Kraken Recall Victor Ostman From AHL
Already without Philipp Grubauer who was recently injured and Matt Murray who has been out for most of the season, the Kraken now have starting goalie Joey Daccord sidelined with a lower-body injury as well. As a result, the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled netminder Victor Ostman from AHL Coachella Valley.
The 25-year-old has made just one NHL appearance in his career, that coming last April when he made 12 saves on 12 shots in mop-up duty of a late-season game against Utah. Beyond that, his professional experience has come exclusively in the minors.
Last season, Ostman spent most of the year at the ECHL level, only getting into five AHL outings. This season, he has seen regular action with the Firebirds, getting into 37 games where he has posted a 2.77 GAA with a .907 SV%. This is his first recall to Seattle this season.
While Seattle finds itself in a bottom-five spot in the standings, they technically enter play today against Calgary with a slim chance at a playoff spot. For that to happen, they’ll have to win out and hope a whole lot else goes their way. But they’ll be turning to Niklas Kokko – Ostman’s platoon partner in Coachella Valley – to help get that victory; he’ll be making his first NHL start tonight.
With Daccord’s injury, Ostman’s recall qualifies for emergency circumstances. Accordingly, his promotion won’t count against their post-deadline recall limit.
West Notes: Avalanche, Dickinson, Daccord
The Avalanche clinched themselves a trophy on Thursday night, securing the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best regular season record. They did so without a pair of key veterans in defenseman Cale Makar and center Nazem Kadri. Speaking with reporters postgame including Kyle Newman of The Denver Post, head coach Jared Bednar indicated that he’s hoping to see Makar get back into a game before the playoffs. Sidelined since the end of March due to an upper-body injury, he sits third on the Avs in scoring with 75 points in 73 games. As for Kadri, he’s listed as day-to-day with a finger issue. Acquired just before the buzzer at the trade deadline last month, he has fit in well in his second stint with the team, collecting nine points in 16 games, three of those being power play goals.
More from out West:
- The Oilers will be without center Jason Dickinson for their game on Saturday against Los Angeles. Team broadcaster Bob Stauffer notes (Twitter link) that the veteran is unavailable after suffering a leg injury on Wednesday against San Jose. Acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline, the 30-year-old has a goal and three assists in 17 games with his new team while averaging a little over 15 minutes per game of ice time. He has been their most-used penalty killer since being acquired as well. There’s no word yet on a timeline for Dickinson’s return.
- Already missing Philipp Grubauer, the Kraken could be without their other netminder as they look to keep their very faint playoff hopes alive. Team radio host Mike Benton relays (Twitter link) that Joey Daccord was feeling sore after Thursday’s game and was undergoing evaluation today. If he’s unable to suit up Saturday against Calgary, the team will have to recall someone (likely Victor Ostman) from AHL Coachella Valley with Niklas Kokko probably in line to make his first NHL start in a must-win game if they want to avoid elimination from the playoffs. Daccord has a 3.03 GAA with a .896 SV% in 47 games this season.
Assessing The Kraken’s Goaltending Situation
The Kraken entered the break on a strong note with three straight wins, but they’ve only won four of their last 14 games. Thanks to many of their tweener companions in the West struggling, they’re only three points out of a playoff spot with four games in hand on the Mammoth.
Seattle isn’t a surefire playoff team by any stretch at a record of 15-14-6, but given the level of goaltending they’ve received thus far from Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray, they should be able to at least stay in the mix until the trade deadline. Seattle’s issue has clearly been its offense this year, which ranks third-last in the league at 2.54 goals per game. On the defensive side, Seattle’s 2.97 goals against per game rank 13th.
Earlier in 2025, two NHL contracts that seemed unmovable were those of Grubauer and Tristan Jarry. Jarry was dealt to the Oilers earlier this month after passing through waivers a year ago. However, his play this year opened the door for the Penguins to move him and his entire $5.375MM cap hit, even though it had another two years after this one.
Something that seemed impossible a year ago happened, and the Penguins netted two roster players and a second-round pick. The trade highlighted the limited goaltending options available across the NHL, which brings us to the Kraken and, specifically, Grubauer.
The 34-year-old has been a disaster since signing with Seattle as a free agent in 2021. The Stanley Cup winner signed a six-year deal worth $5.9MM annually, and he has never been able to give the Kraken anything close to the goaltending he provided to the Avalanche in his few seasons as their starter.
