Kraken's Grubauer: Fleury's success with expansion Knights is 'the goal'

When it comes to modern-day expansion teams, former Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury set the standard in the crease.

In 192 games played with the Golden Knights, Fleury put up 117 wins and a .917 save percentage. He guided the team to a Stanley Cup Final appearance in its inaugural season and to the playoffs in each of his four campaigns.

Philipp Grubauer, the Seattle Kraken's first No. 1 netminder, aims to follow in Fleury's footsteps.

"The way he came in and what they did in the last few years has been incredible," Grubauer said Friday, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "So that's the goal, right? To be that guy, to go to the playoffs and win the Cup."

In 40 games with the Colorado Avalanche this past season, Grubauer authored a .922 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average. The 29-year-old was rewarded for his strong performance with his first Vezina Trophy nomination; the goaltender who took home the prestigious award was none other than Fleury himself.

Grubauer, who's coming off the best season of his nine-year NHL career, said signing with the Kraken as an unrestricted free agent was a "no-brainer."

"I think it's incredible to be part of something new and make history in terms of playing the first-ever game and being part of that group and doing the same thing Vegas did," Grubauer said. "That's the goal."

Replicating the Golden Knights' success will be no simple feat, and the No. 1 priority for Grubauer and Co. is to establish a winning culture.

"We're not in this to ease our way into this," he said. "Although we're a new team, a new organization, we want to win, we want to make the playoffs, we win the Stanley Cup. And it starts Game 1."

The Kraken inked Grubauer to a six-year deal with an average annual value of $5.9 million on July 28.