The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is adding another team for the 2025-26 season, and Seattle is officially the destination, the league announced in a press release on Wednesday. The Seattle franchise will join Vancouver as one of two teams being added by the PWHL, which was previously made up of six teams. The addition of these two teams marks the league’s first expansion since it launched in fall of 2023 and is an aggressive move toward growing beyond its current mostly regional footprint. Seattle’s team will play its home games at Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken and will train out of the Kraken Community Iceplex.
There is no doubt the support that the city of Seattle and Climate Pledge Arena showed for two marquee events over the last three years raised Seattle’s profile as a potential expansion city for professional women’s hockey. There was always a belief that Seattle would be a great city for PWHL expansion, but not many expected it to reach the Emerald City this quickly.
The move west is significant for several reasons. Not only does it broaden the geographic footprint of the PWHL, but it also taps into the explosive growth of hockey in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle has seen a rapid rise in youth participation, ticket sales, and grassroots engagement since the Kraken joined the NHL in 2021. Adding a women’s pro team was the next logical step.
“We are looking forward to returning the love, energy and excitement the Seattle sports community shared with us during the PWHL Takeover Tour,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL Executive Vice President of Business Operations. “The opportunity to start a new chapter of women’s hockey in the Pacific Northwest, combined with calling the world-class Climate Pledge Arena home has so much meaning for our league. The Kraken already have been unbelievably supportive, and it’s a joy to have PWHL Seattle join the WNBA’s Storm and the NWSL’s Reign, who are skyscrapers in the city’s towering sports landscape.”
While official details on the expansion draft and player allocation process will be released in the coming weeks, the timeline is now set. Both Seattle and Vancouver will debut this fall when the puck drops on the 2025–26 PWHL season. Fans can expect more announcements over the summer, including schedules, front office hirings, and coaching staff and player signings.
Climate Pledge Arena hosted the USA vs Canada Rivalry Series game in November, 2022.
Climate Pledge Arena previously hosted a USA vs. Canada Rivalry Series game in November, 2022, drawing a strong turnout and showcasing the region’s enthusiasm for high-level women’s hockey. The PWHL also played a “Takeover Tour” game at Climate Pledge Arena on Jan. 19 between the Montreal Victoire and the Boston Fleet, which drew over 12,000 fans. In the PWHL’s most recent season, each team played 15 home games and averaged between 6,400 and 7,700 fans per game. There is some nuance to those attendance numbers, though, as the Takeover Tour games consistently drew big crowds.
The cross-border rivalry with Vancouver also promises to be an intriguing spin on expansion. For the league, it’s a strategic play to develop regional rivalries and deepen fan investment—both critical to long-term success. “Women’s teams from Seattle and Vancouver played against each other as early as 1921 and, given the proximity of our two newest cities – Vancouver is barely 140 miles away – I cannot wait for the first game in what I’m sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries.” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
The upcoming season will begin in late fall and run through late spring, with each team once again expected to play 15 home games. Next season will also coincide with the 2026 Winter Olympics, traditionally a major showcase for women’s hockey. Olympic years tend to bring a surge of interest from casual sports fans, providing the PWHL with a golden opportunity to further grow its fanbase and visibility at a national and international level.
While the team name, branding, and expansion draft plans remain under wraps, Seattle is officially part of the PWHL’s future, and the city is ready to make some noise.
Welcome to the “Photographer’s Favorites” gallery from the 2024-25 Seattle Kraken season. There are some great shots in here that capture the intensity of NHL hockey from up close.
As a reminder, photos are property of Sound Of Hockey and may not be reused.
The Seattle Kraken ushered in a new era this week, making a sweeping change at the top of the organization that was both surprising and unsurprising at the same time. On Monday, the team dismissed head coach Dan Bylsma after just one season behind the bench, then promoted assistant general manager Jason Botterill to GM, with Ron Francis moving upstairs to a new role as president of hockey operations. It was a dramatic shakeup that signaled the Kraken’s urgency to correct course after a disappointing season—and one that set the stage for a much different kind of end-of-year press conference on Tuesday.
