Kraken sign goalie Joey Daccord to 5-year extension: What it means

By: Rebecca Tauber, Shayna Goldman and Thomas Drance Joey Daccord signed a five-year extension with the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday that carries an average annual value of $5 million, according to league sources.

The 28-year-old goalie had a breakout year last season, his first as a full-time NHL goalie.

Advertisement Daccord was selected with the 199th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Ottawa Senators , but was left exposed in the 2021 NHL expansion draft.

The Kraken selected the goalie in that draft and after two seasons spent between Seattle and the clubs minor league affiliates, Daccord spent all of last season with the big club, appearing in 50 games.

Now Daccord is tied to Seattle until the 2030 season.

What it means for the Kraken Daccord nearly saved Seattles 2023-24 season, single-handedly stabilizing the clubs play in goal after winning the starters job in late November.

Now the club has rewarded him with a significant extension, one that telegraphs his hold on the starters job ahead of Philipp Grubauer for the 2024-25 campaign and, perhaps, the probability that Grubauers Kraken tenure may come to a premature end following this season.

The extension for Daccord is an aggressive one.

As impressive as Daccords performance was in his first season as an NHL starter, this is still a $25 million commitment for an NHL goaltender with just 69 games of NHL-level experience.

The Kraken, however, are apparently comfortable projecting that Daccord will be able to sustain the level of play he managed during his stellar 2023-24 campaign.

While Daccord is talented and solid, and a uniquely gifted puck handler too, the club is taking on a fair bit of risk at the sports most volatile position with this deal.

The club is also now locked into nearly $11 million in combined salary cap commitments in net for the 2025-26 season, given that Grubauer will be entering the final year of his $5.9 million deal.

Grubauers Kraken experience has been disappointing.

The former Vezina nominee has never managed a save percentage north of .900 since arriving in the Pacific Northwest.

Daccords new deal would seem to place Grubauer firmly on the list of top potential buyouts to track following this season.

Thomas Drance, senior NHL writer Advertisement How Daccord sealed the deal Daccords path to becoming a full time NHL goalie was a long, winding one, but he seized the opportunity when it finally came last season.

Signing a goalie to a long term deal directly after one brilliant season is always risky, but Daccord proved a lot last year in Seattle.

First, he single handedly changed the outlook in goal for the Kraken from dismal to promising.

Seattle ranked last in team save percentage in its inaugural season, then 30th in 2023-24.

The Kraken were heading toward that again last season, until Daccord came in and posted a .916 save percentage and 15.9 goals saved above expected (both the best in franchise history).

The interesting thing is, Daccords best attribute actually prevents him from making more saves.

Hes one of the best puck handlers in all of the NHL, patrolling the trapezoid behind the net, shoveling pucks up the glass and making outlet passes that gave Seattle a noticeable advantage.

The Kraken gave up the eighth-fewest shots last year, and Daccords puck handling played a role in that.

This deal makes Daccord the 15th highest-paid goalie in the league, and its a gamble by general manager Ron Francis.

If the former Sun Devil maintains last years form, hell be an absolute steal at $5 million per season.

Jesse Granger, NHL staff writer How Daccords deal lines up with other recent goalie signings The Daccord extension fits with the theme of the Kraken offseason.

Francis has never been a big, splashy spender.

But this summer, he took bigger swings than usual in free agency with Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson , along with the Matty Beniers extension.

This signing both solidifies and crowds the salary cap for the Kraken in goal.

Its been a busy week for goalies around the league, with the Jeremy Swayman signing on Sunday, Linus Ullmark extension Wednesday , and rumors swirling around Igor Shesterkins next contract .

The Daccord deal is the most low-key of the four for good reason he doesnt have the same track record as the rest of the group.

Advertisement A $5 million AAV doesnt scream bonafide number one, it says solid 1A which seems like a fair bar for Dacord to reach.

It puts him in a class with the likes of Grubauer, Elvis Merzlikins , and Tristian Jarry.

Daccord emerged as the Krakens 1A last year but has to prove that his last season wasnt just a fluke.

Goaltending is a volatile position, and Seattles already had their share of instability in net over the last couple of seasons.

So any long-term commitment to Daccord, considering his lack of experience, is going to carry some risk.

But if he can build on last years success, this deal should be pretty cost-effective over the next few years especially in todays goalie market.

Shayna Goldman, NHL staff writer Required reading (Photo: Steven Bisig / USA TODAY Sports).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.