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Philipp Grubauer

Seattle Kraken Activate Philipp Grubauer

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The Seattle Kraken have activated goaltender Philipp Grubauer off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, defenseman Gustav Olofsson has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Grubauer, 30, was placed on injured reserve on October 25th after suffering an injury during a game against the Colorado Avalanche, his former team. After a moderate absence, he is now healthy and ready to return to the ice.

Complicating Grubauer’s return, though, is the current state of the Kraken and the current performance of the man signed to be Grubauer’s backup: Martin Jones. The Kraken currently sit fifth place in the Western Conference, and have a solid 9-5-3 record, with seven of those wins coming in their last ten games. Jones’ play has been a major part of that, and he at the moment is giving the Kraken some of the best goaltending in their brief franchise history.

Last season, the poor play in net was one of the major reasons the Kraken were among the NHL’s worst teams. Grubauer was perhaps the worst starting netminder in hockey in 2021-22, posting a nightmarish .889 save percentage in 55 games. Backup Chris Driedger didn’t fare much better with a .899 of his own, and this season it’s been more of the same for Grubauer. In four games this season, he has a 3.70 goals-against-average and a .860 save percentage.

In contrast, Jones has posted a .912 save percentage and 2.34 goals-against-average. So the simple answer with Grubauer returning is to maintain Jones’ starring role.

But complicating the situation, and potentially necessitating a different answer from that simple one, is the contract status of each goalie.

The Kraken have significant dollars tied to Grubauer, as he makes $5.9MM each year for the next five seasons. Jones, on the other hand, is playing on an expiring one-year, $2MM deal.

So on one hand, the Kraken likely stand to have the best odds of winning as many games as possible if Jones gets the lion’s share of starts.

But on the other, playing Jones and limiting Grubauer’s game action could further damage Grubauer’s confidence, and hurt his odds of bouncing back and playing like the quality netminder he was with the Avalanche and Washington Capitals.

The Kraken are tied to Grubauer, after all, and while Jones operating as a full-on starter may have short-term benefits, it could cost them in the long term.

This could be a difficult decision for head coach Dave Hakstol to make. But since coaches are often the first to fall if a team hits a rough patch, they typically take the “win the game in front of you” approach to roster decisions, which is entirely reasonable. So with that in mind, it seems that Grubauer’s return won’t take a major chunk out of Jones’ workload.

But regardless of what the situation looks like now, Grubauer’s return to the Kraken roster and how he is deployed is certainly something worth tracking in the coming weeks.

Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Kraken Place Philipp Grubauer On LTIR, Recall Gustav Olofsson

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With Seattle only carrying six defensemen on their roster, it felt like some more roster moves were on the horizon.  Those moves have now been made as CapFriendly reports (Twitter links) that goaltender Philipp Grubauer has been placed on LTIR.  They become the 18th team in the league that is currently utilizing LTIR.  Using the cap space created by that placement, defenseman Gustav Olofsson was recalled from Coachella Valley of the AHL.

Grubauer has been out for close to three weeks due to a lower-body injury sustained against Colorado last month.  Prior to going down, he was off to a slow start to his season with a 3.77 GAA and a .860 SV%, numbers that were considerably worse than his totals from 2021-22 which were by far the worst of his career.  Martin Jones has certainly stepped up in his absence as the Kraken have reeled off five straight victories heading into tonight’s contest against Minnesota.  Magnus Hellberg was reacquired yesterday off waivers and will serve as their backup for the time being.  It’s worth noting that Grubauer resumed skating earlier this week so even with this move, he’s likely not too far away from returning to the lineup; the minimum time he’ll have to miss is 10 games and 24 days from the original injury date, not today’s placement.

As for Olofsson, the 27-year-old is in his second season with Seattle and has yet to play for them in the NHL; his last action at the top level came with Montreal back in 2019-20 when he made three of his 59 career NHL appearances.  This season, Olofsson has played in eight games with the Firebirds, picking up four assists.  His addition to the roster puts the Kraken back at the maximum of 23 players.

Philipp Grubauer Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Seattle Kraken have lost their starting goaltender, as Philipp Grubauer was placed on injured reserve today. Grubauer was injured in last Friday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, leaving Martin Jones to start (and lose) on Sunday. The team recalled Joey Daccord to give them another goaltender, and that’s the tandem the team will have to go with for the time being.

Grubauer, 30, was arguably the worst goaltender in the league last season, posting an .889 save percentage in 55 appearances. That was a stark difference from his career totals, which to that point had him sitting near the best save percentages of all-time with a .920 and a Vezina Trophy finalist the year prior.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like an aberration when this season began. Grubauer was shelled for five goals on 27 shots in his first game, and another five on 34 shots in his second start. Even the two goals on 19 shots before leaving the Colorado game had him as a sub .900 netminder, something the team certainly wasn’t expecting when they signed him to a six-year, $35.4MM contract in the summer of 2021.