The news came one day prior to what we expected to be Francis’ standard end-of-season press conference as the general manager, at which he has previously dissected what went right and wrong for his team and vaguely given his plans for the offseason. Two seasons ago, Francis sat next to then-head coach Dave Hakstol a few days after the team got knocked out of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and boasted about the success of the team. Last season, he held the presser alone and indicated he wasn’t sure about Hakstol’s future with the team, then fired him a couple days later.
This time, after the Kraken shocked many in the local media with the moves they officially made across Monday and Tuesday morning, they aimed to make the press conference more celebratory. While previous cleanout press conferences with the GM have been held in the Kraken’s Anchor Room, a private setting behind closed doors with minimal fanfare, this version was out in the open in the lobby of Kraken Community Iceplex and was attended by many in the local media and employees from several departments across the Kraken organization.
Upon arrival, there was a long table set to host Kraken chair and owner Samantha Holloway, Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke, plus Francis and Botterill. Behind the table was imagery of the two men tabbed with running Seattle’s front office, with the words “The Next Wave of Leadership.”
From the jump, it was clear that the Kraken did not want this event to have a we-just-fired-our-coach tone, though there would surely be conversation about that topic. Ironically, this presser felt more like a congratulatory welcome-to-your-new-position event, akin to what Bylsma received last summer after he was promoted from the Coachella Valley Firebirds to become the second head coach in the history of the Kraken.
Encouraging words from Botterill
I gave my own thoughts on these moves in a separate article on Monday, but I will mention that I was not immediately enamored by the organization’s decision to move Botterill to GM and Francis to president of hockey ops. I’m reserving judgment and will remain hopeful that they can right the ship next season and beyond, but I also maintained a level of skepticism going into this presser.
That skepticism still exists now that we have gotten some clarity on what led to these decisions and what the plans are moving forward (more on those items in a bit), but I do feel better about the outlook of the team after the presser on Tuesday.
While Botterill comes across as serious—and although he has been with the team as an assistant general manager since Day 1—there’s also a certain exuberance that makes me think his promotion could inject some new life into the front office and encourage its members to look differently at the problem of building the team into a perennial contender.
He does seem to have a clear idea of what the Kraken’s identity needs to be—a team that plays with speed and uses its strength to get to the front of the net in the offensive zone while keeping opponents away from its own goal—and appears willing to upgrade the roster to get back to that identity.
“We have to continue improving and add to our skill level in all areas,” Botterill said. “It’s not as if we’re one player away right now from a Stanley Cup championship. We have to become a perennial playoff team first and then find our way.”
He also spoke about how excited he is at the resources that will be given to him in the role—something that may have lacked when he took the reins as GM in Buffalo back in 2017—and Holloway and Leiweke reinforced their commitment to making the Kraken into a winner.
“Everyone at this table is committed to winning,” Holloway said. “Our hockey folks and our staff have worked hard and deserve winning. Our partners and our fans who support us every night deserve winning.”
Why Bylsma was fired
While I wasn’t shocked to see Bylsma let go after just one season, I also did not expect the news on Monday. Whereas I had read the writing on the wall for Hakstol last season and had my “Hakstol fired by the Kraken” story prewritten several days in advance, I had no such story prepared this time around.
A firing simply felt too quick, especially considering that the team did finally seem to be playing better after the trade deadline, a line of commentary that was repeated on several occasions by Bylsma and the Kraken players down the stretch. Plus, I really liked Bylsma as a human, and it seemed many of the players did as well.
But as we’ve heard many times, hockey is a results-based business, and Bylsma did not get those results, posting a 35-41-6 record and finishing ahead of only the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division.
“The path of least resistance for [Francis and Botterill] and the owners was to do nothing on the coaching side, but they thought we could do better,” Leiweke said. “They thought that a move could actually move us closer to winning faster.”
And so, a move was made. Francis also gave a clear-cut and damning response for why the axe dropped on Bylsma.
“When we were watching the games, I didn’t like the way we were playing,” Francis said. “I thought our team could use more structure, more details in our approach, and at the end of the day, we didn’t get the results we were expecting this year.”
Botterill mentioned that he liked what the assistant coaches brought to the table and re-confirmed that Jess Campbell will be back next season. In speaking to him after the presser, he went as far as to say he expects her to be on the bench next season, though until the Kraken hire their next head coach, the exact responsibilities of Campbell and the other assistant coaches will remain question marks.
