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.
Kraken Recall Ben Meyers
Ben Meyers’ stint in the minors wound up being relatively short-lived. After being sent down before the holiday break last month, he’s now back up with the Kraken as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled him from AHL Coachella Valley.
It’s the third recall of the season for the 26-year-old. Meyers has played in four games so far this season with Seattle and has been held off the scoresheet while winning nearly 46% of his faceoffs. He has been quite productive with the Firebirds, however, collecting 10 goals and 12 assists in 25 games with them. The threshold for Meyers needing to clear waivers again is when he reaches either 10 NHL games or 30 days on the active roster so he’s six away on the games played front and is around halfway there on NHL days.
Meyers is on a one-year, $775K contract and can easily be fit within Seattle’s remaining LTIR pool for Vince Dunn. He’s eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency once again this summer but if he gets into nine more NHL games this season, he’ll revert to RFA status with arbitration eligibility.
Seattle had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to elevate Meyers to the NHL roster.
Tyson Jugnauth To Play At MSU Next Season
- Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth will soon get a second stint in the NCAA. The defenseman revealed on his Instagram page that he has committed to Michigan State University for next season. Jugnauth, a fourth-round pick in 2022, spent a year and a half at the University of Wisconsin before moving to WHL Portland in December 2023. The 20-year-old has been quite productive this season, tallying six goals and 40 assists in just 33 games for the Winterhawks but he has decided that it’s not time to turn pro just yet. Seattle has until August 15, 2026 to sign Jugnauth as his transfer to the WHL didn’t change his original signing timeline.
Seattle Kraken Reassign Gustav Olofsson
Defenseman Gustav Olofsson‘s time on an NHL roster is over for now. The Seattle Kraken announced they’ve reassigned Olofsson to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The roster move likely serves as a paper transaction given the Kraken don’t play again for a few more days. They’ll go down to six healthy defensemen on the roster but will likely want some available insurance with upcoming matchups against the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and New Jersey Devils.
Despite spending nearly a week on the active roster, Olofsson hasn’t factored into any games for the Kraken this season. His only playing time has come in AHL Coachella Valley where he’s scored two goals and 11 points in 29 contests.
Seattle’s upper management may keep Olofsson in the AHL for some time. The Firebirds are pursuing their third-straight appearance in the Calder Cup Final but have struggled this season. They’ve managed a 14-11-1-4 record through 33 games this season and sit in sixth place in the Pacific Division.
There are a few more options in Coachella Valley they could choose from. Defensemen Maxime Lajoie and Cale Fleury have NHL experience and are available to recall although the former is on a one-way contract. Whatever the case may be, the Kraken are expected to call up one of the trio over the next few days.
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.
Kraken Recall Gustav Olofsson, Ales Stezka
The Kraken resume their schedule tomorrow in a rivalry matchup against the Canucks. As such, they’ve added to their roster today, announcing they’ve recalled defenseman Gustav Olofsson and goaltender Ales Stezka from AHL Coachella Valley, the latter on an emergency basis. Their active roster is now full.
Olofsson, 30, is coming off his first recall of the season. The minor-league mainstay was rostered for Seattle’s pre-break back-to-back last weekend but didn’t play, sitting in the press box on both occasions. He was returned to Coachella Valley on Monday to delay the expiration of his waiver clock and decrease his paycheck, but is back on the roster as a seventh defenseman with William Borgen out of the picture after being traded to the Rangers.
The 6’3″ left-shooting Swede is in the back half of a two-year, two-way extension he signed with Seattle in 2023. Now in his third season in the Kraken organization, he’s yet to see NHL ice this season and has made only four combined major league appearances since heading to the Pacific Northwest. A 2013 Minnesota second-round pick, he hasn’t been a full-time NHLer since his days with the Wild in the late 2010s.
Olofsson has been an alternate captain with Coachella Valley in all three seasons of their existence. This season, he ranks third among team defenders in scoring with 11 points (2 G, 9 A) in 27 games, nearly surpassing last season’s total. He has 29 points in 98 games as a Firebird since arriving there in 2022.
