While the Seattle Kraken are within spitting distance of both the first wildcard spot and first place in the Pacific Division, the same issues that have plagued the team throughout its brief existence have once again threatened to extend what is currently a two-year playoff drought.
Apart from the outlier 2022-23 season in which the Kraken scored the fourth-most goals in the league, Seattle’s offense has been woefully underpowered. They’ve ranked 16th or lower in three out of the other four full campaigns, and are on pace to make it four out of five seasons in which their output has been below league average, with only 2.88 goals per game to date this year.
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The diminished production puts enormous pressure on both the defense and the goaltending, forcing them to be almost perfect, given the likelihood that the offensive strategy will not bear fruit. While that has historically not been the case in Seattle (they sit in the bottom five of cumulative save percentage in the previous four seasons), the 2025-26 season has seen that part of the roster more than pull its own weight. Let’s dive in.
Kraken Have Relied on Small Group of Goaltenders
Within the entire organization, the Kraken crease has seen the least turnover since the inaugural season. Only four goaltenders have played in more than 10 games for the franchise: Philipp Grubauer (182), Joey Daccord (157), Martin Jones (48), and Chris Driedger (29). Only the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning have utilized fewer qualified goalies over that time (both three), but the Kraken have not enjoyed the same level of team success.
Journeyman Matt Murray has filled in admirably as a third option this season (.922 save percentage over five NHL games), but Daccord (40 games) and Grubauer (26) have formed the nucleus of the goaltending contingent.
The narrative throughout Grubauer’s Kraken tenure has been a rocky one. A day-one member of the organization, the German netminder has struggled to live up to his cap hit until the current season. Grubauer signed with the Kraken as a free agent, being handed a six-year contract worth $5.9 million annually. For most of the deal, the veteran goalie was among the 10 highest-paid players at his position, but his results fell far short of justifying that honor.
Grubauer was the league’s worst goalie in terms of cumulative goals saved above expected (GSAx) over the first four seasons of his time in Seattle, allowing 43 more goals than expected according to HockeyStats. The Kraken were generally sturdy defensively (eighth in expected goals against per-60-minutes at five-on-five between 2021-22 and 2024-25), but they couldn’t score, and Grubauer couldn’t stop the puck with any consistency, dropping them out of the playoff picture.
With the investment in Grubauer not paying dividends, the acquisition of Joey Daccord (a seventh-round pick in 2015) mercifully provided some stability. At first relegated to minor-league play, Daccord appeared in 72 American Hockey League games compared to 10 in the NHL over his first two years with the organization (2021-2023).
An injury to Grubauer thrust the door wide open for Daccord, and he responded by posting a sparkling .917 save percentage (SV%) over 50 games in 2023-24. The next season saw his SV% drop to .906, but he still ranked fairly high in GSAx and had solidified his claim to the Kraken net while relegating Grubauer to backup duty despite his sizable price tag.
Kraken Goalies Experiencing Reversal of Form During 2025-26 Season
While Daccord continues to hold the mantle of the starter with 40 starts to Grubauer’s 22, the 2025-26 campaign has seen the fortunes of both goalies diverge.
Daccord has only posted a GSAx of plus-1.7, slightly above the net-neutral line and just inside the top 40 goaltenders this season. He hasn’t been the steadying force of years past, and his grip on the starting gig might be slipping as the season continues.
Grubauer, on the other hand, is having a renaissance season reminiscent of his final campaign with the Avalanche when he was named a finalist for the 2020-21 Vezina Trophy. He’s saved over nine goals more than expected given his workload (top 20 among all goalies) and is among the top 10 by SV% (.913).
Head coach Lane Lambert has responded to Grubauer’s resurgence with a more even distribution of starts. Daccord only has 16 starts to Grubauer’s 13 since the beginning of January. Still, it’s difficult to envision Lambert fully putting his trust in Grubauer, given the larger sample of sub-standard play for almost half of a decade.
Kraken In Good Position for Playoff Push
Though Grubauer has outplayed Daccord this season, Lambert can feel comfortable in knowing he can throw out either goaltender and expect a decent performance in the crease. Both netminders are playing above the level of an average starter (rank 32nd or higher) by both SV% and GSAx, with the Kraken collectively ranking second in SV% at five-on-five and fifth in all situations.
Despite their overall offensive woes and lack of star power (only two skaters with more than 20 goals, compared to over 80 leaguewide), the Kraken can feel secure in their situation between the pipes. If a second-ever playoff appearance is in the cards for Seattle, it will be because Daccord and Grubauer continue to be one of the league’s best tandems over the final month of the regular season.
Data courtesy of HockeyStats and the NHL.
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