How the team will improve this offseason
Botterill spoke on several occasions about his expectation to look to a variety of channels for improving the team this offseason, including via free agency and trade. He also mentioned that he intends to leave roster spots open for young players in the organization to have a chance to compete for a spot in training camp.
“Ron and myself will look close at different opportunities to bring in players, whether that’s from a free agent standpoint or from a trade standpoint, but a big part of how we’re going to move the organization forward is our young players stepping in,” Botterill said. “And not only players from [Coachella Valley] or juniors making a step to the National Hockey League, but our young players in the National Hockey League taking another step.”
Also notable, when I asked if he would consider buying out any players, he did not shoot down the idea. We have surmised that there are a couple players who could be considered for buyouts this summer.
“I think it’s a situation where we’ll look at everything over the summer on where we’re at. At the end of the day, we’re making a commitment to improving our roster, and whether that’s buyouts, whether that’s trades, that’s the easy part of my job right now is the draft capital that’s at my disposal.”
Reason for optimism
That last point Botterill made about draft capital did feel like an important one. When you think about it, Botterill is coming into the Kraken GM role—his second chance at holding the GM title in the NHL—with a pretty great opportunity ahead of him.
There are good, young players like Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, and Ryker Evans who have all proven that they are ready to be full-time NHLers and could all take big steps forward next season. He also has a well-built pipeline of prospects, with several players knocking on the door and at least a couple that could turn into star players.
“We have a lot of different types of players that are coming up in our organization, so we’re not just dependent on one player. But it’s going to be exciting from trying to find more skill at the NHL level… but also finding the next level of younger players.”
There are also still some good core veterans like Jared McCann, Brandon Montour, and Vince Dunn, and a reliable starting goalie in Joey Daccord.
Now Botterill can hire his own coach and augment the roster using the cap space and draft capital amassed by Francis. And coming off the season Seattle just had, the only place to go is up.
I’m still skeptical that the moves made to start this week were the exact right moves to push this team into a perennial playoff contender, but Tuesday’s presser did inject a dose of optimism back into my increasingly pessimistic brain.
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.
Some major bombs are dropping in the Seattle Kraken organization in the wake of the team’s third losing season in four years.
The team officially announced Monday that Dan Bylsma has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the Kraken after one season. Meanwhile, according to a report from E.J. Hradek, Jason Botterill will be promoted from assistant general manager into the general manager’s chair, while Ron Francis is expected to move into a president of hockey operations role.
John Shannon also reported that assistant coach Jess Campbell has been retained by the organization, answering one of the first questions we received after this news started to leak out. As for what happens with the other assistant coaches, we do not yet know but will update this story when we find out.
Francis’ end-of-season press conference is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, so we will surely get some clarity on what led to these decisions.
Knee-jerk analysis to Bylsma firing
The organization certainly didn’t get the results it wanted this season, especially after making two splashy acquisitions in Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson last summer. Even so, I personally did not foresee Bylsma getting the axe this quickly. In fact, Bylsma even joked at his last presser on Wednesday that he hoped he could continue to be part of the Seattle sports scene.
“I couldn’t say enough about the fanbase here. The enthusiasm for our team and their— I’m blown away by [them], and I just want it to continue,” Bylsma said with a hearty laugh.
I thought that journey would continue for Bylsma, who led the Coachella Valley Firebirds to two straight Calder Cup Finals before being promoted to the Kraken, at least into the beginning of next season. My expectation was that if things got off to a rocky start in 2025-26, then the team would look to make a change behind the bench. But the Kraken sent a clear message to their fanbase that a 35-41-6 record and second-to-last in the Pacific Division was simply not good enough.
As for the movement in the front office, this exact change was one that had been quietly predicted amongst the local media throughout the season. If Botterill’s promotion to GM and Francis’ move to a different front office role had been made in isolation, I would have considered this a half measure. But in concert with the surprise coach firing, this is a tectonic shift in the leadership of the Seattle Kraken.
I have to say, Dan Bylsma was an absolute joy to work with this season. You could tell he was beloved by many players in the dressing room, several of whom mentioned his “human” side at end-of-season availability last week. He was a hilarious guy who made me laugh almost every time I spoke with him, so I will certainly miss our interactions.
