NHL Hot Seat Radar: Seattle Kraken Made Free-Agent Upgrades. Will Grubauer Shut the Door?

The Seattle Kraken took a step backward last season, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer should still feel the heat to improve if he wants to play, says Adam Proteau.

THN.com’s NHL Hot Seat Radar series continues Tuesday with a look at the Seattle Kraken.

In each Hot Seat file, we identify someone on the “hot seat” – someone who is under significant pressure to produce positive results or deal with significant fallout.

In addition, in every Hot Seat file, we identify another individual on the “cold seat” – a person highly likely to remain with their team until further notice. 

Let’s get to it:

In his three seasons as Seattle’s goalie, Grubauer’s individual numbers have stayed mostly the same, and not in a good way. 

For the last two seasons, he’s posted a 2.85 goals-against average, and for the past three years, he’s generated a sub-.900 save percentage. 

With those numbers, Grubauer’s contract – which runs three more seasons at $5.9 million per year – is more or less untradeable. All incoming Kraken coach Dan Bylsma can do is cut down Grubauer’s appearances and lean more on Joey Daccord.

Grubauer was considerably more successful in his time with the Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals. But now, at age 32, he’s closer to the end of his NHL career than his prime. 

He will have a better defense corps in front of him with Brandon Montour joining, but Grubauer must play better this coming season to justify the financial and competitive investment the Kraken have made in him.

If he can’t do so, a contract buyout might happen at this time next summer. For now, though, he will get another opportunity to resurrect his status as a difference-maker, and it’s on him to make the most of it.

Francis added Montour and former Vegas forward Chandler Stephenson to Seattle’s lineup. He replaced coach Dave Hakstol with Bylsma, who has a Stanley Cup on his resume and succeeded at the AHL level before Francis hired him. 

You’d think that might put Francis in the crosshairs of Kraken fans who want the franchise to mirror the success of the expansion team bar-setter Vegas Golden Knights. But Francis’ job security isn’t in jeopardy just yet, and it likely will stay that way for the foreseeable future.

His cold seat could warm up if the Kraken take a step backward and miss the playoffs for the second straight season. Even if that happened, Seattle would still be able to point to adding another elite youngster through the draft and solidify the organization's foundation for the long term.

Like every NHL GM, Francis isn’t bulletproof, but he’s had enough positives in his five years running the franchise to keep him shielded from major-league pressure to deliver playoff wins. If the Kraken do perform well, