The Kraken Made A Massive Mistake Paying Philipp Grubauer
Based on the immediate success the Golden Knights had as an expansion team, it made people get a little crazy with their initial predictions. Seattle was never going to be a playoff team in year one. In fact, the most probable solution has happened… the Kraken suck. The real story is why Seattle sucks and it has everything to do with horrendous goalie play from Philipp Grubauer.
No, it’s not too early to say it. No, there is no other room for interpretation here. The Kraken made a massive mistake paying Philipp Grubauer. In fact, it’s safe to say Seattle screwed up their first offseason and will need to wait a long time before they can even content.
Grubauer, 30, has been the worst goalie in the league. It’s not really a debate either. Grubauer looks like he belongs in the KHL. Credit to JFresh hockey guy on Twitter who always puts out great charts. Long story short, it just illustrates just how bad the Kraken netminder has been compared to others around the league.
We knew that Grubauer’s life in Seattle would be a lot more difficult compared to his old home in Colorado. If you listed the top ten players on each team, the list would be exclusive to just Avalanche players. We know this to be true. However, the Seattle defense really has done an okay job at limiting those high danger chances.
Currently, Seattle ranks 10th in expected goals against. The Kraken are not that talented but the defense has really been okay. It’s the strongest part of the team. Adam Larsson has blocked 78 shots which puts him near the league lead. Mark Giordano might be showing his age but the guy is still a respected presence. Point being, the Seattle defense looks incredible compared to what young Andrew watches every night with the Flyers.
Grubauer has cratored with the Kraken. He ranks in the lower half of the league in virtually everything except for PK War and as we previously mentioned, the Kraken are actually doing him favors defensively. You hate to accuse anyone of this but one could argue it feels like Grubauer packed it in for the big pay day.
Of course, there is a chance Grubauer turns it around. Right now, it feels like the Kraken are stuck with one of the worst contracts in the league. $5.9 million AAV for another six years sounds as brutal as it gets. You have to wonder if Chris Driedger will start to earn more playing time?
It’s also fair to question the preliminary motives for Seattle for even making this move. The Kraken didn’t try to replicate what the Knights did. They didn’t take on any bad contracts to try to collect assets. Instead, they handed out their own bad contracts and will get nothing for taking them on. Seriously… what sense did it make to sign a 30-year-old goalie to a long term contract to an expansion team that had no shot to win any time soon?
Avalance fans may not be jumping for joy with Darcy Kuemper (Because he blows) but at least they didn’t lock themselves into Grubauer long term. I think if you even ask die-hard Avalanche fans, they knew Grubauer was going to turn into a pumpkin eventually.
Good luck Seattle. The early returns on Philipp Grubauer are not great and that’s being generous. In fact, it’s probably more fair to say Seattle botched the expansion draft and Grubauer is the face of their struggles.