However, I also understand the decision to move on from him; the organization was expecting a big turnaround in on-ice performance this season, and that never came to fruition. It’s disappointing to me that Bylsma didn’t get the results that Kraken fans deserve, because he was an easy coach to root for.
Even Francis’ comments in the team’s press release about Bylsma’s firing reflect this sentiment.
“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Francis said in a press release. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench. Dan is a great person and a respected coach. He played an important role in the development of many of our young prospects and was a big part of our early success in Coachella Valley. We sincerely wish him and his family nothing but success moving forward.”
Jason Botterill returns to the GM chair
This will be Botterill’s second stint as an NHL GM, after he served in the position for the Buffalo Sabres from May 11, 2017, until June 16, 2020. Ironically, he moved into that role less than a month after Bylsma was fired by the Sabres following two seasons.
He has been in the Kraken organization since being named assistant general manager in May of 2021, so he is certainly familiar with the team and its prospect pipeline. Things didn’t go according to plan for him as GM in Buffalo (although it doesn’t seem to go according to plan for anyone in Buffalo), but he is well regarded around the NHL. If the Kraken didn’t promote him, it did feel like he would get a chance to do the job again elsewhere.
I’m curious to see how much will change with Botterill making this ascension. The offseason ahead already appeared to be a critical one, in which the team needs to make some significant upgrades to its roster. Now add in a coaching search and a new GM at the helm, and this is shaping up to be a fascinating summer for the Kraken.
An early list of coaching candidates
As for who replaces Bylsma as head coach, we will surely dig into some potential candidates in the coming weeks. Names that immediately jumped to mind, though, were David Carle, who has done nothing but win as the head coach of the University of Denver and Team USA at the World Junior Championship, Pat Ferschweiler, who just led Western Michigan University to the NCAA title, or Peter Laviolette, who was just fired by the New York Rangers (though didn’t seem to work well with Kaapo Kakko).
There has also been some speculation out there that current coaches like Mike Sullivan, Rod Brind’Amour, and Rick Tocchet could become available this summer, but we shall see.
If we learn more about what is transpiring for the Kraken, we will add it to this story, so check back later.
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.
We’ve now had a couple of days to digest the end of the Seattle Kraken season, which concluded with 76 standings points—good for seventh out of eight teams in the Pacific Division and tied for fourth from the bottom of the entire NHL.
Believe it or not, those 76 points were five fewer than last season, which for some reason felt more painful than this one—perhaps because the Kraken were in the playoff conversation deeper into the 2023-24 campaign than they were this season. In 2024-25, it never felt like Seattle got into enough of a groove to be a playoff contender.
Adding a small dose of insult to injury, the Philadelphia Flyers lost their final game of the season to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, which vaulted them into the fourth-best odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery. The Kraken were level in the standings with both Philadelphia and the Boston Bruins but won tiebreakers against both teams, meaning they ended with the sixth-best odds of winning the lottery—so a 7.5 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick.
Taking one fewer standings point would have only given them a marginally better 9.5 percent chance of winning, but it would have meant they draft a couple slots higher assuming they don’t win the lottery. As it stands now, drafting seventh is the most likely outcome, per Tankathon.
It probably won’t end up making a huge difference—there are good players available in the top 10, even though this is viewed as a relatively weak draft—but it’s one more layer of disappointment for a still-growing fanbase that has been kicked pretty hard the last couple of seasons.
Clean-out day highlights
Every season, NHL teams do a “locker clean-out day,” in which players meet with the coaching staff individually to discuss their respective performances, have end-of-season medical evaluations, and wrap up any loose ends before heading to their offseason homes. Another aspect of this day is that many of the players and the head coach are made available to the media one last time.
This happened Wednesday for the Kraken, one day after they dropped their season finale, 6–5, to the Los Angeles Kings.
Here are some highlights from clean-out day.
Consistent themes
While the conversations varied from player to player, several consistent themes emerged throughout the day. First, the team was highly disappointed that it did not make the playoffs, and the players believe they should have performed better than they did. We also heard this from the players last season, but it still feels worth noting.
Second, we heard from several individuals that they were happier with the way they played after the NHL Trade Deadline than before it. This was something we heard consistently during the final stretch of the season and again Wednesday from coach Dan Bylsma, as well.
