The Seattle Kraken made two moves on Friday afternoon. First, the team announced it was signing veteran, unrestricted free agent forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to a one-year, league minimum $775,000 contract. About an hour later, Elliotte Friedman reported that the team had re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Will Borgen to a two-year, $2.7 million contract. (The Kraken confirmed the signing shortly thereafter.)
The Kraken sign Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to a one-year deal
Bellemare is a 38-year-old, defense-first forward, coming off a down season statistically and analytically. A native of Blanc-Mesnil, France, Bellemare spent much of his twenties playing in Europe in the SHL. He arrived in the NHL in the 2014-2015 season, when he signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Since then he has logged 660 games played, totaling 60 goals and 71 assists, for Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Colorado, and, most recently, Tampa Bay. He has helped his team deep into the playoffs, making the Stanley Cup Finals twice, once with Las Vegas in 2017-18 and once with Tampa Bay in 2021-22.
In a press release issued with the signing, Kraken GM Ron Francis credited Bellemare as a “hard-working, defensive-minded forward.” Bellemare fits a team need on the depth chart for a bottom line player capable of winning face-offs (51.4% win percentage for his career) and taking penalty kill minutes. “He is effective in the faceoff dot and brings valuable veteran experience,” Francis said.
Bellemare’s effectiveness defensively, including in shorthanded situations, waned last season, and his offensive production fell off drastically. That said, the risk here is minimal. If nothing else, he is a good insurance policy for the team if another stronger option does not present itself before the end of camp. Moreover, his experience and perspective – in the face-off circle, for example – could be a valuable add to the team for however long his tenure may be.
If Bellemare does not make the team, his minimum salary would not have any impact on Seattle’s cap.
The Kraken re-sign Will Borgen to a two-year deal
Borgen, 26, was one of the Seattle Kraken’s original expansion draft picks. He spent much of his first season with the team buried on the depth chart and scratched from the lineup. After the 2022 trade deadline, he assumed a more regular role, and carried over that momentum into the 2022-23 season when he played all 82 regular season and 14 postseason games for Seattle. He has totaled 28 points in 132 career regular season games.
Borgen started this past season on the third defensive pair with Carson Soucy but eventually earned a promotion to the second unit along side Jamie Oleksiak. He was up to the new challenge, for the most part, in 2022-23, but the most intriguing part about Borgen is that there could more upside in his game still. He has played less than 150 total NHL games – a number he may more than double during the term of this new two-year deal. Additional experience could unlock yet more production from Borgen, who is an impressive size and speed athlete with solid puck skills.
Already a stalwart on the Kraken penalty kill, Borgen’s retention feels like a critical piece of business for Seattle, particularly amid rumors that Borgen’s name had come up on the trade market. The average annual value of the deal is much higher than I had predicted based on market comparable research, but it is not difficult to find the argument that he could be worth it, for the reasons I laid out above. And Borgen had leverage. Earlier this week he had exercised his right to have his salary set by arbitration failing an agreement.
For the Kraken, this deal gets them an important piece back, in his prime, and buys out one UFA year at a price that does not break the bank. For Borgen, he gets the security for which he has worked very hard. He’ll make almost as much this year alone as he has made in his career to date. And he’ll get the chance to be unrestricted at age 28 upon this deal’s expiration. If his upward trend continues, he’ll be looking at an even bigger deal then. All things considered, Borgen did very well here.
Where do the Kraken go from here?
Seattle’s focus now turns to reaching deals with their remaining restricted free agents, Vince Dunn, Cale Fleury, and Kole Lind. Dunn is the big one as he is looking for a massive payday. How does that play out? Dunn requested salary arbitration too, as did Fleury. Beyond that, the team has filled all of its obvious “needs.” I anticipate that, following the RFA deals, the Kraken will still have a bit of cap space in reserve for opportunities to upgrade the roster that may present themselves.
A day after adding Brain Dumoulin to the blue line, the Seattle Kraken made another NHL level move, signing Spokane, Wash., native Kailer Yamamoto to bolster the team’s forward group.
When asked about Yamamoto after development camp that afternoon, head coach Dave Hakstol described the diminutive winger as “tenacious.” With that single word, Hakstol surely intended to compliment Yamamoto’s quick, grinding, and pesty game.
But the Kraken bench boss may as well have been contrasting the Kraken’s newest bottom-six right-handed winger with a player that filled that role last season, Daniel Sprong. Economics played a role in the swap—Yamamoto signed for less than Sprong received in Detroit. But Sprong was always a bit of a square peg in a round hole at the bottom of Seattle’s lineup. He cheated for offense and was routinely “hidden” against weaker competition to protect his defensive game.
Now, Yamamoto may not “look” like the round peg Seattle needs toward the bottom of their forward group either. He’s 5-foot-8 and maybe 160 pounds soaking wet. He also doesn’t have any real track record playing down lineup. He was always an offensive standout in junior and minor-league hockey, and he rarely fell out of a top-six role with Edmonton.
But, as I watched his shifts from the end of last season in Edmonton, I started to see a player I could envision producing down lineup—using his speed, forecheck, and net-front mentality to score, while also playing responsible hockey in his own end. Add to that his versatility to play higher in the lineup, as he showed in Edmonton, and the pieces started to fit together for me.
A bit undersized and underestimated, he is, as Hakstol succinctly stated, tenacious. Paired with a team full of like-minded skaters, he can wear out an opponent. This may make him a perfect Kraken.
What is the deal?
One week ago Kailer Yamamoto was an Edmonton Oiler entering the last year of a $3.1 million AAV contract. On June 29, Edmonton traded Yamamoto to Detroit, along with forward Klim Kostin, in a cap clearing move.
Detroit “strongly considered” keeping Yamamoto after the trade but reportedly “couldn’t make moves to make it work.” So the Red Wings bought out the winger’s contract on June 30; Detroit took some dead money on its cap, and Yamamoto became a free agent on July 1. (For an explainer on buy outs, look here.)