Even worse, he still may have been their best option. Jones, 33, hasn’t posted a save percentage over .900 since 2017-18, and is now sitting at .860 for this season. There’s no way that the Kraken can stay competitive with that kind of goaltending, meaning either Daccord is going to need to take over, Grubauer is going to need to get healthy and back to form, or the team is going to have to make a change.

Chris Driedger, the team’s other goaltender who was meant to form an impressive tandem with Grubauer, tore his ACL while playing at the World Championship earlier this year. He is expected to be out through January at least, with the recovery period likely being even longer than that. After spending even more money in the offseason, with veteran additions like Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andre Burakovsky, the Kraken are clearly trying to contend in the Pacific Division.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine that given the goaltending they have received so far – especially now that Grubauer is on the shelf.

Kraken Recall Joey Daccord

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With Philipp Grubauer being injured late in Friday’s victory over Colorado, it was only a matter of time before Seattle needed to call up a second goaltender.  That move has now been made as the team announced (Twitter link) that Joey Daccord has been recalled from Coachella Valley of the AHL.

Grubauer struggled considerably last season, his first with the Kraken after surprisingly turning down an offer from Colorado to ink a six-year, $35.4MM deal with Seattle in 2021.  Things haven’t gone any better in the early going this year as the 30-year-old has a 3.77 GAA along with a save percentage of just .860 through his first four appearances.  Head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t speak with the media today so there is no information on how long Grubauer might be out for.

Daccord, meanwhile, cleared waivers at the end of training camp and made three starts in the minors for the Firebirds in the early going this season.  He has seen NHL action in three of his first four professional seasons but has made just 14 appearances over that stretch, posting a 3.77 GAA and a save percentage of just .878.  He will serve as the backup to Martin Jones who now takes over as the starter with Grubauer injured and Chris Driedger still months away from returning.

Worth noting is that Daccord was the only NHL-contracted goalie that Seattle had in the minors (Magnus Hellberg was scooped off waivers by Ottawa when Seattle tried to send him down) so if another netminder gets hurt before Grubauer is able to return, the Kraken will need to make a quick move to sign another goalie.

Germany, Switzerland, Russia Announce Members Of 2022 Olympic Team

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The first three members of each participating Olympic hockey nation are being announced this week, with top names like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Victor Hedman already locked in to compete for their respective countries. Today, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark and Russia all revealed the first three names on their roster sheet.

For Germany, it comes as no surprise that Leon Draisaitl leads the way. The Edmonton Oilers superstar is one of the most dangerous playmakers in the world, winning the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2020. He’ll be joined by Philipp Grubauer, who gives the German squad an elite goaltending option for the tournament.

The third member is an interesting choice though, as Moritz Seider, the Detroit Red Wings prospect who has yet to even make his NHL debut, has already locked in his spot at the Games. The 20-year-old defenseman was the sixth-overall pick in 2019 and has is expected to make an impact for the Red Wings in short order.

Switzerland has a trio of impressive NHL talents, starting with Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi. The 31-year-old defenseman won the Norris Trophy in 2020 and has helped his small country take home two silver medals at the World Championship. In fact, in 2013 when Switzerland came in second, Josi was named tournament MVP. Josi will be joined by Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks and Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, two established NHL forwards that have represented Switzerland on several occasions in the past.

The Slovaks may now have quite the same star power, but there’s still plenty of NHL experience announced today. Andrej Sekera, Erik Cernak and Jaroslav Halak will all be donning their nation’s colors next year, bringing the building blocks of a strong defensive unit. Cernak, 24, has developed into an extremely valuable and versatile player for the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning two Stanley Cup championships in his first three years of NHL action.

Latvia and Denmark, who don’t usually have much of a chance at a medal actually have some NHL talent of their own to announce today. Rudolfs Balcers, Zemgus Girgensons and Kristians Rubins will take part for Latvia, while Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nikolaj Ehlers and Alexander True make up a great start for the Danes.

It’s Russia that will draw the most attention today though, as the three players announced have all been considered among the best in the world at some point. Alex Ovechkin, a player who is chasing down history by attempting to catch and break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal record, Nikita Kucherov, the 2019 Hart Trophy winner and Andrei Vasilevskiy, the most recent Conn Smythe recipient, make up a trio that’s hard to match. Russia, who will be competing as the “Russian Olympic Committee” is the reigning Olympic champion after taking home the award (then as the Olympic Athletes from Russia) in 2018 when the NHL did not participate.

NHL Central Registry Rejects Philipp Grubauer’s Contract

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With the sheer volume of contracts that were filed with NHL Central Registry at the start of free agency, it has taken them some time to review them all to ensure they’re in compliance with all of the CBA rules.  Once in a while, deals are rejected because an element doesn’t meet the criteria and CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that this is the case with the Kraken’s deal for goaltender Philipp Grubauer.  CapFriendly has the full details of the deal here.