I asked a few guys why they played better after the deadline—their record was 9-8-2 since March 7—than before, considering they theoretically lost talent from their roster.
“I think we did a good job of finishing the season,” Jaden Schwartz said. “We played hard for each other. I don’t know what our record was—I think it was above .500, but we looked better collectively as a team, had some good spurts.”
“I think, after the deadline, we started to play a lot better,” added Jared McCann. “We were more consistent with our play, and we obviously beat some good teams too. So, I think that the consistency for us wasn’t really there all year, and that’s something that obviously needs to change.”
When I posed the question to Bylsma, I shaped it differently, asking more specifically about the loss of players viewed externally as important members of the team. Shouldn’t that have resulted in poorer performance, at least on paper?
Bylsma didn’t really comment, instead saying that he would leave me to ponder why the team got better after it moved Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to Tampa Bay and Brandon Tanev to Winnipeg.
I have my own theories: one of those three players simply wasn’t a fit in Bylsma’s scheme, one wasn’t good for the locker room, and the other was Yanni Gourde.
Jared McCann to undergo procedure
Perhaps the closest thing to breaking news from the day came from Jared McCann, who said he will have a procedure on Monday and will be out of commission for about six weeks before getting back to training for next season. While he didn’t elaborate on what he was dealing with, it did sound like something that lingered for much of the season.
“I’ve got to clean the body up a little bit,” McCann said. “I’ve got a procedure to do this summer, and I’ll just try to figure out kind of where it came from.”
Given that he had a mysterious malady that will require surgery, the fact that he played all 82 regular-season games for the first time in his NHL career is impressive. Also notable is that although he didn’t score at the same clip as in previous seasons—potting just 22 goals compared to 27, 40, and 29 in his other Kraken years—he still led the team in points with 61 (22-39—61), 10 more than second-place Chandler Stephenson, who had 51 points (13-38—51).
Joey Daccord wins the first annual Andy Eide Memorial Stick Taps Award
This season, we introduced a new player award in honor of our good buddy, Andy Eide, who tragically passed away after suffering a stroke two years ago.
Andy took such pride in forming relationships with players, coaches, and team staff, and being able to take little anecdotes from his interactions and share them with his friends and family. He picked up so many funny tidbits he couldn’t share publicly, but it brought him joy to regale others with hockey stories from around the rink.
So, in the spirit of the award, the Kraken beat members were asked to consider: which player made them want to go home and tell their friends about their interactions? Who was best to work with throughout the season?
The always affable Joey Daccord—who Andy interviewed on several occasions—won in a landslide.
Joey Daccord was the first recipient of the Andy Eide Memorial Stick Taps Award, presented by the local #SeaKraken media to the player who was best to work with throughout the season.
Daccord also unsurprisingly had some great things to say during his presser and in my interview with him on this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast episode. Here’s my personal favorite quote of Daccord’s from his media availability:
“It means a lot to me, the support that I get from the fans here. I’ve been fortunate enough to be supported incredibly everywhere I’ve gone, everywhere I’ve played, but nothing really comes close to Seattle and the way the fans support our team and myself… At the end of the day, they’re what drive us. They are there every single game to support us, home and away. We see them all over the country, all over Canada. We see them everywhere. Obviously, [Tuesday’s] game was not the best, and it is what it is, but I didn’t want to let that one game diminish a whole season. … I just think it’s really important to acknowledge and be grateful for the support that they give me every single night.”
Joey gets it.
An introspective Vince Dunn
Defenseman Vince Dunn spent a lot of time in his media availability reflecting on his own performance this season. In my mind’s eye, I can recall numerous moments where I would check a replay in wonder to figure out how an opponent got so open or so far behind Seattle’s defenses. It became a pattern in these scenarios to see Dunn as the last guy back, having lost his man. Of course, there were plenty of other guilty parties throughout the season, but Dunn stood out to me.
For that reason, I assumed any introspection or direction from coaches would focus on Dunn’s defending. In contrast, Dunn thought he had a pretty good year defensively and will focus on improving his offensive performance.
“I wish I had a little bit better of a year. I think there’s opportunities for me to have a little bit more finish in my game,” Dunn said. “I think guys put me in positions to score, and I didn’t execute or create enough chances moving forward with the plays that were given to me, so that’s kind of all I’ll look at with my game, I think.