24 hours later Yamamoto was a Kraken, signing a one-year, one-way, $1.5 million contract with Seattle. The winger will play the entire 2023-24 season at 25 years old and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season. This means that, if the fit works, the Kraken are in position to retain Yamamoto going forward. On the other hand, if team and player don’t see eye to eye on value, the Kraken will face a similar conundrum to what it faced with Sprong and Morgan Geekie this offseason: Do you risk arbitration with a down-lineup forward?
Kailer Yamamoto player profile
Age: 24 Born: September 29, 1998 Birthplace: Spokane, Washington, United States Height: 5’8″ Weight: 153 lbs Shot: Right
Check out all of Yamamoto’s shifts from the Edmonton Oilers’ April 11, 2023, game against the Colorado Avalanche here: first period and second and third periods.
My two cents: The first thing that stands out about Yamamoto is his (lack of) size. Only one player in Capfriendly’s database of active players played even a single NHL game last season at less than Yamamoto’s listed weight of 153 pounds. That player is Matthew Phillips of the New York Islanders, and he played only two games. Only three players played a game last season while measuring in shorter than Yamamoto: Phillips, Blake Lizzotte, and Cole Caufield.
Lizzotte is a wrecking ball forechecker, weighing in at 175 pounds, and Caufield is an offensive sniper. Yamamoto doesn’t have a carrying trait like those players. He is quick on his feet and has above-average speed, but he is not a blazer. He has very good but not elite hands. His shot isn’t particularly hard. He’s willing to throw a check, but his hits are more disruptive than punishing.
Yamamoto’s physical and skill profile are quite literally without comparison in the NHL right now. How has he made it work? It’s with hockey sense and attention to detail.
Yamamoto is active in the defensive zone shadowing his check and pressuring the opponent at critical moments. His defensive stick is effective. While takeaways is an imperfect, subjective statistic, Scott Malone of ROOT Sportsnoted that Yamamoto was 14th in the NHL with 2.81 takeaways per sixty minutes of ice time, tied with Yanni Gourde.
Once he successfully tracks down a puck on defense he is highly efficient at getting the puck out of the defensive zone. As noted below, his defensive zone analytics have been consistently above average. Per HockeyViz, he suppressed opponent shots at a rate 4 percent better than average at even strength. These skills also serve him well on the penalty kill, where he has been an above-average second unit contributor for the Oilers.
In the offensive zone, his NHL role has been two-fold. First, he hunts pucks on the forecheck following uncontrolled entries. Second, after his team gets control, he uses his quickness and savvy to get to the net front for tips and re-directions while Edmonton’s stable of skilled shooters swarmed around the perimeter. His shot chart (see to the right) is essentially just a pile of dots in the slot. For a team like Seattle that generated more shots from the outside rather than in close, Yamamoto’s skill set fits. He’s not a traditional hulking presence at the net, but his ability there fills a Seattle need for an interior scorer.
In the below clip, he pressures the puck below the goal line, forces a turnover, drops the puck for Connor McDavid, and moves immediately to the net front to create chaos and look for a rebound.
In this clip, Yamamoto again pressures the puck carrier down low and contributes to an Edmonton takeaway. He then moves into the high slot and tips in a point shot.
This final clip from a game against Seattle is fairly typical of his offensive-zone positioning. He gets net-front position by his quickness and anticipation, rather than brute force. Then, when a lane opens, he is strong and skilled with his stick to redirect the puck into the back of the net.
Combine Yamamoto’s size with his fearless net drives and forechecking, and it is reasonable to be concerned whether he can hold up long term. Last season Yamamoto spent 41 days on injured reserve and missed 24 games. On the other hand, he was relatively healthy the previous two seasons, missing only five games total across those two years. Will he hold up moving forward? It’s a risk, but one that a team like Seattle, with its depth of forwards, can afford to take on.
Is there untapped potential in Yamamoto?
Since Yamamoto has been well-known in Washington State for a longtime, it is easy to forget he is not yet even 25 years old. In fact, he is two months younger than the recently departed Morgan Geekie. For those opining patience on Geekie’s skill game due to his age, the same argument can be made with respect to Yamamoto. And Yamamoto comes with a much stronger amateur pedigree than Geekie: Both drafted in 2017, Yamamoto went 22nd overall whereas Geekie went 67th.
Beyond that, I am intrigued by Yamamoto because his usage in Edmonton may have hidden some underlying skills that he should get a chance to display in Seattle. New responsibilities could be for the better or the worse, of course, but I see reasons for optimism that a new role will help him elevate his game.
1. Transition skill
In Edmonton, the Oilers transition game plan was clear: get the puck to elite puck possession forwards in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
An example comes at 3:24 in the video above. Yamamoto has the puck along the boards breaking out of the defensive zone with Draisaitl to his left. With just a single defender ahead, Yamamoto could have advanced the puck, skating wide while the German center drove the net. Instead, Yamamoto immediately deferred to Draisaitl to allow the superstar the opportunity to dictate the play in transition.
To be clear, this was probably the “correct” hockey play because Draisaitl can navigate zone entries like few in the NHL. Corey Sznajder’s AllThreeZones data tracking put Draistail in the 94th percentile in the NHL in total zone entries. (McDavid ranks even higher, in the 98th percentile.) But Edmonton’s approach forced Yamamoto into a very deferential and passive role through the middle of the ice. Sznajder had Yamamoto in just the 15th percentile among NHL forwards in total zone entries.
In Seattle, Yamamoto will get opportunities on the puck in the transition game. He won’t be paired with any transition game “monster” because Seattle doesn’t have one. This will require him—but also empower him—to seize control of plays more often and press an advantage when he sees it. I saw some evidence he has the skill to possess the puck under duress, press his advantage with speed, and dictate the play.
More opportunities like this should get him involved in transition scoring opportunities. In Edmonton, the large majority of his chances came off the forecheck or on net-front tips, which is a valuable role, but a very difficult way to generate volume offense.