Since more than half of the salary is paid out in the first three years of the contract ($18.5MM out of $35.4MM or 52.25%), it qualifies as a front-loaded contract which has some stricter rules than non-front-loaded deals and those rules changed when the new CBA was agreed on last year.

One of the rules for front-loaded contracts is that any salary variance from one year to the next cannot exceed 25% of the salary in the first year.  Grubauer’s salary in 2021-22 was set to be $5MM and 25% of that is $1.25MM.  Accordingly, any year-over-year variance cannot be greater than $1.25MM.  However, Grubauer’s original 2022-23 salary was $6MM and his 2023-24 salary was $7.5MM, a difference of $1.5MM.  This is what caused the contract to be rejected.

This shouldn’t be any cause for concern for the Kraken.  They just have to fiddle with the salary numbers to come up with a new agreement.  Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter link) that a revised contract has already been filed that moves $250K in salary from 2023-24 to 2022-23, keeping the cap hit the same.  Technically, Grubauer is now a free agent once again but that shouldn’t last long once that revised contract is approved by the league.

Washington Capitals Re-Acquire Vitek Vanecek

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Now that the Seattle Kraken have signed Philipp Grubauer in free agency, they are sending Vitek Vanecek back to the Washington Capitals. It was just a week-long vacation for the young netminder, who was claimed in the expansion draft and now sent back to Washington in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick.

This move will raise quite a few eyebrows, given the Kraken passed up the opportunity to select Brenden Dillon from Washington, only to see him flipped for two-second round picks on Monday. In fact, it’s one of those picks that Washington is using to reclaim Vanecek, sending Winnipeg’s 2023 selection.

At any rate, the Capitals have their tandem of Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov back intact and basically only lost a second-round pick in the expansion draft. The 25-year-old goaltender actually carries a cap hit of just $716K this season, less than the league minimum of $750K. That’s because of the three-year deal they signed him to back in 2019 before he’d ever even played at the NHL level. In 37 appearances this season, Vanecek posted a .908 save percentage, a 21-10-4 record and a 2.69 goals-against average. The Capitals would have been forced to look outside the organization if he hadn’t become available again, but they’ll now be able to go about an offseason as if nothing happened.

For Seattle, adding a second-round pick is important, even if it comes with some regrets. The big win here was signing Grubauer, who can anchor the franchise even if they go through a few growing pains in the early years. He and Chris Driedger will form the NHL tandem, while Joey Daccord is also still in the system.

Seattle Kraken Sign Philipp Grubauer, Jaden Schwartz

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July 28: The Seattle Kraken saved cap space at seemingly every turn through the expansion draft, passing on several high-profile candidates. They’ve now decided to use that cap space in free agency, signing Vezina finalist Philipp Grubauer. Kevin Weekes of NHL Network first heard a deal could happen between Seattle and Grubauer, while Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports it will be a six-year contract with an average annual value of $5.9MM. The team has also officially announced a five-year contract for free agent forward Jaden Schwartz, which will carry an average annual value of $5.5MM.

It’s a huge swing for the expansion franchise, inking number four and nine from our Top 50 UFA List. Add in Alexander Wennberg, who signed earlier today for three years and $13.5MM and the Kraken have quickly used their cap space to improve the roster. Still, the Grubauer move in particular brings up several questions.

Seattle now has three NHL goaltenders on the roster between Grubauer, Chris Driedger and Vitek Vanecek. That will lead to a crunch before the start of the season given all three are waiver-eligible, meaning there could be a trade coming in the next few weeks. Friedman tweets that the Washington Capitals would be interested in re-acquiring Vanecek if possible, though it’s unclear what it would cost them at this point. Remember, the Kraken passed on selecting Brenden Dillon from the Capitals in expansion, only to watch Washington flip him for two second-round picks. If the return on Vanecek is any less than that, it will certainly raise some voices in criticism of GM Ron Francis.

For Grubauer specifically, he leaves one of the best teams in the league for a complete question mark. Colorado recently re-signed both Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog for huge cap hits, not leaving a lot of room to fit in their starting goaltender. The 29-year-old Grubauer could very well become the face of the franchise in Seattle after his outstanding 2020-21 performance, but he won’t have quite the same team in front of him.

The Avalanche now are left scrambling for a starting option, with not many left on the free agent market. Trade targets like Darcy Kuemper stand out as top options, though that also comes at a cost. Losing Grubauer is painful, but the team was going to be in a very tough financial situation if they tried to outbid a $5.9MM cap hit.