Grubauer was a Vezina Trophy finalist in his platform season, finishing third, and posted a 30-9-1 record with a .922 SV% and a 1.95 GAA. As impressive as those numbers were, his underlying numbers painted a clearer picture, minimizing Grubauer’s overall impact and suggesting a goaltender playing behind an excellent team. Grubauer still had to stop the saveable pucks and avoid the bad goals, and that’s precisely what he did, but he only registered 5.2 goals saved above expected (as per MoneyPuck), 11th in the league.
Fast-forward to that summer, when Seattle thought they were getting a netminder capable of backstopping them on deep playoff runs. Now, his contract has become one of, if not the, least movable agreements in the NHL, until perhaps this season.
Grubauer has started the season well, even though traditional metrics don’t necessarily reflect it. He has played 11 games this season, going 5-3-1 with a .911 SV% and a 2.59 GAA. Those numbers are nothing to write home about, but a deeper dive shows that Grubauer has 7.1 goals saved above expected on the year – the best figure on the Kraken.
That great start to the season could give Seattle the chance to move him, if he agrees. Grubauer has a modified no-trade clause in his contract, which further complicates a trade even if Seattle were able to find a dance partner.
To add to an already complicated dynamic, the third-string Murray is injured. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed a career that once looked incredibly bright. That said, when Murray returns to the lineup, the Kraken will presumably have three capable NHL goaltenders and will need to move one or assign one to the AHL.
This is where it gets really complicated. Losing Grubauer for Murray is a lateral move at this point, but is Seattle really willing to roll the dice with Murray as the backup? Hard to say, but talent-wise, Murray is more than capable, and the risk of moving Grubauer might just be worth it if it means shedding his massive contract, especially if the Kraken remain out of the playoff picture.
It’s not dissimilar to what the Penguins had to do to shed Jarry’s contract. They took back Stuart Skinner and are rolling with him and Arturs Silovs, but the big win is not having Jarry’s money on the books, which opens the door for Pittsburgh to do a lot next summer. Seattle could put itself in a similar spot if it moved all of Grubauer’s deal, which would bring it to $40MM in available cap room for 2026-27 with just six players to sign (as per PuckPedia)
Seattle has already begun selling off free agents, as evidenced by the Mason Marchment trade to the Blue Jackets, and is signalling that it plans to punt on this season. Murray is a pending free agent, but even if Seattle were to trade the two-time Stanley Cup Champion, it wouldn’t get much for him given his play in previous seasons and his long injury history. The Kraken’s best course of action is to try to move Grubauer for something, anything really, to clear the books and make some bigger moves next summer.
Now, teams are obviously desperate for goaltending, but that doesn’t mean Seattle can move all of Grubauer’s contract. They should be able to move half or more, but they have to do it soon, so his play doesn’t fall back to the level it was at in the last few seasons. They also need to be concerned that a team like Pittsburgh tries to move Skinner, which would further diminish Seattle’s trading partners.
Seattle Kraken Activate Joey Daccord From IR
The Seattle Kraken announced that they’ve activated netminder Joey Daccord from their injured reserve. Additionally, the Kraken shared that goaltender Matt Murray would miss the next six weeks due to a lower-body injury, though they didn’t indicate if they had placed him on the IR.
It’s been nearly two weeks since Daccord last played for Seattle. He suffered an upper-body injury in a blowout loss to the San Jose Sharks on November 5th after playing in just over two periods.
Before exiting the lineup with the upper-body ailment, Daccord was again a quality netminder for the Kraken, though not as solid as in recent years. He’s managed a 6-2-3 record in 11 starts this season with a .900 SV% and 2.83 GAA. It’s slightly below the .910 SV% and 2.61 GAA he’s averaged over the last two years, though there’s plenty of time to rediscover those numbers.
Regardless, the team hasn’t suffered as much as expected without Daccord, winning three out of five contests. The common denominator in those three wins was Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 58 of 64 shots (.906 SV%) throughout his three appearances.
Consequently, the only Kraken netminder without a win will likely be out until the calendar turns over to 2026. Murray, the two-time Stanley Cup champion, had appeared in five games for Seattle this year, managing a 0-2-1 record with a .921 SV% and 2.21 GAA.
Interestingly, like Daccord, Murray was also injured in a game against the Sharks. Murray’s current injury appears to be non-contact in nature, as he left late in the first period after being scored on by Sharks’ forward Alexander Wennberg. Notably, Murray has experienced long-standing ankle and groin injuries throughout his career.
Seattle Kraken To Activate Ryker Evans
The Seattle Kraken have activated defenseman Ryker Evans off injured reserve today, per an official announcement. They also placed netminder Joey Daccord on injured reserve in a corresponding move.
Daccord sustained an upper-body injury in the team’s loss on Nov. 5, and will now be out at least a week due to this IR placement. The Kraken have carried three goalies on their roster this season, so they are uniquely prepared to absorb Daccord’s absence. While he recovers from his injury, the Kraken will rely on a pair of veterans: Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray.
