The Kraken’s already slim playoff hopes were effectively dealt a death blow with last night’s 6-2 loss to the Jets. Now 1-7-2 in their last 10 games, the loss came with additional bad news as the team announced Philipp Grubauer‘s departure from the game in the second period was due to a lower-body injury, not a standard pull.
It may not have been anything more than a minor strain, considering his reason for leaving wasn’t immediately obvious. He departed the game roughly 1:10 after allowing a Kyle Connor power play one-timer that extended Winnipeg’s lead to 3-1.
Nonetheless, with six games left in Seattle’s season, it’ll be a year-ender for Grubauer if it’s anything serious. The Kraken aren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, but would virtually need to win out in order to secure a playoff berth, along with the Kings failing to get five of 10 remaining points and the four other teams ahead of them – the Predators, Sharks, Jets, and Blues – all failing to gain significant ground.
If so, it’ll be a quiet end to what was a resurgent season in a lighter workload for Grubauer. The 34-year-old was arguably Seattle’s biggest free agent splash prior to its inaugural season, signing a six-year, $35.4MM contract in 2021 to serve as the team’s first starting netminder. At the time, he was coming off a third-place Vezina finish with the Avalanche and had posted a .918 SV% and 2.38 GAA in 113 games across three seasons as Colorado’s starter/1A option.
As Grubauer began to see 50-plus games a year for the first time in Seattle, his numbers immediately suffered. He was arguably the worst starter in the league from the drop, recording a .889 SV% and 3.16 GAA in 55 showings to allow 33.7 goals above expected behind an otherwise strong first-year Kraken defense, per MoneyPuck.
That string of sub-.900 save percentages continued over the next several years, while Grubauer consistently remained below-average in advanced stats like GSAx. By year three, he had lost the starting job to up-and-comer Joey Daccord and was even placed on waivers last season. Seattle’s lack of confidence in Grubauer was clear last summer when, after being unable to shed his contract, they opted to sign veteran Matt Murray as a high-cost third-string option to a one-year, $1MM deal and start the year carrying three netminders.
Daccord has remained Seattle’s clear-cut #1 in terms of usage, but Grubauer has done more than enough this season to re-establish himself as an NHL-capable backup heading into the final year of his contract. In 27 starts and four relief appearances, he’s compiled a 13-11-4 record with a .910 SV% and 2.59 GAA. Not only are those numbers better than Daccord’s, but he ranks 11th in the league in save percentage (min. 20 games played) and leads Seattle with 5.7 goals saved above expected, his best figure since his Cup-winning season as Braden Holtby‘s backup in Washington in 2017-18.
If Grubauer can’t return in the next week-plus, look for Murray to get at least one more start to close out his season. The veteran hasn’t dressed since Nov. 15 due to a lower-body injury, but was activated from injured reserve back on March 10, so he’s available.