Grubauer signs 6-year, $35.4M contract with Kraken
The Seattle Kraken signed goaltender Philipp Grubauer to a six-year contract worth $5.9 million per season, the team announced Wednesday.
Grubauer is fresh off the best season of his nine-year career. The 29-year-old won 30 of 39 starts for the Colorado Avalanche and posted a .922 save percentage and seven shutouts to earn the first Vezina Trophy nomination of his career.
However, Colorado was the top defensive team in the NHL by several metrics last season, including expected goals against per 60 at five on five, as well as shots against.
Philipp Grubauer, signed 6x$5.9M by SEA, is a consistently good but not great starting goalie who received a Vézina nomination this season mostly because he played behind the best defensive team in the NHL. #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/2pGyBv3gRs
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 28, 2021
Grubauer should be at the top of Seattle's goaltending depth chart. The Kraken selected Chris Driedger (Florida) and Vitek Vanecek (Washington) in their expansion draft. With Grubauer in the fold, the Kraken have one of the most formidable goaltending platoons across the NHL.