Stezka’s summons indicates that either one of Joey Daccord or Philipp Grubauer will be unavailable for tomorrow’s game. The 27-year-old is Seattle’s bonafide No. 3 option after they lost Chris Driedger to the Panthers in free agency, and while he dressed for a pair of games as the Kraken’s backup last month, he’s yet to make his NHL debut. An undrafted free agent signing out of Czechia in 2023, Stezka has a 2.94 GAA, .906 SV%, and a 6-9-6 record in 18 showings with Coachella Valley this season.
Kraken Reassign Ben Meyers, Gustav Olofsson
Dec. 23: After being rostered for their back-to-back over the weekend, the Kraken returned Meyers and Olofsson to Coachella Valley this morning, per a team announcement. Olofsson didn’t play during his recall, while Meyers posted a -1 rating in 8:52 of ice time in last night’s loss.
Dec. 21: Seattle has added some reinforcements to its roster in advance of their game tonight against Vegas. The team announced (Twitter link) that forward Ben Meyers and defenseman Gustav Olofsson have been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.
This is the second recall of the season for Meyers who got into three games with the Kraken back in November but was held off the scoresheet while averaging just under eight minutes a night. The 26-year-old has been productive with the Firebirds, collecting nine goals and ten assists in 22 games with them. Signed to a one-year, one-way contract in unrestricted free agency this summer, Meyers could be heading back there next year unless he gets into ten more NHL games this season which would then make him a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
As for Olofsson, it’s his first time up with Seattle in 2024-25. The 30-year-old has played in 27 games with Coachella Valley this season, picking up four goals and seven assists, putting him one point shy of his total from last year in barely half as many games. Olofsson has 63 career NHL contests over parts of seven seasons, four of which have come with the Kraken over the past two years.
Seattle had two open roster spots following the recent demotion of Mitchell Stephens so no further moves were needed to bring Meyers and Olofsson onto the active roster.
Kraken Reassign Mitchell Stephens
The Kraken returned center Mitchell Stephens to AHL Coachella Valley yesterday, according to a team announcement. He did not require waivers because he’d been on the active roster for fewer than 30 days since his Nov. 30 recall and played less than 10 games.
Stephens, 27, inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Kraken in July after reaching unrestricted free agency. The right-shot pivot cleared waivers during the preseason, setting him up for his ninth year of play in the minors. He had three goals and an assist in 11 games for Coachella Valley before Seattle announced captain Jordan Eberle would miss extended time following pelvic surgery, creating the need for a forward recall. Stephens played in nine straight contests for the Kraken, posting an assist and a -2 rating while averaging 9:45 per game and winning 55.4% of his draws.
A second-round pick of the Lightning back in 2015, Stephens is now with his fourth NHL organization. He climbed his way up the organizational ladder in Tampa and debuted with them in the 2019-20 season. He stayed in the Bay until the 2021 offseason when the Bolts traded him to the Red Wings for a sixth-round pick. Stephens spent one year in Detroit but was non-tendered after recording six assists in 27 games in 2021-22. He signed on with the Canadiens the following summer, where he spent the last two seasons before heading west to Seattle a few months back.
Stephens graded decently defensively in his recall, controlling 44.5% of shot attempts and 49.2% of expected goals at even strength despite starting the majority of his shifts in the defensive zone. If injuries strike again this season, he’ll likely be in line for another recall, but his path back to NHL minutes was muddied this week when the Kraken acquired Kaapo Kakko via trade from the Rangers.
The Kraken now have two open spots on the active roster and $4.075MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia.
Winterton Assigned To Coachella Valley
- The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they have re-assigned winger Ryan Winterton to AHL Coachella Valley. The 21-year-old has found himself on the transactions log quite a few times already this season but has gotten into eight games with Seattle, picking up an assist while logging 10:22 per night of playing time. Winterton has been quite productive with the Firebirds though, tallying 15 points in 16 outings with them.