Seattle Kraken fan favorite Brandon Tanev out for season with ACL injury

Dec 27, 2021, 12:53 PM

Seattle Kraken left wing Brandon Tanev warms up before a game against Edmonton on Dec. 18. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Seattle Sports

Brandon Tanev, the biggest fan favorite of the inaugural Seattle Kraken NHL season, will miss the rest of the 2021-22 campaign with an ACL injury.

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The Kraken announced the news around noon Monday.

Tanev, who will turn 30 on Friday, suffered the injury in a Dec. 18 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. That was the last time the Kraken played, as four subsequent Kraken games have been postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the league.

The Kraken are scheduled to return to play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, barring any additional setbacks.

Tanev, a left wing, is third on the team with nine goals and sixth with 15 points this season, and is one of five Kraken players to have appeared in all 30 games thus far. He quickly endeared himself to the new fanbase after the announcement of his selection in the Seattle Kraken NHL Expansion Draft as the TV broadcast showed his infamous headshot for the 2020-21 campaign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he quipped that the surprised look on his face in the picture was because he “saw a ghost.”

"To be honest with you, I saw a ghost so that's the story I'm going with…" 😂

Here's to hoping Brandon Tanev has another iconic headshot next season with his new team.#SeattleDraft | #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/utjOxMGzql

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 22, 2021

Tanev kept the bit going – and arguably upped the ante – with his first headshot with his new team, which has garnered just as much attention.

one more friendly reminder that Brandon Tanev is our leading goal scorer. pic.twitter.com/0ry5Xq0Hc1

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 15, 2021

Funny pictures aside, Tanev has also earned the Kraken fans’ appreciation through his play on the ice. Nicknamed “Turbo,” his hard-skating, physical and energetic style has given the Kraken a boost many times throughout the first 30 games.

A native of Toronto, Tanev began his NHL career as an undrafted 24-year-old rookie out of Providence College with the Winnipeg Jets in 2015-16. He spent four seasons with the Jets, then played two years with the Penguins before coming to Seattle. He earned points in voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the best defensive NHL forward, for both 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Tanev is also the brother of another NHL player. Chris Tanev, who was a longtime Vancouver Canucks defenseman, is in his second season with the Calgary Flames, one of the Kraken’s Pacific Division rivals.