Seattle Kraken place goalie Philipp Grubauer on waivers (updated)

The Seattle Kraken have finally pulled the plug on a difficult situation, placing their $5.9 million goalie, Philipp Grubauer, on waivers with the intention of assigning him to the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League.

The drastic move from Seattle’s front office comes the morning after Grubauer allowed five goals on 22 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a game in which Jackson Lacombe’s squeaker from distance torpedoed Seattle’s hopes of winning a game it absolutely had to have.

What led to this?

It’s been a rough road for Grubauer with the Kraken ever since he signed a six-year contract as a free agent before Seattle’s inaugural 2021-22 season. Coming off a year in Colorado that resulted in him being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, hopes were high that the now-33-year-old German netminder could backstop the fledgling franchise into relevance quickly.

But aside from some positive flashes here and there, the consistency was never there for Grubauer after his move to the Pacific Northwest, and he seemed to allow a stinker in almost every game he played.

When we asked coach Dan Bylsma after the loss to Anaheim on Tuesday if defensive breakdowns happen more frequently with Joey Daccord in net than with Grubauer, Bylsma gave a definitive, “No,” a damning reply on how he viewed his two netminders.

While we were hopeful there would be a bounce back from Grubauer this season, it has instead been the worst campaign of his career. At 5-15-1 with a 3.83 goals-against average and an .866 save percentage, Grubauer has statistically fallen into “worst goalie in the NHL” territory.

Shocking, yet predictable

I have witnesses who can confirm I asked the question aloud on Tuesday, “Is this the last time we’ll see Philipp Grubauer play at Climate Pledge Arena?” So, I’m not altogether surprised that this happened. The situation had become untenable, given that the highly paid netminder could not even be relied upon to help the Kraken manage the occasional back-to-back. And something felt different after the game Tuesday. It took Bylsma longer than usual to come out to address media, which may or may not have been related to this move, and for some reason, the defeat seemed to take on a greater significance than others.

Although winning is no longer all that important, since Seattle is in contention for a lottery pick in the next NHL Draft, the team still has to play the remaining 35 games on the schedule and be semi-competitive. Bylsma clearly didn’t feel comfortable using Grubauer anymore, as signified by Daccord appearing in 10 consecutive games before he finally got a full night off on Tuesday. So, I did accurately predict that the loss to Anaheim would be the final straw before this move was made.

Even so, thinking of the big picture, it is difficult to grasp that it came to this. When Grubauer was signed, I thought it was such a brilliant move by general manager Ron Francis. But for whatever reason, Grubauer just never found his game on a consistent enough basis with the Kraken, and the entire organization and its fanbase felt the impact of his continuous struggles.

Disappointing from a human perspective

I’m really bummed the Grubauer Era has played out this way. Aside from what happened on the ice, he is a good human who went far above and beyond the call of duty of a professional athlete to connect with the fanbase. Think about all the different types of outreach and marketing activations you’ve seen Grubauer participating in over the past four years. He didn’t have to do all that, but he did it to further ingrain himself in the local community and help the organization establish its roots.

He also quickly attached himself to the Pacific Northwest and made the area his true home. I remember interviewing him for an episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and asking him about that. He told me Seattle didn’t feel like his home; rather, it is his home.

Plus, I know he’s a better goalie than what he’s shown during much of his time here. I don’t know what went wrong on the ice, but some of the glimpses we saw were reminders of just how talented he is, including the dazzling glove save he made on Trevor Zegras on Tuesday.

And let’s not forget, his mother traveled all the way from Germany to see him play that game against the Ducks as part of the Kraken moms trip, and it could very well end up being the last game he plays in the NHL; I really hope that’s not the case.

Worth noting, Bylsma was on 93.3 KJR Wednesday and indicated this isn’t the end of the road for Grubauer with the Kraken, and that he can play his way back to the NHL club.

Financial implications and what’s next

One of the reasons Grubauer lasted this long on the NHL roster is because he is on a massive contract that runs for two more seasons after the current one. Assuming he clears waivers (he will), he will be expected to report to Coachella Valley. This does not mean that his full $5.9 million cap hit comes off Seattle’s books, though.

A team can only “bury” up to $1.15 million in the AHL, so the Kraken will likely still carry $4.75 million of Grubauer’s cap hit, and they will need to add in the dollars of Ales Stezka, who is on his way to Seattle to back up Daccord.

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Bylsma said there wasn't going to be playing time available with schedule ahead and 4 Nations Face-Off break. Move of Grubauer to Coachella Valley gives him a chance to play to try and get his game back on track.

Potential is there for him to come back up to the Kraken. https://t.co/JqNbV58hQX

— Curtis Crabtree (@Curtis_Crabtree) January 29, 2025

Also, barring some unforeseen circumstance like a trade or the team and Grubauer mutually agreeing to part ways (both unlikely), Seattle could end up buying out Grubauer’s contract after this season.

By buying him out, he will no longer be on the roster and will become a free agent after this season. However, Seattle will still carry a discounted cap hit of $1.983 million next season, then $3.083 million in 2026-27. The Kraken also get further penalized for the early buyout, as they will continue to have a cap hit for two more seasons after that (even though his contract ends after 2026-27) of $1.683 million in 2027-28 and 2028-29. (Buyout numbers come from Puckpedia.)