- After not making Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, Kraken blueliner Brandon Montour opted to accept an invitation to the Worlds back in May in the hopes of improving his chances of being selected to play in the Olympics. He fared quite well in the tournament, tying for the lead in points by a defenseman with nine. Accordingly, NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger suggests that the 31-year-old may now have a viable shot at making the roster, especially with GM Doug Armstrong suggesting that in-season performance and not just their track record will go a long way toward determining the final roster. Montour had a career-best 18 goals in his first season with Seattle in 2024-25 and will look to build off that this season.
Kraken Rumors
Kraken Hire Zac Dalpe, Adam Purner To Development Team
The Seattle Kraken have announced two late-summer hires. Recently retired pro Zac Dalpe will join the club as a Player Development Consultant, and Adam Purner will take on the role of Video Analyst, in the 2025-26 season. Dalpe played through over 15 years between the NHL and AHL lineups, while Purner has spent the last three seasons as the video coach for the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Dalpe will waste no time in continuing his career in the hockey world, as he lands this role just over a month after announcing the end of his playing days. He was once a top center prospect, originally drafted in the second-round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. Dalpe followed his draft with two seasons at The Ohio State University, where he emerged as a key part of the offense – netting 70 points in 76 games before turning pro in 2010. He seemed to be set for much of the same success at the pro flight, with 64 points in his first 70 games in the AHL.
But Dalpe struggled to maintain his scoring into the NHL flight. His career was defined by lofty scoring in the minors, but minimal scoring in the majors. Despite that, the reliable center was able to work his way to 168 appearances at the NHL level over the course of 12 seasons. He played with six clubs over that period, including four years in Carolina’s pipeline and three years with Columbus. He totaled 32 points in those appearances. Dalpe’s spot starts in the NHL were rounded out by an impressive 392 points in 574 games, and 15 seasons, in the AHL. He was a true pillar of any lineup he joined, and spent the last six seasons of his career serving as a team captain – broken up as two years wearing the Cleveland Monsters ’C’, and four years leading the Charlotte Checkers.
Dalpe’s career was defined not by lofty stats or many accolades, but instead true year-over-year reliability and a willingness to fill any role his teams needed. He’ll now use those attributes to support Seattle’s young guns as they ramp into the NHL.
Joining Dalpe will be acclaimed video coach Purner, who supported the Hershey Bears in their run to Calder Cup Championships in two of the last three seasons. Purner’s career began with five seasons as the video coach for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He followed that stint with two years in a minor-league role with the New Jersey Devils’ organization, split between one year with the Binghamton Devils and one year with the Utica Comets. Purner will now receive his first NHL opportunity just a few hours away from where his career began.
Seattle Kraken Sign Ryker Evans To Two-Year Deal
The Seattle Kraken have come to terms with their lone remaining restricted free agent. According to a team announcement, the Kraken have signed defenseman Ryker Evans to a two-year, $4.1MM ($2.05MM AAV) contract through the 2026-27 NHL season.
The Kraken selected Evans with the 35th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was coming off a solid, albeit shortened, year with the WHL’s Regina Pats, scoring three goals and 28 points in 24 games with a -4 rating. The following year, again with the Pats, Evans posted an even better 14 goals and 61 points in 63 games with a +9 rating.
Evans immediately made a name for himself in the Kraken’s organization. Seattle started him with their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, in the 2022-23 season, and he responded well with six goals and 44 points in 71 games with a +19 rating. Still, the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs put him over the top in terms of prospect rankings, scoring five goals and 26 points in 26 games with a +13 rating en route to a berth in the Calder Cup Final. He was included on the AHL All-Rookie Team at season’s end.
Despite being on everyone’s radar as one of the better prospects in Seattle’s system, Evans’ transition to the NHL didn’t go as smoothly as hoped. He skated in 36 games for the Kraken in the 2023-24 season, but only mustered one goal and nine points with a -5 rating. Still, his 54.2% CorsiFor% at even strength and 91.3% on-ice save percentage at even strength proved he was ready to play in the sport’s top league.
Given those indications in his underlying metrics, Evans earned a full-time spot on the Kraken’s roster this past season. Finishing the season with five goals and 25 points in 73 games with a -12 rating while averaging 19:29 of ice time per game in a top-four role. His underlying metrics dropped somewhat, but that’s to be expected with twice as much playing time.
