One of the lingering questions about what the Seattle Kraken would do after this season has already been answered. General manager Ron Francis got ahead of the game and signed goalie Joey Daccord to a five-year, $25 million contract extension (a “Daccord Accord” if you will) on Wednesday, locking the netminder in with the organization.
“Joey stepped up last season and proved his ability to handle an increased workload,” Francis said. “We’re confident he can take his game to another level, and we’re excited to have him under contract long term.”
Indeed, the Kraken are betting that Daccord will continue his upward trajectory, which elevated him to borderline No. 1 goalie status last season. The 28-year-old from Boston posted a solid .916 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average in his first full NHL season, while recording a 19-18-11 record for a team that finished well outside the playoff picture.
The new Daccord contract kicks in next season, following the conclusion of his current two-year deal that pays him $1.2 million annually. So, Daccord will theoretically remain with Seattle through the 2029-30 season, and he will hit unrestricted free agency at age 33.
Lots of money in the goal crease
On its own, this is a solid deal for both player and team. It’s a massive and well-deserved pay raise for Daccord, who is widely regarded as one of the best to work with in the game and has endeared himself to fans in both Seattle and Coachella Valley, where he previously starred for the Firebirds. He emerged onto the national stage last season when he pitched a shutout in the Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park on New Year’s Day, an unforgettable experience for all involved.
If you haven’t listened to our recent podcast interview with Daccord, you can check that out here, and you’ll get a feel for how he is as a person. If you didn’t love Joey before, you will after you listen to that interview.
On the ice, Daccord has developed into the player Seattle hoped for when they selected him from the Ottawa Senators in the Expansion Draft.
If Daccord were the only goaltender under contract for next season and beyond, we would be doing cartwheels in celebration of the signing. The one concern, though, is that Philipp Grubauer still has this season plus two more left on his deal at $5.9 million average annual value. So, for next season and the season after, the Kraken will be on the hook for roughly $10.9 million in cap hit dedicated to their netminders.
Now, the good news on this front is that A.) the cap is projected to go up next season, and B.) Seattle has some contracts set to come off the books, such as those of Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev. Will Borgen will also be a UFA after this season, but we have to think there’s mutual interest for him to stick around.
As of today, without increasing the cap, Seattle projects to have around $8 million in cap space before (potentially) re-signing Borgen and backfilling for Gourde and Tanev, who we assume will move on after this season. If the cap goes up, say, five percent, then the Kraken would project to have closer to $12 million in space.
Betting on Daccord
We know the organization thinks very highly of Joey, and this deal proves that out. Clearly, the team believes he has not reached his full potential yet, and that he will begin to take over as a true No. 1 in the next season or two.
IF he does reach the level of consistency that the front office is hoping he will, then this could prove to be a great deal. Heck, if Daccord can reach Juuse Saros-level performance, which he already statistically exceeded last season (Saros had a 2.86 GAA and .906 save percentage in 64 appearances), then this could prove to be a steal. Saros, by the way, starts a new contract next season that will pay him $7.74 million for eight years.
The fact of the matter is that the sample size of NHL experience remains small for Daccord, though, and that makes this deal a bit risky.
What do you think, folks? Do you like the five-year Daccord contract extension?
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.