2. Offensive-zone playmaker
I also see some untapped potential in Yamamoto as an offensive-zone distributor and shooter. This last year with Edmonton, he was most frequently paired with Draisaitl and one of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Evander Kane. All of those players are clear top-six caliber, skilled, puck-dominant players in the offensive zone. This left Yamamoto to assume a different role.
As mentioned above, he was the lead forechecker and drove to the front of the net when the team was established in the offensive zone. Except on cycles, he rarely possessed the puck in the offensive zone. If the puck hit his stick, it was most commonly followed by an immediate shot, tip, or pass.
Seattle’s forwards have various strengths, but the lines aren’t constructed quite so asymmetrically. I expect Yamamoto will have the opportunity to possess the puck a bit more offensively. When he does, he shows creativity and even flashes the ability to handle the puck and finish.
As a facilitator, the talent is there with increased opportunities. Even in his off-puck role, he was above average in a metric tracked by Corey Sznajder called “chance assists,” which are passes that lead to a scoring look. In this clip, Yamamoto has the skill and sense to find Kane with an accurate cross-slot pass for a tap-in goal. There is more in the tank for Yamamoto on plays like this.
3. Power-play scorer
Yamamoto was heralded during his time in juniors and the AHL for his power play skill. In Edmonton, he couldn’t break through and establish a role on the best unit in the NHL. Seattle is far from the best, and down a key right-handed cog after the loss of Daniel Sprong. Yamamoto won’t take Sprong’s role as a one-timer threat, but there could be opportunity as a bumper (if Oliver Bjorkstrand shifts out, for example) or net-front presence. In either position, his hand-eye coordination and hockey sense could be helpful attributes.
I am less confident in Yamamoto’s likelihood of breaking through on the man advantage, but the same passing and puck-handling skills mentioned above should play in this role. At least he’ll get a look on the power play in Seattle. He didn’t really have a chance in Edmonton.
What do the analytics say?
Yamamoto’s impacts on shot outcomes match the “eye test,” showing slightly above-average work on the defensive side, and approximately neutral impacts offensively. His contributions are average on the power play in limited playing time—though Seattle should welcome an “average” power play unit—and again slightly better than average on the penalty kill. This isn’t the profile of a “needle-mover,” but I doubt Seattle is looking to him to be a top-of-the-lineup player in any particular game situation. As a complimentary piece and a bet on untapped potential, he is a good addition.
Where does he project with the Kraken?
As we stand in early July, I think Yamamoto has an inside track to a roster spot and a role. Again, I should be clear again that Yamamoto is not, and doesn’t project as, an above-average top-six producer. I wouldn’t necessarily expect him to play to the level of recent under-appreciated additions Eeli Tolvanenen or Oliver Bjorkstrand either. He is more of a calculated gamble on mid-range upside.
Yamamoto has played mostly on the right wing. This past season, the Kraken deployed righty Jordan Eberle, lefty Andre Burakovsky, righty Bjorkstrand, and righty Sprong on the right side for the most part. With Sprong out the door, there is a vacancy at the bottom of the depth chart. Clearly, Yamamoto is a contender. But there are others.
Kole Lind, coming off a strong AHL regular season and an outstanding playoff run, is a right wing and in the conversation for the role. He doesn’t bring the same speed or possession skill Yamamoto does, but he is bigger, more physical, and has a a heavy, accurate shot.
Alternatively, lefty Tye Kartye could earn a role following his impressive playoff stint with the Kraken, which would mean he or (more likely) Brandon Tanev would slide over to the right side on the fourth line, playing the off wing.
As of July 6, this looks like a three-way competition for one wing role, with the runner up taking the thirteenth forward position and the other player likely destined for Coachella Valley (or another team on waivers). While Kartye projects best long term, I’d rate Yamamoto as the best bet to hold the winger role on opening day. Seeing value in keeping all three players, I’d also tentatively project Lind as the thirteenth forward with the waivers-exempt Kartye in Coachella Valley to start.
Where do the Kraken go from here?
The Kraken have filled out their NHL depth chart at wing and on the blue line. Any further additions in those areas are likely to be opportunistic rather than necessary. I do think the Kraken will strive for one more move if a top-tier talent becomes available, but it is by no means a sure thing. In the relatively unlikely event the team moves on from defensemen Vince Dunn or Will Borgen due to a contract impasse, a countermove would likely be necessary to fill the vacated blue line spot.
Beyond that, I think the Kraken have one more hole in the depth chart—fourth-line center. If Shane Wright is ready to seize a role, there is no issue. And John Hayden could play there if a better alternative is not forthcoming on the market. But I suspect the Kraken will look to add to their center depth. Pius Suter is the best center remaining on the market. Free agent Tomas Nosek might fit the team need best as a faceoff specialist and penalty killer.
More reading on Yamamoto
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic analyzed Yamamoto’s tenure with Edmonton after his trade to Detroit and explained why Yamamoto was a prime candidate to move out given Edmonton’s cap crunch.
It’s been another busy week in Seattle and around the NHL. Free agency opened, and then the Kraken welcomed their prospects for Development Camp.
With that in mind, John and Darren chatted with new Kraken draftee Oscar Fisker Mølgaard. It’s an awesome conversation that will surely put a smile on your face.
Aside from the interview, there’s plenty of discussion in this episode about the comings and goings to/from the Kraken via free agency and whether the Kraken are done for the offseason.
John also breaks down the PHF/PHWPA situation before the show shifts to segments.
As free agency opened on July 1, the Kraken started with some minor business, signing players likely to spend at least some time with the Coachella Valley Firebirds this season on one-year contracts, including Jimmy Schuldt, John Hayden, and Marian Studenic. In the meantime, many notable former NHL contributors left the team, including Daniel Sprong, Ryan Donato, Morgan Geekie, and Carson Soucy.
As it seemed like free agency news was beginning to die down in the early afternoon, the Kraken announced their first major acquisition of the 2023 free agency period, signing 10-year veteran and Stanley Cup champion defenseman Brian Dumoulin.
