SEATTLE — It's time to say the scariest word in sports.

But first, let's mine a metaphor we learned in middle school, via the titular character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby." In it, Jay Gatsby reaches for a green light that teases from the tip of Daisy Buchanan's dock. He reaches for a former flame, and an idyllic future that no longer exists. He is consumed with the quest to capture something that cannot be reclaimed.

"Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can!"

He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand.

"I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly.

The Kraken, too, keep futilely attempting to repeat their past, reaching for a playoff appearance from 2023. Back then they notched 100 points — and upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche — with waves of relentless depth, trading star power for a team-wide scoring punch. They finished second in the NHL in shooting percentage (11.6%) and fourth in goals per game (3.52), producing a possible blueprint for future playoff runs.

And yet, they've failed to repeat that recipe in two sputtering seasons since.

Which isn't to say the Kraken have stood completely still. They fired coach Dave Hakstol and promoted Coachella Valley's Dan Bylsma to take his place, after producing 81 points and missing the playoffs in 2023-24. They signed free agents Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson to seven-year deals this offseason, and traded for former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko in December.

But these were half-measures, minor substitutions to the same recipe.

"We want to be a team that's deep throughout our lineup and gets contributions from everybody on a night to night basis," Bylsma said after the Kraken fell behind 6-0 in a 6-2 loss to Detroit this week.

Once, they were that team.

They're not anymore.

Through 46 games, the Kraken sit 13th in the NHL in shooting percentage (10.8%), 21st in goals per game (2.87), 23rd in power-play percentage (18.6%), 25th in faceoff-win percentage (48.7%) and 28th in shots per game (26.6). Their defense has also dwindled, landing 21st in save percentage (.889) and 23rd in goals against per game (3.17).

Of equal concern, Seattle has been hounded by sluggish starts — surrendering 51 first-period goals, third-most in the NHL.

After the Kraken conceded four goals in a disastrous first period in Detroit, defenseman Adam Larsson shook his head and said: "We didn't look ready. We weren't ready."

Added Jaden Schwartz, when asked to pinpoint the problem: "Just not being ready. Again. I don't have much to say right now, other than, we've got to grasp it from within and turn this around quickly. Because it's unacceptable, and there's no one to blame but ourselves."

The time for a turnaround is probably already past. The Kraken were eight points out of a playoff spot at the NHL's Christmas break, facing a deficit no team has conquered since the Buffalo Sabres in 2010-11. They've since gone 4-5-1 in an uninspiring stretch, including a four-game losing streak to start the new year.

At 19-24-3, Seattle remains eight points out and trails four other teams chasing the Western Conference's final wild-card spot. Moneypuck.com gives the Kraken a 0.8% chance to make the playoffs, as of Friday afternoon.

"Our goal every year is to get in the playoffs," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said after firing Hakstol on April 29. "Once you get in the playoffs, when you look at the difference between the top teams and the teams that finish in a wild-card spot, there's not much. So you want an invitation to the dance, and once you get to the dance you want to have success while you're there."

The Kraken's dancing shoes have long since gathered dust.

So, it's time to say the scariest word in sports.

Rebuild.

That's a far cry from "repeat," as the Kraken cling to a blueprint that's clearly broken. But it's easy to keep saying that you're close, to hope another mid-tier signing tips the scales. (It probably won't.) It's easy to reach for the fading light from a star that actually died two years ago. It's easy to keep kicking the can.

It's hard to blow it up.

Because doing so admits defeat, shattering the delusion that a playoff return is one player away. Doing so demands possibly parting with players who sacrificed for a franchise in its infancy — guys such as Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Andre Burakovsky, Eeli Tolvanen, etc.

Doing so might mean evaluating Francis' role, considering the Kraken have a .432 winning percentage and a single whiff of playoff hockey in nearly four seasons at the helm.

Doing so requires a commitment to a younger core — Matty Beniers, Shane Wright and Ryker Evans, plus long-term prospects such as Berkly Catton, Carson Rehkopf, Jagger Firkus and David Goyette, etc.

Doing so is scary, especially as the Kraken maintain efforts to build a fan base. A possible Sonics return threatens to further fragment that fan base as well.

So, at a metaphorical fork, the Kraken could either:

A) Embrace a rebuild, prioritizing the future by trading veterans to bolster one of the NHL's premier prospect pools, or

B) Make more minor moves, stretching toward a green light that eternally teases

If your goal is to make the playoffs, which path allows for more sustainable success? Which path allows you to prioritize the future, not the past? Which path, whether short or long, ends at the front door to the dance?

I know which way I'd walk.

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