Even though Evans is a promising young two-way defenseman on Seattle’s roster, his only drawback is that he doesn’t offer them anything different than what they’ve been accustomed to in the past few years. The Kraken only finished with one defenseman scoring more than 40 points last season (although Vince Dunn would have had he not missed time due to injury). Evans can be a solid offensive contributor, but he’s not expected to push for the 60 or even 50-point plateau.
Still, he’s already beaten out Jamie Oleksiak in terms of positioning on the team’s depth chart, and his spot in the lineup isn’t expected to be altered by Seattle’s signing of Ryan Lindgren this summer. He’ll likely see his ice time grow year-on-year, especially if the Kraken begin phasing out some of their older talent.
Kraken’s Ollie Josephson Commits To North Dakota
Seattle Kraken center prospect Ollie Josephson has committed to the University of North Dakota for the 2025-26 season. He will move to the United States after spending the last three seasons with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. Seattle drafted Josephson in the fourth-round of the 2024 draft.
Josephson lived up to his claim as a top juniors prosect by carving out a high-impact role in Red Deer. He was originally drafted fifth-overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, and joined the Rebels full-time ahead of the 2022-23 season, at the age of 17. He scored a measly 19 points in 63 games that year, while filling out a depth role, but returned with momentum on his side for his age-18 season. Now a sophomore in the league, Josephson took on an assistant captain role with the Rebels and scored a much stouter 47 points in 68 games. He also added three assists in seven games with Team Canada at the World U18 Championship.
Josephson returned to take on Red Deer’s captaincy last season. He again appeared to take a full stride forward from his prior season, and looked comfortable and confident serving as the Rebels’ top-line center. He scored 35 points in 48 games – good for second on Red Deer in scoring behind Matthew Gard’s 36 points in 66 games. It was a strong, confident performance on a team that’d finish in the league’s bottom-five – and enough to earn Josephson a draft spot despite injuries taking out much of his January and ending his season in March.
In landing Josephson this summer, both Seattle and North Dakota land a prominent, playmaking centerman capable of controlling movement through the middle lane. He’s been oft knocked by a lack of physicality and flashy setups, but finds a way to stay on top of play with smooth skating and a persistent drive. Time in what’s sure to be a gridlocked NCHC conference should help Josephson learn to better wield his drive into play in the corners and along the boards. He could be a candidate for a multi-year stay, as well, as Seattle looks to mold him into a pro-ready player.
The Fighting Hawks will fill out their final forward position with this recruitment. The team, led by first-year general manager Bryn Chyzyk, have found strong talent throughout the CHL. Josephson will join Calgary Flames prospect Cole Reschny, as well as top 2026 draft prospect Keaton Verhoeff, in making the leap from the WHL.
What Should The Kraken Do With Philipp Grubauer?
In their inaugural season, the Seattle Kraken believed they had found their franchise goalie for the foreseeable future by signing Philipp Grubauer to a six-year, $35.4MM contract. Grubauer was coming off an impressive season with the Colorado Avalanche, managing a 30-9-1 record in 40 games with a .922 SV%, finishing third place in Vezina Trophy voting.
Unfortunately, the Kraken have not seen a positive return on their significant investment in goaltending. In his first season with the team, Grubauer’s play dropped dramatically, finishing with an 18-31-5 record, a .889 SV%, 3.16 GAA, and -26.4 Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA), the latter being the lowest in the league by a considerable margin.
In large part due to the surprising top-level play from Martin Jones a year later, the Kraken qualified for the postseason in 2022-23. Although Grubauer had another disappointing regular season, he looked inspired throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, especially against his former team. Grubauer finished the postseason with a 7-7-0 record with a .903 SV%, eliminating his former employer and the defending Stanley Cup champions in a hotly contested opening round matchup.
Despite having a resurgence in the 2023 postseason, Grubauer has fallen back to his old ways in the meantime, ultimately ceding the starting netminder position in Seattle to Joey Daccord. Since losing to the Dallas Stars in the second round of that playoff run, Grubauer has earned a 22-33-3 record in 60 starts with a .889 SV%. His play over the last two seasons has brought his overall record with the Kraken to a 57-78-12 record (36.5% winning percentage) in 156 games with a .890 SV%, 3.07 GAA, and -56.2 GSAA.