“I defended pretty well, I matched some nights but didn’t match the other nights, so, as far as my game and my injuries, everything like that, I felt like it was decent. But I know my role on this team, and I know that decent is not enough to win hockey games and be the staple on the back end that this team needs me to be. So I’m not extremely disappointed in myself, but I know that I have a little bit more to give and a little bit more to work on this summer, and I’m really excited to come out and get off to the right start next season.”
It was an interesting glimpse into the mind of an offensive defenseman; Dunn knows he’s in Seattle to drive production from the back. What’s funny, though, is that it wasn’t even a terrible offensive season for him. He had 11 goals and 28 assists in 62 games, matching his goal total from last season and falling seven assists short of his 2022-23 mark, despite playing three more games.
Without elaborating on specific areas Dunn needs to work on, Bylsma agreed that he can be better.
“I think him being out with an injury, especially early on in the season, you saw that really when he came back, he accented what he can bring to the team,” Bylsma said. “I think almost to a man in that room, I think we all feel the same way about our years, individually. ‘How was my year?’ ‘It was ok.’ ‘It was good.’ ‘Not good enough.’
“And I think Vince can be a driver on our power play, can be a driver offensively back on the back end for us, both from a puck-moving standpoint, but as a facilitator offensively. And he did a good job of that, but his expectation and my expectation are that it can be better.”
Players on expiring contracts have enjoyed Seattle
Three players on expiring contracts—Kaapo Kakko, Josh Mahura, and Mikey Eyssimont—spoke to the media on Wednesday. Kakko’s situation is different than those of Mahura and Eyssimont because the 24-year-old is a restricted free agent, meaning he can really only sign with Seattle absent an offer sheet, and (I believe) is viewed as an important long-term piece. Meanwhile, Mahura and Eyssimont are depth players set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1, free to sign with any team.
I had wondered if Kakko would want a short-term bridge deal, since he can hit the open market next summer if he doesn’t sign long term. But the way he gushes about playing here—remember, he had a tough go in New York—makes me think a longer deal could get worked out soon.
“It’s a little different [than playing in New York],” Kakko said with a smirk. “I mean, different city, but I think over here is kind of more like Finland. New York is very different. But I like my time here. I like the city, and I think the fans were great. I like to play here, and I think this is a good place for me.”
Eyssimont and Mahura also expressed love for their time in Seattle.
Eyssimont echoed much of what he told me in a previous interview. When asked if he would like to return next season, he said, “Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and I’m going to miss it this summer. The boys have been so great, so yeah, it’s a great organization.”
Added Mahura: “I obviously really enjoyed my time here. Me and my family coming into here, we just got used to it pretty quick, enjoyed the outdoors and the nature side of it with our dogs and stuff. But overall, it’s been nothing but positive things for us here.”
When I asked Mahura directly if he would want to return, he said: “Yeah, for sure. I think that’s obviously some talks that we’ll have to have over the next little bit, but like I said, I’ve loved being here, loved being part of this organization, and everybody that is involved in it.”
After struggling for much of the first five months of the season, he got waived and sent to Coachella Valley, where he did seem to find himself before he returned to post a 3-2-0 record with a .921 save percentage in his final five appearances, perhaps his best stretch of the season.
“It wasn’t the easiest season for me personally, as well, but I felt like once I got into a rhythm down there in Coachella, I found my game there and got to play a little bit more consistently,” Grubauer said.
“It was definitely weird going down there. Like, you’re sitting on the plane, and you don’t know if your career up here is going to be over or not, so it was definitely a little weird going down there. But once you’re down there and you put the gear back on, you’ve got to go to work and make the best out of it.”
One thing I find interesting is that he has continued to maintain he never lost confidence—he just couldn’t get into a rhythm due to sporadic playing time.
“This whole year has nothing to do with confidence or I was lacking confidence early in the year, and now I’m like obviously more confident,” Grubauer said. “I think it’s more finding the playing time and seeing those situations out there. You always talk about the first game of preseason, like it’s always scrambly, or the first game of the regular season, it’s so scrambly. That’s what it is. You sit on the bench for two or three weeks, and it’s basically like you’re coming out of preseason again.”
