Kraken Rumors

The Kraken announced they’ve put pen to paper with goaltender Joey Daccord on a contract extension. It’s a five-year deal worth $25MM, adds Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, keeping him in Seattle through the 2029-30 season. The 28-year-old will earn an average of $5MM per year.

Daccord was slated to hit unrestricted free agency next summer for the first time, but this deal will keep him off the open market until shortly before his 34th birthday. That means he’ll spend most, if not all, of his prime in Seattle, where he broke out as a legitimate tandem option last season after spending the overwhelming majority of his first four professional seasons in the minors.

Daccord entered the 2023-24 season as the Kraken’s backup option behind Philipp Grubauer, set to be promoted to full-time NHL duties for the first time after guiding AHL Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup Final in its first season. It’s hard to imagine a better first year for Daccord, who not only established himself as a legitimate NHL option but pushed himself ahead of Grubauer on the depth chart.

His .916 SV% tied Boston’s Jeremy Swayman for seventh in the league among goalies with at least 20 appearances, and he added three shutouts and stopped 16.8 goals above average while making 46 starts and four relief appearances. He had a .926 SV% at even strength, second in the league among starters behind Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck. His strong showing didn’t result in any outside Vezina consideration, but he did earn a couple of third-team All-Star votes at the end of the year.

It’s been a lengthy road to NHL relevancy for Daccord, who was a seventh-round pick of the Senators all the way back in 2015 out of the Massachusetts prep school ranks. Two years later, he was in the NCAA, playing a key role in helping the formerly independent Arizona State to Division I relevancy. He was named to the West region’s Second All-American Team in his junior outing in 2018-19 when he backstopped the Sun Devils with a 21-13-1 record and .926 SV% in 35 appearances. That was enough for the Sens to sign him and bring him to the pros.

Daccord posted decent numbers in minor-league action for the Sens, but injuries and COVID limited his total playing time. After nine NHL appearances in Ottawa, logging a 1-4-1 record and a .894 SV%, he was left unprotected in the 2021 expansion draft and was claimed by Seattle. He was viewed as a high-ceiling option but cleared waivers at the beginning of 2022-23, even after posting a .925 SV% in his first year in the Kraken organization in 34 games with AHL Charlotte.

Now, Daccord’s AHL days are behind him after posting a .918 SV% in 98 appearances at the second-tier level. A $25MM deal is certainly a significant commitment from the Kraken to a netminder with fewer than 70 NHL games under his belt, but his robust workload last year gave them enough confidence to ink the contract.

Unfortunately, it also means Seattle will be carrying an expensive tandem of Daccord and Grubauer totaling $10.9MM against the cap for the next two seasons after this one. Grubauer, who’s struggled heavily with a .893 SV% and -39.0 GSAA in 131 appearances for the Kraken since their inaugural season, still has three years left on his deal at a $5.9MM cap hit. He has a 10-team no-trade list, but the cap-strapped Kraken might be able to unload him next summer with only two seasons left on his contract if they’re willing to attach a sweetener. That would allow them to land a more cost-effective option to partner with or back up Daccord.

The Kraken now have $79.15MM tied up in 15 players for next season, leaving them roughly $13.35MM in flexibility for eight players, assuming the cap rises as expected to $92.5MM. Notable pending UFAs include Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, William Borgen, and Josh Mahura, while notable RFAs include Ryker Evans and Tye Kartye.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report that Daccord and the Kraken were nearing an extension. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the terms of the contract.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.