Quite obviously, that wasn’t what Seattle was expecting when they made such a large investment in Grubauer’s services, and he has little chance of recouping the starting position from Daccord anytime soon. The talent gap was so significant between the two netminders that Grubauer had been mentioned as a likely buyout candidate heading into the current offseason.
Ultimately, the Kraken decided against buying out Grubauer during their initial opportunity at the start of the offseason and reiterated this choice after their conditional buy-out window, following the signing of Kaapo Kakko to a three-year contract in late July. Seattle did sign veteran Matt Murray to a one-year, $1MM contract on the opening day of free agency, though he’s likely penciled in for AHL duty with Grubauer still in the system.
Since it’s well known he’s a sunk cost for the remaining term on his contract, the Kraken are effectively left with two choices. They could buy him out next offseason, which would spread out 66.6% of his remaining one-year and $5.9MM over the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, or seek a trade partner. It’s important to note that Grubauer has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract.
Depending on how desperate each team becomes next season, the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Columbus Blue Jackets all make sense to some degree for Grubauer’s services. Even if he has a slight increase in his production, Seattle could be positioned to swap overvalued goaltending deals with the Oilers (Stuart Skinner), Penguins (Tristan Jarry), and Blue Jackets (Elvis Merzlikins).
At this point, the Kraken must provide additional value in a potential deal for the previously mentioned goaltenders. There is no doubt that Grubauer has negative value for the team, and the Kraken may be better off waiting another year to buy out the remaining year of his contract next summer when it is more financially advantageous.
Kraken Hire Ryan Jankowski As Assistant General Manager
The Kraken announced that longtime NHL scout and executive Ryan Jankowski has been hired as an assistant general manager ahead of the 2025-26 season. They didn’t provide much detail on Jankowski’s exact role, but he’ll presumably serve at the top of their scouting hierarchy above director of pro scouting Dave Baseggio and director of amateur scouting Robert Kron.
Now 51, the uncle of Hurricanes forward Mark Jankowski has been in NHL front offices for the better part of the last two decades. The Calgary native doesn’t have a playing background. Nonetheless, today’s news is still something of a homecoming for Jankowski, whose first job in hockey was as a scout in Washington state for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. He worked for them from 1997 to 2003 before being picked up as a scout by the Islanders.
Jankowski was promoted to an assistant GM with the Isles two years into his tenure, a role he held until he departed the organization in 2010. He immediately caught on with the Canadiens’ scouting staff, staying there for three years before taking a role with Hockey Canada. He served as the junior program’s head scout from 2013-15 and then as their director of player personnel from 2015-17. During that time, he won a bronze medal with the U-18 group at the World Juniors in 2014 and 2015 and a silver medal with the U-20 team in 2017.
In 2017, he returned to the NHL as the Sabres’ director of amateur scouting. He accepted the same role with the Coyotes in 2020 and followed the rest of the team’s hockey operations staff to Utah last summer, serving as the Mammoth’s director of amateur scouting for their first season. He’ll now depart for another fresh-faced franchise as they undergo a front office restructuring, highlighted by Ron Francis being promoted from GM to president of hockey operations with Jason Botterill, who Jankowski worked with in Buffalo, replacing him.
Kraken Sign Kaapo Kakko To Three-Year Contract
Earlier today, the dates for the seven remaining arbitration-eligible players were revealed. However, one player who won’t need that hearing after all is Kraken winger Kaapo Kakko. The team announced that they’ve reached an agreement on a three-year contract that will pay $4.525MM per season after being set to exchange arbitration figures on Wednesday. GM Jason Botterill released the following statement:
Getting a contract done with Kaapo was a top priority this summer. We knew quickly he’d be a big part of our team moving forward. He’s got size, skill and tremendous playmaking ability, and isn’t afraid of going to the net. He fit in immediately with our group, and we’re thrilled to have him under contract.
The 24-year-old was the second overall selection back in 2019 by the Rangers and had seemingly been on thin ice in New York for a couple of years. The two sides agreed on a one-year, $2.4MM contract last offseason, well before qualifying offers were due to be submitted, avoiding any risk of the Rangers non-tendering him to avoid arbitration rights.