What is the deal?
Dumoulin signed a two-year, $3.15 million average annual value contract. The term is one year shorter than the deal signed by Carson Soucy, the player Dumoulin is likely to replace in a one-for-one swap. In a press conference after the signing, Kraken general manager Ron Francis noted the importance of this shorter term in opting for Dumoulin over Soucy.
Player profile
Age: 31 Born: September 6, 1991 Birthplace: Biddeford, Maine, United States Height: 6’4″ Weight: 207 lbs Shot: Left
Take a look for yourself. You can watch all of Dumoulin’s shifts from the Pittsburgh Penguins April 8, 2023, game against the Detroit Red Wings here: first period, second period, third period.
My two cents: Brain Dumoulin is a big defender who uses his size to his advantage defending the puck, winning board battles, pinching in the offensive zone, and canceling forwards at the net front. Defense is his hallmark. He rotated defensive partners during 2022-23, but in the games I reviewed, he was taking difficult matchups – though with somewhat mixed results. With the puck, he is a quality passer, connecting on numerous tape-to-tape passes to facilitate breakouts, in transition, and in the offensive zone. He is also a disciplined player, taking only 16 penalty minutes over 82 games last season.
Based on the small sample of games I watched toward the end of the 2022-23 season, his agility struck me as a question. In transition and in the offensive zone he moved adequately in linear fashion – as I might have expected for a bigger, defensive defenseman. He flashed skating skill in offensive-zone cycles. When given space, he showed he will seize it and lead the rush into the offensive zone.
In the defensive zone, however, his feet deadened at times, losing track of his check, which left him lunging or out of position entirely. He also made numerous questionable plays under forechecking pressure from the opposition. Speed from top-of-the-lineup competition, in particular, gave him problems. He did fairly well maintaining his gaps in defensive transition when he was able to set up in structure.
I left wondering if a lack of confidence in his mobility was undermining his defensive-zone play. Perhaps he can recapture his form, but in his 2022-23 incarnation he looked more like a solid third-pair defenseman than the top-four defender he had been in his twenties.
Offensively, Dumoulin isn’t much of a threat with his shot, but he does fairly well manipulating the defense to get point shots through to create chances for his teammates. In transition, he’s a better passer than skater but adequate with his feet. The team would be best served to pair him with a stronger transition defender. He isn’t going to be a power-play contributor, but his physical, stay-at-home style is well suited to the penalty kill if he can regain some skating agility and confidence in the defensive zone, as noted above.
Overall, if the Kraken effectively swap Dumoulin for Soucy, they are trading away some youth and athleticism but gaining back more discipline, experience, and production neutralizing top-quality competition. Despite my concerns above, projecting into 2023-24, I’d give Dumoulin the slight edge as a defensive-zone player. He has the stronger track record and is still young enough to expect a bounce back toward his career norms.
Francis noted in the team’s press release that Dumoulin recorded a career high in points last season (25), but digging a bit deeper into Dumoulin’s underlying on-ice shot data reveals a downward trend and suggests that his overall game impact, particularly offensively, has been decaying for a couple years. That said, the decline started from a very strong place, and his play remains solid, particularly for a bottom-of-the-lineup defenseman. Even after some slippage, he compares favorably to Soucy. Getting him on a shorter deal than what Soucy required seems to be a quality bit of business.
The Kraken’s left-shot defense NHL depth chart looks like this:
Vince Dunn (RFA)
Jamie Oleksiak (signed through 2025-26)
Brian Dumoulin (signed through 2024-25)
Jaycob Megna (signed through 2023-24)
Ryker Evans (signed to ELC through 2024-25)
Gustav Olofsson (signed through 2024-25)
Dumoulin likely slots directly into Soucy’s vacated role on the third pair with Justin Schultz. This pair should compliment each other since Schultz is more offensively inclined. Even better, the two have significant on-ice experience playing together from their time in Pittsburgh: 371:21 time on ice together over five seasons.
Dumoulin’s presence allows Ryker Evans to continue to develop at the AHL level. Evans is close, but in my viewings, it seemed like another partial season at the AHL level would beneficial. If the Kraken have a log jam of NHL-caliber, left-shot defensemen by the end of this season, at least it won’t be a long-term problem with Dumoulin signed for only two years.
Where do the Kraken go from here?
After losing forwards Geekie, Sprong, and Donato to free agency, the Kraken may continue to look for depth up front (indeed, they added Kailer Yamamoto Sunday), particularly forwards who can handle center responsibilities and play on the penalty kill. After this move, I had the Kraken with approximately $15,992,000 in cap space, with one goalie buried at the AHL level. Following the Yamamoto signing, I currently have the Kraken at approximately $14,492,000 in space. This sum does not account for Seattle’s qualified RFAs. Beyond signing their RFAs and another depth forward, the Kraken could have room for one additional cap-leveraging trade or some other transaction.
More reading on Dumoulin
Scott Malone of ROOT Sports posted an informative Twitter thread on Dumoulin after the signing was announced. A Nov., 2022, article on Dumoulin from The Athletic breaks down some of his early struggles during the 2022-23 season.
Caden Price, selected No. 84 overall by the Seattle Kraken in this week’s NHL Entry Draft, is a 6-foot-1 left-handed defenseman who has played the last two seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.
Reaction
One pick after selecting Lukas Dragicevic, the Kraken seized the opportunity to select another quality defense prospect who slid down the draft board unexpectedly. He was No. 50 in our composite analytics ranking and No. 55 in my NHLe calculation. Price does not have the offensive upside of Dragicevic, profiling more as a bottom-four defenseman, but scouts credit quality mobility and transition skills.
On the other hand, Pice’s counting stats may overrate him a bit because he was thrust into a featured role due to lack of other options in Kelowna. On the ice, scouts – some of whom saw Price as a potential first-round pick at the beginning of the season – saw an up-and-down season from a player who didn’t display standout carrying traits indicative of an NHL future with nearly enough consistency.
