Seattle Kraken Face Illness, Visa Issues Before Senators Game

The Seattle Kraken enter Saturday’s home game against the Ottawa Senators short-handed, with three players listed as game-time decisions due to illness and a newly acquired forward unavailable because of visa complications, coach Lane Lambert confirmed March 7, 2026. The absences create real uncertainty across Seattle’s defensive pairings and forward lines just hours before puck drop at Climate Pledge Arena.

Lambert confirmed that defensemen Robert Lindgren and Adam Larsson, along with forward Johnny Gaudreau, are all game-time decisions tied to illness inside the Kraken organization. Separately, forward Tanner McMann — acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday — will not dress because of unresolved visa issues. Four players affected. Two entirely different causes.

Lineup Problems Facing the Seattle Kraken Tonight

The Seattle Kraken face a layered roster crunch on March 7. Illness has knocked out potential contributors at two positions simultaneously. Lindgren and Larsson anchor portions of the team’s defensive corps, and losing both — even briefly — forces Lambert to restructure his pairings and adjust zone-coverage assignments. Gaudreau’s status adds further instability to the forward group.

A defense missing Lindgren and Larsson together absorbs measurable stress. Lambert must decide whether to dress an extra blueliner or lean on a healthy forward to absorb extra minutes. The coaching staff had no confirmed answer on any of the three game-time decisions until after the morning skate evaluation. The numbers reveal four absences in a single pre-game window — an unusual concentration of personnel disruption for one club.

McMann’s absence carries its own weight. The Kraken traded for the forward from Toronto on Friday, adding depth to a lineup that now needs it urgently. Visa processing timelines fall outside the organization’s direct control. Lambert provided no debut timeline for McMann. Seattle absorbs the transaction on its books without the on-ice benefit for now.

Ottawa Senators Bring a New Face to Seattle

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Ottawa arrives at Climate Pledge Arena with its own lineup adjustment. Warren Foegele will make his Senators debut Saturday after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. He slots onto the fourth line in place of MacDermid, a forward who exits Ottawa’s lineup as a direct result of the Foegele acquisition.

Foegele brings physical presence to that unit. Fourth-line matchups often define territorial control in close NHL contests — the unit that wins puck battles in the corners and exits the defensive zone cleanly tends to dictate pace. For Seattle’s thinned roster, containing Ottawa’s bottom-six energy while managing their own personnel gaps demands disciplined positional play from every available skater. Film from recent Ottawa road games shows Foegele logging consistent shifts along the boards, generating net-front pressure that opposing short-handed units must account for.

Key Developments Ahead of the March 7 Matchup

• Defensemen Robert Lindgren and Adam Larsson are both game-time decisions because of illness going through the Kraken organization, per coach Lane Lambert.
• Forward Johnny Gaudreau is also a game-time decision for the same illness-related reason.
• Forward Tanner McMann, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, will not play due to visa issues and has no confirmed debut timeline.
• Warren Foegele will make his Ottawa Senators debut after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, replacing MacDermid on the fourth line.
• MacDermid exits Ottawa’s lineup as a direct result of the Foegele acquisition.

How These Absences Affect Seattle’s Defensive Scheme

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Losing Lindgren and Larsson forces Lambert to consider unconventional pairings or dress a call-up from the system. Seattle’s defensive structure depends on gap control and a cohesive shutdown pair to limit opponents’ expected goals against. With both veterans potentially out, the team’s ability to execute that structure becomes far less predictable.

Lambert may view the illness as minor and dress all three game-time decisions after the morning skate evaluation. That result would restore the lineup closer to its intended shape. But the Kraken’s staff cannot rush players back if symptoms persist. The decision before puck drop will reflect how seriously the illness has affected each player’s physical readiness on the day.

The simultaneous absence of two defensemen and a forward tests Seattle’s organizational depth more than most single-game disruptions do. Salary cap implications from the McMann acquisition will become clearer once the visa situation resolves and the forward officially joins the active group. The club carries the roster move on its books without the corresponding on-ice contribution.

The Senators-Kraken matchup also carries playoff positioning weight for both clubs in the final stretch of the regular season. Every point in March carries compounding value inside a tight Western Conference standings race. That context makes Seattle’s personnel uncertainty more consequential than a mid-November illness wave would be. Lambert’s post-morning-skate lineup decisions will draw close attention from playoff-tracking supporters and fantasy hockey managers across North America.