The deal seemingly represented a last-chance opportunity for Kakko and it’s fair to say he didn’t make the most of it. He managed just four goals and 10 assists in 30 games with New York and in December, the Rangers pulled the trigger on a trade, sending him to Seattle for defenseman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2026 sixth-round selection.
The change of scenery seemed to give Kakko a boost. He averaged just under a point per game over his first month with the Kraken and overall, he picked up 10 goals and 20 assists in 49 outings. Combining his stats with New York, Kakko’s 44 points represented a career high, giving him some leverage heading into contract talks this summer.
Considering that Kakko’s career numbers of 71 goals and 90 assists in 379 games is rather pedestrian, Jason Botterill is clearly banking on Kakko’s second-half production being a sign of things to come. He got the bigger role he was hoping for following the swap, logging a little over 17 minutes a night of playing time after averaging just over 13 minutes a night prior to the swap. It’s clear that, based on this deal, Seattle feels that Kakko can be a legitimate top-six forward for them moving forward.
Beyond his entry-level contract, this is the longest agreement that Kakko has signed. It’s a pact that buys out his first two UFA-eligible seasons, giving the Kraken a longer look at him. It will also allow Kakko to potentially reach the open market at 27 in 2028, putting him in a position to possibly secure a long-term, big-money agreement if he’s able to maintain and build off his strong first half-season with Seattle.
With the signing, the Kraken now have a little under $6.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. They still have one key restricted free agent to sign in defenseman Ryker Evans. He’s not arbitration-eligible but Botterill should have enough flexibility to sign him to a long-term agreement if the sides can work one out.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the signing.
Photo courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.
Arbitration Schedule For Remaining Cases Finalized
The arbitration hearing dates for the few remaining unsettled cases have been finalized, PuckPedia reports:
F Kaapo Kakko, Kraken: July 25
G Arvid Soderblom, Blackhawks: July 28
F Maxim Tsyplakov, Islanders: July 29
D Dylan Samberg, Jets: July 30
D Conor Timmins, Sabres: Aug. 2
F Nicholas Robertson, Maple Leafs: Aug. 3
D Jayden Struble, Canadiens: Aug. 3
There are only seven out of this year’s initial 11 player-elected arbitration cases still without a resolution as the hearings approach. Winnipeg had three of the players on that list and has settled with two of them, reaching a two-year, $3.7MM settlement with Morgan Barron and a substantial six-year, $45MM deal for Gabriel Vilardi.
The Ducks also had two arbitration cases on that list, but settled with both of them in the past few days. Depth defenseman Drew Helleson got a two-year, $2.2MM contract, while emerging star goaltender Lukas Dostal signed a five-year, $32.5MM deal.
There were two team-elected arbitration cases this year, the Sabres’ Bowen Byram and the Mammoth’s Jack McBain, but both have been settled.
As for the seven players above, they can continue talks with their clubs on a new deal until the hearing begins. After that, they’re bound to the arbitrator’s decision.
Players who reach an arbitration hearing are only eligible to sign a one or two-year contract. Since the player filed for arbitration in all seven cases above, the team gets to choose the contract length after receiving the arbitrator’s decision on the AAV. However, only Robertson, Soderblom, and Struble would be eligible for two-year contracts. Everyone else is one year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency status, so they can’t receive a multi-year arbitration award.
If the arbitration award exceeds $4.85MM in any case, the team can decline it and allow the player to become an unrestricted free agent.
Kraken Hire Vince Stalletti As AHL Goaltending Coach
- The AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds have hired Vince Stalletti as their goaltending coach, per a team release. Stalletti spent the last five seasons in the NCAA as the goaltending coach at the University of Connecticut. Under his tutelage last season, goaltender Callum Tung (now in the New York Rangers system) posted a school-record .933 save percentage and helped lead the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament. Stalletti replaces Colin Zulianello, who was promoted to be the Seattle Kraken’s goaltending coach under new head coach Lane Lambert.
Olofsson Signs Two-Year Deal With Coachella Valley
- After spending the last four seasons in Seattle’s system on an NHL deal, defenseman Gustav Olofsson will be staying there on a different contract. The Kraken’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley announced that they’ve signed the blueliner to a two-year minor-league deal. Olofsson is a veteran of 63 NHL games but saw just four games with Seattle. Last season, the 30-year-old played in 51 games with the Firebirds, picking up three goals and 14 assists.