That said, there are several reasons to believe a breakthrough could be coming for Price. First, born in late August, 2005, he was the fourth-youngest prospect drafted in the 2023 draft. There is a lot of development runway left here. Second, he tested well athletically at the combine, checking in at No. 30 in our composite athleticism ranking based on public information. He was a top-25 performer in seven different tests. Finally, he will keep getting opportunities in Kelowna because the team doesn’t have any defense prospects coming for his role. Repetitions in high-leverage offensive and defensive situations could lead to a step forward in his skills.
Caden Price player profile
Left defenseman | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) | Age: 17 | Height: 6’0.5″ | Weight: 190 lbs | Left shot
Price was ranked at No. 50 on the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. His highest ranking was No. 28 by Dobber Prospects. Recruit Scouting (32) and Elite Prospects (37) also had Price as a borderline first-round prospect. Bob McKenzie, our best barometer of league thoughts on a player, had him at No. 67 in his final ranking.
“Price is a strong skater who can skate pucks up ice well, and can close effectively on his checks. He has good skill with the puck and can take an extra second with the puck to make a play. He’s not the most physically imposing defenseman either in size or with his physical play. He makes stops in junior due to his skating and decent-enough sense and compete. I think he will be a full-time third-pair defenseman who contributes but doesn’t stand out at either end.” – Corey Pronman of The Athletic
“Who is the true Price? A mistake-prone, out-of-sync defenceman or the most NHL projectable blueliner on this side of the Atlantic? At his best, Price makes every play in the book, offensively and defensively. He’s a defensive stopper, a puck-mover, and a playmaker. Improving his mobility would give him more freedom to activate offensively and play aggressively defensively.” – David St-Louis of Elite Prospects
Where can I find more information?
Corey Pronman of The Athletic (link) ($$) ranked Price No. 51 overall
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (link) ($$) ranked Price No. 46 overall
Chris Peters of FloHockey (link) ranked Price No. 47 overall
We are still getting to know Seattle’s draft tendencies, but one recurring theme I have noticed: Seattle is willing to take a prospect who was thought of as a high-end prospect early in his development, but experienced a disappointing pre-draft year. This was true of Ryan Winterton (lost his draft year entirely to the COVID shutdown), Shane Wright (delivered an excellent scoring season rather than a truly dominant one), Eduard Sale (low production and compete questions this past year), and Caden Price (up-and-down play). This may be a coincidence. It also could be that the Kraken – an analytically inclined team – are attempting to find advantage in the “recency bias” of NHL decision makers. This will be something I monitor going into the 2024 draft.
The first day of NHL free agency was quite busy across the league, but in Seattle, things remained relatively quiet. In fact, the Kraken saw more players leave their organization than they brought in, as all four of the team’s free agents found new homes Saturday.
Daniel Sprong signed with Detroit for one year at $2 million, Morgan Geekie signed with Boston for two years at $2 million average annual value, Ryan Donato signed with Chicago for two years at $2 million AAV, and Carson Soucy signed with Vancouver for three years at $3.25 million AAV.
The only addition Seattle made was a replacement for Soucy at left defense, signing 31-year-old Brian Dumoulin for two years at $3.15 million AAV.
With that movement, plenty of questions remain around how the rest of the Kraken lineup will round out for the 2023-24 season. With Saturday winding down, we heard from Kraken general manager Ron Francis. He touched on a variety of topics, including the team’s strategy for building out the rest of the roster and what it’s getting in Dumoulin.
What the Kraken get in Brian Dumoulin
Let’s start with the Dumoulin signing. After seeing Soucy get a $9.75 million contract with the Canucks, we understood the decision to let him walk. At face value, bringing in Dumoulin for similar dollars was perplexing, because if the team wanted a big-bodied, stay-at-home defenseman, why not just bring back the known quantity in Soucy?
Well, it sounds like the third year that Soucy desired on his contract may have been a factor.
“Where [Soucy] was at and where we thought he was going to go, it probably wasn’t the right fit for us moving forward,” said Francis. “We’ve got a pretty talented young player in Ryker Evans we think pushing, so it’s important when we build this thing that we’re not blocking Ryker moving forward too.”
That’s still confusing, because if Evans really is knocking on the door in training camp, he is now effectively blocked from making the team for at least this year and next year, assuming a long-term Vince Dunn extension gets done. Still, a two-year deal is more manageable than a three-year deal.
As for what Dumoulin brings to the table, he’s a 6-foot-4, 207-pound left-shot defenseman who has played all 10 of his NHL seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had one goal and 24 assists this season and played all 82 games. He also has familiarity with Francis from the early days of his career.
“I’m excited to get [Dumoulin],” said Francis. “It’s a small world; I started in player development once I retired in Carolina, and he was one of my projects back then.”
Dumoulin was drafted by the Hurricanes in the second round in 2009 but then got traded to Pittsburgh in 2012, where he won two Stanley Cups.
“He went on to have a great career in Pittsburgh, a two-time Stanley Cup champ, so we add that to our locker room,” Francis added. “[He’s a] terrific person and a real good player, so we think he helps us. Overall his game’s real solid.”
For Sprong, as we surmised, it was all about the case he could potentially bring if negotiations ended up in arbitration.
“Looking at the potential arb cases, we weren’t overly comfortable with that,” Francis said. “In Daniel’s case we thought it was good for him to go and test the market.”
As for Geekie, the situation was slightly different. Francis confirmed the team tried to re-sign him to an extension before the deadline for submitting qualifying offers, but Geekie turned it down. Once that happened, they chose not to qualify him, again so they wouldn’t end up paying more than they were comfortable with in arbitration.
“With Morgan, we did make what I felt was a pretty fair offer,” said Francis. “It didn’t work out, and he has the right once we don’t qualify him to go elsewhere.”
