken continue to fill out a complete NHL roster, but the point remains: Seattle has a lot of spending flexibility to add more talent. That’s flexibility most other teams lack.
Seven of the league’s 32 teams are currently over the $81.5 million cap and will have to make moves in the coming weeks to get into compliance. Another six teams have less than $3 million in salary cap space to work with, which severely limits the kinds of moves they can make. Seattle has more cap room than all but eight teams, giving Francis plenty of maneuverability both this year and over the next few seasons. Even if Seattle isn’t especially good in 2021, it’ll have room to grow.
Replicating Vegas’ instant success will be hard.
For an expansion franchise, a Stanley Cup Final appearance in the first year is a lot to live up to, and so is following that up with three more playoff runs the next three years. But the Golden Knights laid out a roadmap, and so far, Seattle seems to be in a good position to follow it. There’s no reason the Kraken can’t be a serious presence on the West Coast this season and in seasons to come.
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
There’s no doubt when the weather turns colder as we settle into winter, stouts take center stage. And while we enjoy all its iterations: standard stout, imperial stout, and robust barrel-aged stouts, we think this malty, chocolate-filled beer’s close cousin deserves a little respect as well. Of course, we’re talking about the oft-overlooked porter. And the best porters, oh buddy, they’ll have you rethinking your seasonal bevvie of choice.
For those uninitiated, the porter style had its genesis in England like many other iconic beer styles. It first appeared in the 1700s and is (you guessed it) named after porters—individuals tasked with transporting luggage.
A confusing origin story
“Stout is the direct descendant of porter. In the 1700s, it was common to use the word ‘stout’ to refer to a bolder, higher-alcohol version of any beer style, much in the same way we use the word ‘imperial’ today,” says Zach Fowle, advanced cicerone and head of marketing for Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix, AZ. “Porter was the most popular beer of the day, and over time, “stout porter” became a popular variant. But by the late 1800s, demand for regular porters evaporated, and stout porter shortened simply to stout.”
But more has changed between the 1800s and today than just our penchant for wearing top hats. “Today, most brewers seem to market beers as either stout or porter based on vibes, rather than on any notable stylistic differences,” he says.
Specifically, porters are known for their dark, almost pitch-black color and rich, sweet flavor profile. If you were to drink a porter and a stout side by side, you might even have difficulty discerning the differences between the two.
Stout versus porter is an enduring topic of discussion in the brewing industry. “While there’s no debating the porter came first—and stout used to be called stout porter, so it was a stronger version of a porter—the lines have become very blurred over the years,” says Rob Lightner, co-founder of East Brother Brewing in Richmond, CA.
“I would venture that even among professionals, a blind taste test would often yield inconclusive results,” says Lightner.
The difference between porters and stouts
Porters tend to be on the milder, more chocolatey end of the spectrum, Lightner says, whereas stouts are typically a little stronger and more roasty. Of course, this isn’t a hard and fast rule
Fowle agrees, “Porters tend to be fruitier, sweeter, and less bitter than stouts, with cocoa and caramel flavors in balance with dark malt bitterness. And stouts are usually hoppier, drier, maltier, and more coffee-forward—and may even have a touch of acidity.”
Whether or not they fit neatly into boxes, one thing’s for sure: both make for incredible cold-weather brews.
“As the nights grow longer, drinking a light, summery beer just doesn’t seem right,” says Fowle. “Porter is the perfect style for the transition to winter: warming and toasty yet not too heavy, with flavors of coffee, chocolate, and pie crust that correspond with autumn weather and holidays.”
It’s the perfect time to broaden your repretoire. Sweet, robust, warming, and well-suited to the season, here are the best porters to drink now.
1. Deschutes Black Butte Porter
There are few porters more well-respected than Deschutes’ iconic Black Butte Porter. It’s brewed with Cascade and Tettnang hops as well as 2-row, Chocolate, Crystal, and Carapils malts as well as wheat. This 5.5% ABV year-round offering is great for cold-weather drinking because of its mix of roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate. It’s a robust, subtly sweet beer perfect for imbibing on a crisp fall night.
The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top. Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
If you haven’t picked up a jump rope since elementary school, you’re missing out on a fantastic cardio workout. Not only will you burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time—200 to 300 calories in 15 minutes—but jump ropes can also improve your coordination and agility. Better yet, jumping rope doesn’t require much space, so it’s easy to do at home, and it’s often more mentally stimulating than jogging or swimming.
Choosing a Jump Rope
When deciding which jump rope is best for you, it’s important to determine what your goals are. While lightweight speed ropes are popular for cardio-focused training, weighted or drag ropes will be best for those focused on strength training.
No matter what your training goals are, we’ve got you covered with this roundup of 10 jump ropes from top brands including Crossrope, TRX, Rogue, and more.
The Best Jump Ropes of 2022
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!