The trouble with this argument is that if he stays next season, it will almost certainly be in a true backup role now that Daccord has taken over the starter job. If Grubauer can’t get comfortable in that role, I don’t see how Seattle can keep him. It also sounds to me like he’s blaming his struggles on not getting a fair shake, though we discussed this on this week’s podcast, and John Barr took Grubauer’s comments differently than I did.
In any case, Grubauer’s status with the Kraken will surely be one to monitor this summer.
There’s still some end-of-season wrapping up left for the Kraken. General manager Ron Francis has not yet addressed the media but is expected to do so on Tuesday, so we’ll have more coverage after that.
Plus, we have lots of great content planned over the next few weeks as we continue to dissect this season to understand more about what went wrong and what the team can do to improve for 2025–26.
Even so, this feels like a great time to say thanks for following along this season, folks!
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.
As the Seattle Kraken wrapped up their final game of a disappointing 2024-25 season, the focus now turns to the offseason. Team president and CEO Tod Leiweke hinted at an “eventful” summer during a recent season ticket holder event. One of many looming questions surrounding next season’s team is how it can improve. There has been plenty of speculation in the market that general manager Ron Francis will execute buyouts—something he hasn’t yet done with Seattle. So how would this look if he did decide to utilize this option?
Philipp Grubauer and Andre Burakovsky have both surfaced in that speculation, so we will use their contracts to understand the ramifications. To be clear, this article is not advocating for either to lose their jobs. Instead, we aim to explain how NHL buyouts work, the math behind them, and what alternatives exist before diving into whether a buyout makes sense for either player.
How the NHL buyout process works
Timing
Buyouts are only allowed during a specific window: starting June 15 or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends (whichever is later) and ending on June 30. Over the last five seasons, the Cup has been awarded between June 13 and June 26.
Waivers
Before a buyout can occur, the player must be placed on unconditional waivers. According to CBA Article 13.23:
“Unconditional Waivers shall be required for the purpose of Buy-Out or Mutual Termination of a Player’s contract.”
Waivers last 24 hours, allowing other NHL teams to claim the player. While no buyout-targeted player has ever been claimed, the opportunity technically exists. Players with no-movement clauses cannot be waived and thus cannot be bought out unless they waive that clause.
Age and term
The amount a team owes a player in a buyout depends on the player’s age at the time of the buyout. Here’s how it breaks down:
26 and older: two-thirds of remaining salary, smoothed evenly over twice the remaining contract term
25 and younger: one-third of remaining salary, smoothed evenly over twice the remaining contract term
Buyout formula for annual cap hit
To calculate the actual cap hit the team incurs during a buyout, the following formula is used:
Cap Hit = AAV – (Annual Salary – Buyout Payment)
“Annual salary” means the real dollars owed to the player, whereas the AAV is the player’s cap hit.
Buyout math: A Grubauer case study
Here’s a breakdown using Philipp Grubauer’s contract as an example:
2025-26 AAV: $5.9M | Salary: $5.6M
2026-27 AAV: $5.9M | Salary: $4.5M
Total Salary owed: $10.1M
The Average Annual Value (AAV) is calculated by averaging the total value of the contract over its full term. Actual salary reflects what the player is paid each season and can vary year to year. Understanding this difference is essential when calculating the impact of a buyout.
At 33 years old, Grubauer would be paid two-thirds of his remaining $10.1 million salary—$6.73 million—smoothed evenly over four years, which is twice the remaining term of his contract, so $1.68 million per season.
While the yearly cap hit is reduced, the penalty lingers for twice the remaining contract term—and in this case, the team must still acquire a replacement goaltender, adding further cost to the equation.
Alternatives to a buyout
1. Burying in the AHL
A team can waive and assign a player to the AHL. Due to the Wade Redden rule, only $1.15M is exempt from the salary cap. The rest remains on the books:
2025-26 – $4.75M cap hit, $1.15M savings
2026-27 – $4.75M cap hit, $1.15M savings
Grubauer would remain available as an injury replacement if buried in the AHL, providing organizational depth. This setup gives the Kraken a safety net in case of injuries at the NHL level. Seattle utilized a similar structure with Chris Driedger, who played the AHL after recovering from injury but still under contract and capable of stepping in if needed. A benefit to this approach is that the cap hit lasts only two years, rather than four under a buyout, even though the annual hit is higher. This approach would require the Kraken to acquire another backup goaltender, adding to the overall cost but preserving veteran depth within the organization.