Francis also heaped praise on Ryan Donato, who left as an unrestricted free agent, saying Donato called Saturday to thank the organization for the opportunity to play in Seattle. “Just a class kid and a true professional,” said Francis.
Contract negotiations ongoing
As for the players Seattle did qualify Friday, all four of Vince Dunn, Will Borgen, Cale Fleury, and Kole Lind also have arbitration rights. We don’t think the team is terribly concerned about the cases of Fleury and Lind, but Dunn and Borgen could be tricky.
Francis and Dunn have previously indicated interest in getting a long-term deal done, but so far things remain in process. Dunn is in line to become the highest-paid player on the Kraken. As for Borgen, he emerged as a key piece on Seattle’s blue line this season and played all 82 games. He will surely command a significant raise over his previous $900K salary.
“We’ve had conversations with both camps,” said Francis. “We’ll continue to do that. We’ll find out if they choose arbitration and what those dates are, and we’ll continue to negotiate. If we get something done before then, great. If not, then we’ll go to arbitration and make adjustments after we find out what the rulings are.”
As with Dunn, we suspect the Kraken would want Borgen back beyond next season, so getting a multi-year deal done to avoid arbitration would be beneficial.
Meanwhile, Francis also implied the team would like to extend the contract of Matty Beniers this offseason and said he had already chatted briefly about it with Beniers’s agent, Pat Brisson. He expects real negotiations will begin later in the summer.
The Kraken aren’t done
Even though Saturday ended up quiet in Seattle, we do not believe the Kraken will sit on their hands (or tentacles?) for the rest of the offseason.
“I still think there may be things that come down the line, but I think a lot of things happened quick today,” said Francis. “We’ll sit sort of tight here and see what happens and what may open up over the next few days.”
Remember, the trade for Oliver Bjorkstrand came 10 days after free agency opened last offseason, once Columbus put itself over the salary cap by signing Johnny Gaudreau. With a full forward line worth or roster spots now open and plenty of cap space, Francis likes how the team is set up in case an opportunity presents itself.
“We got pretty fortunate last year with Oliver Bjorkstrand,” said Francis. “I’m not saying that’s going to happen again, but we are in a position where we can take advantage of something if it shakes loose.”
And if something like that doesn’t come to fruition? The Kraken still have young players fighting for roster spots in Tye Kartye, Shane Wright, and Lind and a prospect pipeline that got a big boost at this week’s draft.
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.
Typically, the Friday afternoon press release evokes dread in a fanbase. It’s almost always bad news. And there was some of that yesterday, with Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie being cut loose. But at 4:18 p.m. Pacific, news of the opposite kind broke: goalie (and good friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast) Joey Daccord was signing a contract extension with the Kraken. Daccord had been a “Group 6” unrestricted free agent bound for the open market on Saturday, July 1. Instead, the “original Kraken” returns to the team. He joins a list of 11 other players drafted by Seattle in the Expansion Draft that are currently signed or have been tendered a contract for the 2023-24 season.
What is the deal?
Seattle Kraken announced that it was a two-year deal at $1.2 million AAV. As confirmed by CapFriendly, it is a one-way deal, meaning that Joey Daccord will earn the same salary even if he spends some or all of the term of the contract in the AHL. This contract should more than double Daccord’s career earnings as estimated by CapFriendly. For the player, it is a tremendous accomplishment and well deserved.
Play tracking data is not available to the public at the AHL level, so we don’t have access to statistics about how Daccord performed relative to the shot quality he faced. During his 2022-23 AHL regular season, Joey Daccord ranked fifth in the league with a .918 save percentage. In the postseason he was tied for third in save percentage at .926 and faced significantly more work than all of the goaltenders that ranked in front of him. There was a strong possibility he would have been the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs had Coachella Valley won its final game against Hershey.
At the NHL level, the sample size remains small, so it is tough to glean too much from his data. According to Evolving Hockey, Daccord fared just slightly below average in the five games of NHL time he saw in 2022-23, allowing 13 goals on shots expected to generate 12.6 scores.
Visualization by HockeyViz
Where does he project with the Kraken?
The Kraken’s goaltender depth chart looks like this:
Philipp Grubauer (signed through 2026-27)
Chris Driedger (signed through 2023-24)
Joey Daccord (signed through 2024-25)
Ales Stezka (signed to ELC through 2023-24)
Niklas Kokko (signed to three-year ELC; likely to come to North America in 2024-25)
It is possible the Kraken sign a veteran minor-league goalie for AHL/ECHL depth, but otherwise the Kraken are likely done at the position following the signing of Joey Daccord. In fact, their depth chart syncs up fairly well for multiple years into the future now. Of course, this also means Martin Jones’s tenure with the Kraken is likely done.
While most seemed resigned to losing to Daccord in free agency if Driedger remained with the team, I haven’t viewed it that way. In fact, in a post on Seattle’s looming RFA decisions on June 6, I made a bold prediction that Seattle would re-sign Daccord to a two-year, one-way contract worth $1,150,000 AAV. If I don’t say so, I almost nailed it. (Excuse the victory lap. Feels good to get a bold prediction right after missing on most of Seattle’s potential draft picks.) Here is what I wrote about Daccord in that post from four weeks ago:
“This projection [of two-years, $1,150,000 AAV] is a bit out there, but here is my thought process: Joey Daccord has shown that, at the least, he can be a very good player and leader at the AHL level. Heading into free agency, the Kraken don’t have a clearly defined third goaltender on the depth chart. Signing Daccord to this deal gives the Kraken necessary depth in goal in the short term. If, ultimately, Daccord is sent back to Coachella Valley next year at cutdown time, the size of the commitment would make other teams more hesitant to claim him. And if he is sent down his salary can be completely “buried” and will not count on the NHL salary cap. On the other hand, if Daccord beats out Chris Driedger for the backup job in camp, Driedger could be sent through waivers; if unclaimed, the salary cap implications would be neutral since $1,150,000 of Driedger’s deal can be ‘buried’ at the AHL level. On Daccord’s side of the equation, he gets significant security even if he has to wait one more year for a clear shot at a backup role.”