A one-time Vezina Trophy finalist, Grubauer has struggled immensely in Seattle, and has played in just two games so far this season. Murray, 31, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has also played in just two games this year, posting a .889 save percentage. Murray is playing out a one-year, $1MM deal while Grubauer has an additional season remaining on the six-year, $5.9MM AAV deal he signed in 2021.
As for Evans, this activation lines him up to play his first game of the 2025-26 season. He’s been out since the preseason with an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old 2021 second-round pick broke into the NHL as a full-time player in 2024-25. He got a run of 36 games in 2023-24, scoring just nine points despite playing nearly two minutes of ice time on the power play per game.
The Kraken’s signing of Brandon Montour from the Florida Panthers knocked Evans off of the Kraken power play, but he nonetheless managed a solid first season in the NHL, scoring 25 points in 73 games.
With Montour and Vince Dunn set to man the Kraken’s top power play units for the foreseeable future, Evans will have to find a way to maximize his effectiveness at even strength. That’s especially true seeing as his impact on the penalty kill last season was limited.
As for where he could slot into the Kraken lineup, the clearest opening would be for Evans to unseat 27-year-old Josh Mahura on the team’s third pairing. Mahura, who is also a left-shot defenseman, has two points in 13 games this season and is averaging 15:10 time-on-ice per game.
Team USA Announces 2025 World Championship Roster
Team USA has announced the first 18 players on their World Championship roster. The lineup contains all three goaltenders, six of seven defensemen, and nine of 13 forwards. The roster is led by American stars like Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, and Brady Skjei. That trio will look to take a mixed group of experience to Team USA’s first gold medal appearance since 1960.
The American roster notably features top young players like Frank Nazar, Mason Lohrei, Cutter Gauthier, Logan Cooley, Jackson LaCombe, and Matty Beniers. Beniers offers the most experience on the Men’s Team, having joined USA at the 2021 World Championship and 2022 Winter Olympics. He scored two points in each tournament. Team USA will also continue their trend of bringing collegiate goaltending by adding Los Angeles Kings prospect Hampton Slukynsky to the roster. Slukynsky led the Fargo Force to a USHL championship last season, then won Western Michigan’s starting role and carried the school to their first NCAA National Championship as a freshman this season.
Team USA will still need to add four forwards and one defenseman. The World Championship will run from May 9th to May 25th in Herning, Denmark – giving the Americans a chance to add some more firepower after playoff exits. Jeff Kealty is serving as USA’s general manager, while San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky heads a coaching staff that also features Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci, Chciago Blackhawks assistant Kevin Dean, and Michigan State University head coach Adam Nightingale.
The current roster is as follows:
F Tage Thompson (Sabres)
F Drew O’Connor (Canucks)
F Frank Nazar (Blackhawks)
F Michael McCarron (Predators)
F Clayton Keller (Hockey Club)
F Cutter Gauther (Ducks)
F Conor Garland (Canucks)
F Logan Cooley (Hockey Club)
F Matty Beniers (Kraken)
D Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
D Brady Skjei (Predators)
D Andrew Peeke (Bruins)
D Mason Lohrei (Bruins)
D Jackson LaCombe (Ducks)
D Michael Kesselring (Hockey Club)
G Joey Daccord (Kraken)
G Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
G Hampton Slukynsky (Kings)
Kraken Activate Joey Daccord, Recall Mitchell Stephens
The Seattle Kraken have activated starting goaltender Joey Daccord off of injured reserve. Daccord has missed Seattle’s last five games with an upper-body injury sustained in the team’s December 22nd matchup against Colorado. Seattle has also recalled forward Mitchell Stephens from, and assigned goaltender Ales Stezka and defenseman Cale Fleury to, the minor leagues in corresponding moves.
Daccord has stood as one of the best goalies in the league when healthy. He’s rivaled the top of multiple star categories – ranking 14th in both save percentage (.912) and goals-against-average (2.51). Daccord also ranked 13th in wins (12) and 14th in games played (23) at the time of his injury. He’s in the midst of another strong year after setting a 19-18-11 record and .916 Sv% in 50 games last season – Daccord’s first as a full-time starter in the NHL. He ascended to the role after years if string performances in the minor leagues, collectively recording a 60-27-7 record and .918 through 98 games, and four seasons, in the AHL.
Meanwhile, Stephens will return to his role as Seattle’s depth forward with Yanni Gourde on injured reserve. Stephens has been back and forth between the NHL and AHL lineup this season, most recently being assigned to the minors in mid-December. He’s scored four points in six games since, bringing his season total up to eight points in 18 games. He’s added one assist in nine NHL games. Stephens is likely to hang in the press box for the short-term, but could fight for fourth-line minutes above Tye Kartye.