2. Play out the contract
The Kraken could keep Grubauer through 2026-27 at the full $5.9M cap hit per season. While this is the most cost-effective approach on paper, it hinges on a return to form from a goaltender who has yet to have a season with higher than a .900 save percentage with the Kraken. To his credit, Grubauer showed signs of improvement since a stint in the AHL, going 3-2 with a .915 save percentage over his final five appearances. Keeping him avoids the need to acquire a new backup immediately and allows the Kraken to reassess a buyout after next season if needed. However, if he struggles again, finding a capable replacement midseason could be more difficult than securing one in the offseason.
3. Mutual termination
While rare, mutual terminations have occurred. Brandon Saad terminated his contract with the St. Louis Blues, walking away from $5.43 million to sign a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken have also used this approach, mutually terminating Michal Kempny’s contract after he failed to make the team out of training camp and opted to return to Europe. These examples are uncommon and situational.
Grubauer on the other hand is due $10.1 million, so it is hard to see anybody walking away from that kind of money.
What to do with Grubauer?
Grubauer is currently the backup to Joey Daccord. If bought out, the Kraken would need a replacement. Of the 13 goalies set to become unrestricted free agents, only four posted a save percentage above .900 last season. The average AAV among this group is approximately $2.31 million; for simplicity, we’ll estimate $2.5 million for a NHL backup goaltender and use that figure when comparing the financial impact of a buyout, burying the contract, or retaining Grubauer.
Comparision of options
figures include a 2.5M replacement backup goaltender
Keeping Grubauer is the cheapest option, but continuing with a sub-.900 goaltender may not help Seattle improve. Burying his cap hit provides flexibility and coverage but carries a higher annual cap hit. If the Kraken can find a reliable backup in the $1–$1.5 million range, burying the contract could become a more attractive option. However, the most practical path appears to be a buyout, which would provide some savings and effectively end the Grubauer era in Seattle.
A second case study: Burakovsky
Burakovsky has underperformed, but his recent chemistry with Shane Wright and Jared McCann complicates matters. Here’s his buyout math:
Burakovsky finished with 37 points and had 15 in his final 20 games. Finding a similarly productive replacement could cost more than his current $5.5 million AAV.
Only three UFA wingers under the age of 30 topped 37 points: Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Brock Boeser—all likely to command higher salaries. Jani Nyman has already emerged as a strong internal option and has positioned himself for a spot on the roster. However, a top-nine forward position would need to open up for him to secure regular ice time. While his 41-point pace over 12 games is encouraging, it isn’t a significant upgrade over Burakovsky’s 2024-25 production. The real risk is that if Nyman doesn’t hit the ground running, the Kraken could find themselves in another season without meaningful offensive improvement.
Burakovsky could remain with the team as an insurance policy. He offers roster stability and provides dependable depth in case of injuries or if other players, like Nyman, don’t meet expectations.
With Burakovsky’s 62-point pace near the end of the season, it’s possible he could generate trade interest. This is where a buyout becomes a coin flip. The Kraken had only one 60-point player—Jared McCann—during the 2024-25 season. Losing a scoring forward like Burakovsky, especially in an area the team is actively trying to improve, could set the offense back unless a clear upgrade is secured.
Final thoughts
Buyouts offer short-term savings at the cost of long-term cap hits. The added expense of a replacement player often cancels out the savings. Still, they free up roster spots and may be necessary if Seattle wants to retool.
With the salary cap rising to $95.5 million, the Kraken front office has options. Now that you know how buyouts work, what would you do? Would you buy out, bury, or hold onto players like Grubauer and Burakovsky?
Blaiz Grubic
Blaiz Grubic is a contributor at Sound Of Hockey. A passionate hockey fan and player for over 30 years, Blaiz grew up in the Pacific Northwest and is an alumni of Washington State University (Go Cougs!). When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about hockey, he enjoys quality time with his wife and daughter or getting out on a golf course for a quick round. Follow @blaizg on BlueSky or X.
