Daccord Should Have Permanent Role As Seattle Kraken’s Starting Goalie

As we enter week five of the 2024-25 NHL season, the Seattle Kraken have a record of 5-7-1 (11 points) after 13 games. Their corresponding points percentage (PTS%) of .423 ranks 25th in the league, and the Kraken are on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff picture.

It’s early in the campaign, and there are still 69 games remaining on the schedule, but the points dropped are points that could have otherwise provided a cushion during the final stretch of the race to the postseason.

Related: 3 Bold Seattle Kraken Predictions For The 2024-25 Season

Despite the Kraken’s offensive shortcomings (they rank 22nd in goals per game and powerplay conversion), the play of goaltender Joey Daccord, 28, has kept them from falling further into competitive irrelevance.

Armed with a five-year contract extension worth $5 million annually, which kicks in next season, Daccord has wrestled control of the crease from his much-maligned tandem partner Philipp Grubauer and is trying to steer the Kraken into the playoffs. Let’s dive into the pair’s play thus far and how likely the early trends will continue. 

Bylsma Leaning More on Daccord than Grubauer

Despite the apparent difference in performance between the two netminders since the start of the 2023-24 season (and Grubauer’s history of underwhelming play), newly-minted head coach Dave Bylsma understandably tried his luck evenly with both goalies to start his tenure. The pair split starts over the first eight games, but Daccord’s start on October 24th against the Avalanche kicked off a stretch of four consecutive games in which he got the nod.

The Kraken’s record has clouded the discussion around the goalies, but one look at their statistical profiles through the first month of play should end the conversation (for now) around who should be the starter going forward.

Although wins are one of the least valuable measures of a goalie’s individual performance, the Kraken’s record with Daccord is much better than with Grubauer. He gives them a puncher’s chance even if they don’t score many goals, while Grubauer underperforms expectations and reduces the team’s margin for error. When a team lacks the shooting skill to make up the difference, it’s not surprising that they find themselves losing a lot of close games.

The difference in performance is even more drastic across a larger sample size. Since joining the Kraken ahead of the 2021-22 season, Grubauer ranks 72nd out of 78 qualified goalies (minimum 41 games played) in SV% (.893), 44th in GAA (2.98), and has allowed more goals than expected than any other goalie in the league (minus-29.8).

Related: Seattle Kraken – Dunn Injury Hands Evans Big Opportunity

Over the same timeframe, Daccord ranks 19th in SV% (.910), 15th in GAA (2.68), and 24th in GSAx (plus-15.9). He had not appeared in more than ten games in a single season until last year, but at this stage, he has earned a longer leash for improving on inconsistent and underwhelming play than his more tenured German counterpart.

Daccord Proving 2023-24 Wasn’t a Fluke Amid Leaky Defensive Environment 

It’s important to highlight a goaltender’s environment when trying to evaluate their performance and isolate solely for ability. To do so, a look under the hood at a team’s underlying statistics is necessary to cut away the noise of a simple goals-against metric. For the Kraken, those numbers paint an unflattering picture during five-on-five play.

By any measure, the Kraken rank in the bottom half (or even bottom third) of the league by goals, shots, and chances conceded at five-on-five. This suggests that their goalies are facing an unfriendly environment at even-strength and that they are facing a heavier workload than their peers. In this case, it casts Daccord’s performance in a brighter light (as indicated by his GSAx) as he has outplayed Grubauer while operating in the same defensive environment.

One area in which Daccord has severely outplayed Grubauer is while the Kraken are on the penalty kill. Despite playing more than double the number of minutes (48 to 23) and facing triple the number of shots (a league-leading 57 to 19) while shorthanded, Daccord has only conceded one more goal (four) than Grubauer (three). In fact, Daccord ranks eighth in the league in penalty-kill SV% (.930) among qualified goalies (minimum 20 minutes), while Grubauer sits 30th (.842).

As the evidence piles up against Grubauer, the decision on which goalie to start regularly should become a no-brainer for Bylsma and his staff. To the coach’s credit, Daccord seems to be getting tapped on the shoulder more frequently, which should be his preferred option moving forward.

Kraken’s Playoff Hopes Still Alive

With over three-quarters of the schedule left to be played, the Kraken are not out of the playoff race. Many teams have overcome a slow start to make the playoffs, go deep in the postseason, and even win the Stanley Cup. That’s not to say expectations around this iteration of the team should be set that high, but a mediocre October shouldn’t immediately cause widespread concern around the organization.

A decision that must – and has been – made more regularly is to name Daccord the starting goalie on a more consistent basis. He has proven that he is a more inspired choice than his veteran tandem partner and can handle a heavier and more challenging workload.

The Kraken should also recognize that the team is short on scoring talent, and unless they address that weakness, keeping the goals against to a minimum should be the guiding strategy for the time being. Daccord is the more effective pawn for that gameplan and could be the difference between another disappointing campaign in Seattle and a second-ever playoff appearance for the franchise.

Data courtesy of Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick, and the NHL.