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# Seattle Kraken Position Group Overviews: Goalies
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-kraken-offseason-position-overview-goalies/
- Published: 2025-08-21T04:33:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:18:43.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Kraken, Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer, Matt Murray

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With about a month until training camp is underway, Emerald City Spectrum is taking a look at each of the Seattle Kraken’s position groups heading into the season. Starting from the back of the ice and moving up, we’re looking at the goaltenders.

As is the case with most teams, Seattle’s goaltending situation is pretty cut-and-dry: Joey Daccord is entrenched as the starter. Kicking off the first season of a five-year extension he signed last October, Daccord sees his salary go up to $5 million in average annual value (AAV) from the $1.2 million he made the past couple seasons.

In his first year as Seattle’s primary starter in 2023-24, Daccord ranked sixth in the NHL in both save percentage (.916) and goals against average (2.46). He ranked fourth in Goals Saved Above Average (16.7), but slotted second behind only Vezina Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck (30.88) in GSAA at 5-on-5 with 21.02, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Daccord, who turned 29 on Tuesday, saw his numbers drop across the board in 2024-25 (.906 SV, 2.75 GAA, 9.00 GSAA), but still proved to be a quality starter for the second year in a row. With an extension in hand, Daccord is expected to get the same workload as last season (between 65-70 percent of the starts).

The real competition will be at backup, between a player with one of the worst contracts in the league and a reclamation project who has only played in two NHL games across the past two seasons.

Philipp Grubauer is entering the fifth season of a six-year, $35.4 million ($5.9 million AAV) contract he signed with Seattle entering the franchise’s inaugural season. After having a .915 save percentage or better in any given season prior to signing, Grubauer has never posted a save percentage above .900 in his time with the Kraken.

It reached a new low last season, when he posted a .875 save percentage (tied for league-worst among qualified goalies) and 3.49 goals against average (second-worst) and spent a month down in the AHL with Coachella Valley.

No matter how you slice it, Seattle is stuck with Grubauer in some capacity. He has a 10-team no-trade clause, but even if he didn’t, no team would take his contract off Seattle’s hands in a trade or via waivers. The window to buy out his contract is closed until next offseason. 

As far as freeing up cap space by sending him to the AHL, it would free up just $1.15 million of cap space per the NHL’s [rules regarding buried cap hits](https://puckpedia.com/salary-cap/minimum-nhl-salary-buried-cap-hit?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com). Like last season, the main reason he would be sent to the AHL this year is if his performance in the NHL is not up to standard.

That’s where Matt Murray comes in. A two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins to kick off his career, Murray regressed into a backup with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs over the past few years. After missing the entire 2023-24 NHL season following bilateral hip surgery, Murray appeared in just two games for the Maple Leafs last season.

Spending the majority of his time with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2024-25, Murray posted a .934 save percentage and 1.72 GAA in 21 games. He signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Seattle on July 1, giving the Kraken a cheap third option if Grubauer once again can’t hold up.