Kraken place goaltender Philipp Grubauer on IR

The Kraken placed goaltender Philipp Grubauer on injured reserve Sunday, per a team announcement. 

Grubauer left Saturday night’s overtime loss against the Lightning with a lower-body injury and did not return. 

In a corresponding transaction, netminder Chris Driedger was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley and defenseman Jaycob Megna was reinstated to the active roster from his conditioning stint.

Grubauer exited the contest late in the second period, suffering a likely groin injury as he slid across his crease to stop a shot from Lightning center Anthony Cirelli. 

He skated off the ice under his own power but needed assistance getting up. Backup netminder Joey Daccord entered the contest in relief.

This is not Grubauer’s first run-in with lower-body issues. He missed a combined 24 regular-season and playoff games in the 2019-20 campaign with lower-body injuries as a member of the Avalanche.

Outside of a strong postseason showing last year, Grubauer’s stint in Seattle has been below expectations. After providing solid backup play to Capitals starter Braden Holtby in the mid-2010s and then taking over as the starter for Colorado, Grubauer hit unrestricted free agency in 2021 and cashed in with the Kraken, signing a six-year, $35.4M deal with trade protection to serve as the team’s starting netminder for the first era of their franchise.

His platform stats entering Seattle were strong. Coming off a 2020-21 campaign that saw him finish third in Vezina Trophy voting and boasting a .920 SV% in 214 career appearances, there was little reason to expect the contract to quickly turn into one of the worst values in the league. 

Unfortunately, since joining Seattle, Grubauer has been well below average, posting a 40-54-10 record, .890 SV% and 3.07 GAA behind a decent defense. The 32-year-old did post a .903 SV% in 14 games for the Kraken during last season’s run to Game 7 of the second round against the Stars, but even that fell well below the playoff stats he had set with the Avalanche over the preceding few years.

Kraken fans hoped that his postseason momentum could carry over into this season, especially with GM Ron Francis opting to stay the course in the crease and bring back Daccord as an internal option to serve as Grubauer’s full-time backup. 

Unfortunately, Grubauer has responded with his worst numbers yet, conceding 8.4 goals above average in just 17 starts, posting a .884 SV% and a 5-9-1 record in the process. Daccord hasn’t been much better, posting a 3-4-6 record and .894 SV%.

It will be Daccord’s crease for the time being with Grubauer sidelined, though. Without any clarity into the severity of Grubauer’s injury, it’s impossible to predict how long he could be out of the lineup — low-grade groin strains can be treated on a day-to-day basis, while a more severe groin injury would keep him out for months. He’ll miss at least seven days in order to be eligible for IR.

Driedger, who’s also disappointed since signing a three-year, $10.5M pact with the Kraken in 2021, returns to the NHL roster and will look to make his season debut in the process. The 29-year-old missed most of last season after undergoing ACL surgery and was assigned to the minors upon his return to health, meaning he hasn’t appeared in an NHL contest since May 1, 2022. 

He started 24 games for the Kraken in their inaugural season, posting a 9-14-1 record, .899 SV% and 2.96 GAA.

Daccord beat out a healthy Driedger for the backup spot in training camp this year, leading Seattle to waive Driedger and assign him to Coachella Valley a few days before the start of the season. 

The Kraken recalled Driedger for a brief period in November while Grubauer was dealing with an undisclosed injury, but he did not play and was promptly returned to the AHL upon Grubauer’s return.

If Daccord continues to stumble after a hot start to the season, the Kraken hope Driedger’s strong play in the minors this year can again translate to NHL success. In 15 games for Coachella Valley, Driedger has a 2.20 GAA, .916 SV%, 9-5-1 record, and two shutouts.

Megna returns to Seattle after logging a goal and a +3 rating in two contests with Coachella Valley over the weekend. The Kraken assigned him to the minors on a conditioning loan last week after making him a healthy scratch in a remarkable 26 straight games to kick off the season.