My thoughts on how Daccord fits in the Kraken organization are the same now. (Check out the rest of that post and my other projections for Kraken RFAs here.)
Driedger and Daccord are likely to compete for the backup job in camp, with the loser of the competition going to Coachella Valley. If Daccord is the “loser,” which strikes me as more likely at this point, Daccord’s significant contract makes it less likely another team claims him on waivers. On the other hand, his contract would count only $50,000 towards the Kraken salary cap. ($1,150,000 of his contract can be “buried” if he plays at the AHL level. Read more on “buried” contracts here.)
Ales Stezka (26) is on an entry-level contract and is waivers exempt. Stezka has played as the primary starter for HC Vitkovice in the Czech Extraliiga for the last two seasons. Unless he looks like the best goalie on the team at camp, he will likely start the season at Coachella Valley and form a tandem with either Driedger or Daccord. An additional depth goalie may be signed in case one of Daccord or Driedger are claimed.
Niklas Kokko (19) will play one more season in Liiga and then likely come to North America to play in the Kraken organization next year. He signed his entry-level contract earlier this year.
After this signing, I have the Kraken projected at $19,143,000 remaining in cap space for the 2023-24 season with 10 forwards (not counting Tye Kartye), four defensemen, and two goalies signed, plus one buried contract penalty for a goalie at the AHL level.
Seattle tendered contracts to RFAs Vince Dunn, Will Borgen, Cale Fleury, and Kole Lind, but those players (and their potential contracts) are not counted above.
More on Joey Daccord
Joey Daccord is always a favorite interview on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. Check out his most recent visit to the show, during the Calder Cup Playoff run, here.
Even though Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong were not tendered qualifying offers, we still don’t expect any ground-breaking moves by the Seattle Kraken when free agency opens Saturday at 9 a.m. Pacific. Let’s examine the roster position by position to see where opportunities exist to add to the team.
Goalies
The Kraken are pretty set in net with Philipp Grubauer locked in and Chris Driedger and now Joey Daccord expected to battle it out for the backup goaltender spot. The Kraken have already added Czech goaltender Ales Stezka, who is likely earmarked to spend the season in Coachella Valley for the Firebirds. The Kraken also signed their 2022 NHL Entry Draft goaltender Niklas Kokko to his entry-level contract earlier this year, but there is a good possibility he plays at least one more year in Finland. The Kraken may add one more goalie for depth, but in all likelihood, anyone they add would be the type of goalie that bounces between the AHL and ECHL.
Defensemen
The only departure from the blue line this offseason appears to be defenseman Carson Soucy. If you blinked, you might have missed it, but the Kraken did trade for left defenseman Jaycob Megna back in February. He only drew into six regular-season games and did not register a point. On the right side, Cale Fleury was with the Kraken all season but only played 12 games.
Unfortunately for Fleury, the right side is relatively set with Adam Larsson, Will Borgen, and Justin Schultz still in the fold. There are certainly opportunities to improve on both sides of the defense corps, so signing someone in free agency might create a scenario where somebody else gets traded. This might be the reason we are hearing occasional Borgen trade rumors.
The biggest opportunity to improve is on the left side, but the challenge is that Seattle has Ryker Evans waiting in the wings. He probably needs one more year in the AHL before he is ready to make the jump to the NHL, though. Ideally the team signs a significant upgrade on the left side for just one year, but who is out there that would actually be an upgrade and would take that short of term?
The good news is that based on the expected large salary cap increase for the 2024-25 season, there might be a few skilled defensemen willing to sign a one-year contract with the expectations they can cash in next offseason as teams have more money to spend against the cap. Connor Clifton or Niko Mikkola could fit that profile, or the Kraken could hold out to see who needs a home later in the summer. The dream scenario is if Matt Dumba does not like what he sees long term and is willing to sign a one-year deal like John Klingberg did last free agent period.
One NHL player agent tells me today that the flat cap for 2023-24 plus the jump in space in 2024-25 (up to at least $88 million) equals a lot of one-year deals in the UFA market starting tomorrow. (1/2)
On the right side of the defense corps, the Kraken could swing a little harder with the intent that any right D they add probably means someone else is moving out. The challenge here is that the free agent pool is limited. It is not clear if you could get him on a reasonable deal, but Klingberg could fit this scenario. He could step into one of the power play units that struggled at times this season and should be available for significantly less than what he was looking for last year. Still, at 30 years old and even at a discount, is he worth the defensive risk?
Forwards
With Sprong, Geekie, and Ryan Donato hitting free agency, that opens the door for three forward spots on the squad. It is unlikely the Kraken will fill all those spots with free agents, though, considering who they have knocking on the door.
First there is Tye Kartye. Kartye took his opportunity by the horns in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and scored five points in 10 games, including a goal in his first game that had Kraken fans immediately buying jerseys with his number on them. He has proven he is ready for the NHL, but even if the Kraken do not make any moves, I don’t think he is a lock to make the club out of training camp.
If you recall, Kartye drew into the lineup because Jared McCann was injured on the Cale Makar hit. I expect McCann to take his appropriate spot back in the lineup when the season starts, so that would shuffle Kartye to the fourth line. Keep in mind the Kraken fourth line acts more like a third line, and Kartye could fit in nicely as a Sprong replacement.
With all respect to Kartye, there is another player that had a very good season in Coachella Valley that might be competing for a spot: Kole Lind. Lind had 30 goals and 32 assists, compared with Kartye’s 28 goals and 29 assists. The difference is Lind is a right winger and Kartye is a left winger, but Brandon Tanev can play either side. If either Kartye or Lind claims a spot on the fourth line, Tanev can flip to the other side.
And then there is Shane Wright. Wright’s eligibility for the AHL next season is still in doubt, and there is still a decent possibility that he makes the Kraken out of camp. If he does make the team, that takes another spot. If Shane is ruled eligible for the AHL next season, that is good news for the Kraken, as they can move him up and down to the AHL without requiring waivers. The same goes for Kartye. If both Kartye and Wright spend most of the season in the AHL, that opens one spot for free agency.
