Florida panthers officially announce the signing of a key player…
THN.com’s NHL Hot Seat Radar series continues Tuesday with a look at the Seattle Kraken. In each Hot Seat file, we identify someone on the “hot seat” – someone who is under significant pressure to produce positive results or deal with significant fallout. In addition, in every Hot Seat file, we identify another individual on the “cold seat” – a person highly likely to remain with their team until further notice.
In his three seasons as Seattle’s goalie, Grubauer’s individual numbers have stayed mostly the same, and not in a good way. For the last two seasons, he’s posted a 2.85 goals-against average, and for the past three years, he’s generated a sub-.900 save percentage. With those numbers, Grubauer’s contract – which runs three more seasons at $5.9 million per year – is more or less untradeable.
All incoming Kraken coach Dan Bylsma can do is cut down Grubauer’s appearances and lean more on Joey Daccord. Grubauer was considerably more successful in his time with the Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals. But now, at age 32, he’s closer to the end of his NHL career than his prime.
He will have a better defense corps in front of him with Brandon Montour joining, but Grubauer must play better this coming season to justify the financial and competitive investment the Kraken have made in him. If he can’t do so, a contract buyout might happen at this time next summer. For now, though, he will get another opportunity to resurrect his status as a difference-maker, and it’s on him to make the most of it.