Kraken Place Two On IR, Recall Cale Fleury And Gustav Olofsson On Emergency Basis
The Kraken have made several roster moves leading into Monday’s game against New Jersey. The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Joey Daccord and center Yanni Gourde have been placed on injured reserve. Taking their place on the active roster are defensemen Cale Fleury and Gustav Olofsson who have both been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley on an emergency basis.
Daccord has been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained just before the holiday break. Fresh off a long-term extension signed before the season, he has lived up to the expectations of that new deal as he has a 2.51 GAA and a .912 SV% in his first 23 starts, numbers that were very close to his ones from last season (2.46 and .916, respectively). Philipp Grubauer will continue to serve as the starter in Daccord’s absence. His placement was retroactive to December 22nd so he has already served the minimum number of days on there, meaning he can be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.
As for Gourde, he missed last night’s game with a lower-body injury, his second one in recent weeks. The 33-year-old has been relatively quiet offensively when he has played, tallying six goals and 10 assists in 35 games while his playing time is down to 15:34 per game, his lowest since 2019-20 when he was still with Tampa Bay. It’s a contract year for Gourde so the decline in production certainly isn’t coming at an opportune time, nor is the continued injury trouble. His placement is retroactive to Saturday so he’ll be out through the rest of the week at a minimum.
It’s the fourth recall of the year for Fleury but he didn’t see much action in his first three, playing just twice. He has played in 19 games with the Firebirds, picking up 14 points. Fleury has 65 career NHL appearances under his belt between Montreal and Seattle and is the likelier blueliner to draw in if needed.
As for Olofsson, it’s his third recall in the last two weeks but he didn’t play in the first two. He has 11 points in 29 games with Coachella Valley, one point shy of matching his output from last year in 22 fewer games. Olofsson has 63 career appearances at the top level with Minnesota, Montreal, and Seattle. It’s unclear which defensemen’s availability for Monday’s game are in question at the time, necessitating the recalls with an emergency designation.
Yanni Gourde Out With Lower-Body Injury, Joey Daccord Progressing
Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde missed last night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with an apparent lower-body injury (Twitter link). Gourde skipped practice on Friday, taking what was called a “Maintenance day” but did take the morning skate with the Kraken yesterday. The injury could be a bit of a concern, given that the 33-year-old did miss time in December with a lower-body injury. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion has been durable during his ten-year career, missing just a couple dozen games.
Gourde has been a reliable depth scorer throughout his NHL career, although he has never been able to recapture his offensive touch from his first full NHL season when he posted 25 goals and 39 assists in 82 games. This season, the Saint-Narcisse, Quebec native has registered six goals and 10 assists in 35 games.
Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord also missed last night’s game as he remains sidelined with an upper-body injury (as per Kraken producer Scott Malone). Like Gourde, Daccord took part in yesterday’s morning skate but isn’t quite ready to return. The 28-year-old hasn’t played since December 22nd and lost his last four appearances prior to going down to injury.
Despite recent struggles, Daccord has been good overall this season for Seattle, ranking 11th in the entire NHL with a goals saved above expected of 9.3 (as per Money Puck), and a record of 12-9-2.
Joey Daccord Not Travelling With Kraken, Burakovsky Day-To-Day
Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times Sports is reporting that goaltender Joey Daccord isn’t travelling with the Seattle Kraken meaning that Philipp Grubauer will start in net tonight in Vancouver. Daccord reportedly suffered an undisclosed injury during last Sunday’s game against Colorado but managed to finish out the game.
The 28-year-old had a career year last season and is off to a great start this year as well, posting a 12-9-2 record with a .912 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. On the surface, Daccord’s numbers look pretty pedestrian, however, his 9.2 goals saved above expected tells a more detailed story (as per Money Puck).
If Daccord is out for any length of time, Grubauer will likely see a lot more action. The former Stanley Cup Champion has struggled this season, posting a 3-10 record with an .877 save percentage and a 3.63 goals-against average.
Kate Shefte also reported that Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky is day-to-day with an illness. Like Daccord, Burakovsky also stayed back in Seattle and is not travelling with the team to Vancouver.
The 29-year-old Burakovsky has struggled to score this season, carrying over his lack of offensive production from last season. The Klagenfurt, Austria native is just three years removed from posting 61 points in 80 games with Colorado but has registered just 22 goals and 45 assists in 132 games since signing a massive five-year $27.5MM deal as a free agent in July 2022.