That all adds up to complexity in the Kraken’s approach to forwards in free agency Saturday and beyond. It sure feels like they need to add a center, and of the available free agents, Evan Rodrigues might be the perfect upgrade the Kraken are looking for.
Additionally, I am sure they would love to add a bit more goal scoring, but so does everyone else, which could translate to an overpay. Maybe the Kraken end up adding a Vladimir Tarasenko, Jason Zucker, or Tomas Tatar in the hopes they can fill the gap for the departure of Sprong. For any of those three players, the Kraken might need to sign a longer-term contract than they are comfortable signing, but there are several forward contracts rolling off the books the next few years. So, perhaps that could make it more palatable?
Change is necessary to get better
If we expect the Kraken to improve next season, they must make changes to the roster. We have already seen two fan favorites likely leave after the team chose to not qualify Sprong and Geekie, and trades could still come to add skill to the club. These next few days will be very telling of how the Kraken will shape up next season.
The Seattle Kraken announced Friday that they had extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Will Borgen, Vince Dunn, Cale Fleury, and Kole Lind. This means those four players will most likely be back with the organization for the 2023-24 season, barring trades. Forwards Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie did not receive QO’s, so those two players are now unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team starting Saturday.
How qualifying offers work
As a refresher on how these qualifying offers work, players that do not meet the requirements of minimum age (27) or years of pro experience (this varies depending on how old they were when they signed their first contract) are not yet eligible to become unrestricted free agents. Instead, when their contracts end, they become restricted free agents.
If the team extends the RFA a qualifying offer by the deadline (this year’s deadline was June 30), the team retains exclusive negotiating rights with that player. Minimum qualifying offers range from 100 percent to 110 percent of the player’s previous annual salary depending on how big that salary was.
Things get sticky, though, when RFA’s have arbitration rights, which Sprong, Geekie, Borgen, Dunn, Fleury, and Lind all had. Arbitration rights mean that—after the QO is tendered—if the team and player can’t come to an agreement on a contract extension, either side can request an arbitration hearing. If it gets to a hearing, a neutral arbitrator listens to the cases of the team and the player and awards a one-year contract based on the data that gets presented.
Why Daniel Sprong didn’t get qualified
We have been predicting for some time that Daniel Sprong would not be qualified by the Kraken. Sure enough, the team confirmed that he had not been tendered an offer Friday, making him free to sign elsewhere for the second offseason in a row.
The issue with Sprong was not so much that he wasn’t valuable for the Kraken—he certainly was, potting 21 goals and adding 25 assists in a fourth-line role this season—but more that he had arbitration rights that could have resulted in a bigger payday for next season than Seattle was willing to give. By having such a productive season offensively, Sprong would have commanded a huge pay increase over the league minimum $750,000 he made in 2022-23.
Clearly, the Kraken weren’t willing to commit a big chunk of cap space to Sprong, who continues to be viewed around the league as a one-way player. We do not think it would have been a stretch for an arbitrator to grant something north of $2 million (or even $3 million?) to a player that just scored 20+ goals.
While this appears to be the end of the road for Sprong as a Kraken, you never know what might happen in the offseason. We expected Sprong and Ryan Donato to leave the organization after last season when neither was qualified before the deadline. But Donato ended up getting re-signed, and Sprong returned to Kraken training camp on a professional tryout after coming up empty on the free agent market. Sprong eventually earned a two-way contract, made the NHL roster out of camp, and went on to have a mostly storybook season for Seattle.
If this is the end for Sprong in Seattle, we at Sound Of Hockey will be sad to see him go. Aside from the fascinating storylines he provided us this season, he always had plenty of time for us in the dressing room and loved chatting about the Dutch national soccer team and Formula 1. For his sake, we hope he lands a big-money contract this offseason.
Why Morgan Geekie didn’t get qualified
We knew it was a possibility, but the decision to cut Geekie loose surprised us more than the decision on Sprong. Though we wouldn’t have anticipated as big of a percentage pay raise for Geekie this offseason, he was making $1.4 million, so the Kraken would have needed to offer him at least that. He too had arbitration rights, which surely made general manager Ron Francis second guess qualifying him.
Morgan Geekie was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Kraken, making him an unrestricted free agent. (Photo/Brian Liesse)
Our theory on the Geekie decision is that the Kraken roster was relatively full entering the offseason. After taking a huge step in 2022-23, we wondered how the team could get better without much roster flexibility. By letting Sprong and Geekie sign elsewhere, it opens two forward spots (three if you count unrestricted free agent Donato also likely to leave).
This gives Seattle more flexibility to add players via free agency or trade. Now, if Seattle can bring in more talented forwards to play at the top of the lineup, they could turn into an even deeper group than what they had in 2022-23.
Like with Sprong, we hesitate to say this is the end of Geekie’s tenure in Seattle. If he doesn’t find what he’s looking for on the open market, we wouldn’t be shocked to see the Kraken bring him back, especially after he showed good versatility later in the season. Also similar to Sprong, on a personal note, we would be disappointed to see Geekie leave. From our viewpoint, he was the funniest guy in the dressing room and was always open and honest; a joy to cover. You can’t out-pizza the hut.
The qualifying offer is the starting point
From here, the players that received qualifying offers have the option to simply accept the offer and return on a one-year deal. They also can continue negotiating a new contract with the team for longer term, more money, or both.
If the sides can’t come to an agreement on a new deal, and since all the RFA’s mentioned have arbitration rights, then either the team or the player can request an arbitration hearing. Even if a hearing is requested, most contracts typically get settled before it gets that far.
Dunn’s contract is certainly one worth keeping an eye on. The Kraken have been clear they hope to re-sign their top offensive defenseman to a long-term contract, and Dunn has shown a desire to stay in Seattle.
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.
