SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 19: Joey Daccord #35 and Matty Beniers #10 of the Seattle Kraken celebrate their 7-4 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Climate Pledge Arena on October 19, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Seattle Kraken and Joey Daccord locked up their long-term future together, with the team announcing on Wednesday a five-year extension for the 28-year-old goaltender who is in his second full NHL season.
Daccord, 28, is a bit of a late bloomer. His .916 save percentage is technically his NHL career best – though last season was his first full one in the NHL. Battling through five years in the minor leagues after a stellar college career at Arizona State, Daccord began to grab serious attention for time between the pipes with Philipp Grubauer on the sidelines, a signature win in last season’s Winter Classic (a historic shutout of the Vegas Golden Knights before a sold out T-Mobile Park), and another one a month later when he delivered an emotional 36-save performance in his hometown of Boston.
“We’re confident he can take his game to another level, and we’re excited to have him under contract long term,” said Kraken general manager Ron Francis in a team statement.
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The Kraken clearly saw enough substance from a career-high workload of 50 games, piggybacking a run to the Calder Cup Finals during the previous season in Coachella Valley, to determine Daccord has more gas in the tank to deliver high-impact goaltending for the long-term future and a team looking to elevate their postseason floor. Mobility and deft puck movement, helpful for the team’s transition game, are his on-ice calling cards.
With Grubauer sidelined during last season due to injury, and the season’s playoff hopes in jeopardy, Daccord’s play helped steer them back into contention with a personal eight-game win streak – part of a Kraken record nine-game victory run lasting through January 13. His game was a difference maker, and the numbers backed it up with a .956 save percentage, and an NHL best 14.39 goals-saved-above-expected during the win streak (according to naturalstattrick.com).
In wins over Vegas under the bright lights on New Year’s Day, and in Boston, he looked simply unflappable. Daccord’s numbers sagged a bit as the team’s playoff chances plummeted after the trade deadline, when the Kraken won just six times over the final 20 games, but still managed a .903 save percentage and broke even in the goals-saved-above-expected metric, all the while he was platooned with Grubauer for the remainder of the season.
With four contracts set to expire at the end of this season including Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, and Will Borgen, the new deal for Daccord leaves the Kraken with a projected $8.8 million of available cap space when his extension kicks in, according to puckpedia.com. As of now, they are committed to $10.9 million annually to both of their current goaltenders starting in 2025-26 when Grubauer, 32, will have two years left on his 6-year contract.