Schwartz meanwhile joins the Kraken as the team’s first big forward addition (apologies to Wennberg), signing a long-term deal. He will likely slot into the team’s top line, though there are now several wingers that could be interchangeable pieces in Seattle. After a down year with the St. Louis Blues, Schwartz still landed a slight raise on the $5.35MM cap hit he has carried over the last five seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Avalanche Free Agents, Blue Jackets, Golden Knights

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The Avalanche haven’t gotten into substantive contract discussions with pending UFAs Gabriel Landeskog and Philipp Grubauer, reports Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription link).  Landeskog, Colorado’s captain, has spent the last ten years with the Avs and will be hitting the open market for the first time.  He’s believed to be seeking a long-term contract and an eight-year pact would basically lock him up for the rest of his career.  However, they have to be mindful of the fact that Nathan MacKinnon is two years away from needing a substantial raise and Cale Makar will get one this summer as a restricted free agent.  If Landeskog wants top dollar, they may not be able to afford it.

As for Grubauer, he could have a shot at doubling the $3.33MM AAV he had on his last contract which could also price him out of what the Avalanche can afford.  But they also can’t afford to go into next season with Pavel Francouz – who didn’t play at all in 2020-21 – as the number one.  Whether it’s Grubauer or someone else, they’ll need to set aside some money for goaltending.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Blue Jackets are looking into adding an advisor to their coaching staff, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). No one on their staff has ever served as a head coach at the NHL level so bringing in someone in a mentorship type of role would make sense.  Portzline suggests veteran bench boss Jacques Martin could be a viable candidate for such a position and that the 68-year-old is interested in a position like that.
  • What do the Golden Knights need to add this offseason? Team owner Bill Foley told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that power play help will be a priority this summer.  They were held without a power play goal in 15 opportunities in their semifinal loss to Montreal which contributed to a 9.5% success rate in the playoffs, the lowest among all postseason teams.  Even during the regular season, they were below the league average with the man advantage.  While Vegas has built impressive depth up front, bringing in someone to help boost their power play would certainly give them a big lift offensively.

Negotiation Notes: Larsson, Andersen, Makar, Canucks

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After locking up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to a long-term deal earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers will next turn their attention to reaching a new deal with defenseman Adam Larsson. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger in the latest edition of “Insider Trading“, that is more of a “when” than an “if” at the is point. Dreger states that the two sides are already close to a new deal and “in the final stretch” of negotiations. He expects that an extension will be reached soon. For Expansion Draft purposes, soon may not be until later next month, but a handshake agreement will do in the meantime. Larsson, 28, is one of the more stable defensemen in the NHL. If the defensive-minded right-shooter hit the open market, he would draw plenty of attention, but like Nugent-Hopkins, Larsson appears willing to settle on a deal to keep him in Edmonton with reigning Hart Trophy winners Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. So really, with RNH signed and Larsson not far behind, the Oilers may actually be focusing on external negotiations already, as Dreger notes they must add a goalie and complementary scoring forwards this summer.

  • It may come as a surprise following a career-worst season, but there is mutual interest in an extension between the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Frederik Andersen. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that agent Claude Lemieux recently met with the Maple Leafs’ brass and both sides expressed interest in a new deal, perhaps to the surprise of both. Andersen is likely not keen to enter the open market after a down year (and really many years of slow decline) when he could instead stay in familiar territory in Toronto. The Leafs also need a netminder this off-season and may be content to stick with Andersen, despite his struggles, given the play of Jack Campbell this season. LeBrun does point out that Toronto has told Andersen’s camp that he would be sharing the net with Campbell, potentially even starting out at less than 50% of starts, but Andersen is reportedly open to that arrangement.
  • Every year there is the threat of offer sheets and every year it never happens, but LeBrun notes that rumblings around the league are that Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar could be the prime candidate this summer. With the Avalanche needing to extend the First Team All-Star as well as captain Gabriel Landeskog, starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer, and top-six forward Brandon Saad, all while saving room to extend superstar Nathan MacKinnon and replace several impending UFA’s next summer, cap space is tight in Denver. If another team swooped in with an offer that Makar couldn’t refuse, it might just be too much of a handicap for the Avs. Doubtful, but possible. Colorado can eliminate the risk of an offer sheet to their young phenom if they can lock Makar up before the market opens on July 28.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are already hard at work on extension for arguably their two most important players, defenseman Quinn Hughes and center Elias Pettersson. The pair of restricted free agents are centerpiece players for the Canucks and the team will whatever it takes to keep them around as long as possible. Dreger notes that GM Jim Benning and company are meeting again this week with agents from CAA Sports, who represent both young stars. A number of possibilities are on the table for both players, including a three-year bridge deal for Pettersson in the same vein as the recent contracts of Mathew Barzal and Brayden Point. However, it seems like long-term is the ideal goal. Pettersson is reportedly open to a long-term deal like that of Mikko Rantanen, while Hughes has explored contracts with terms between four and six years.

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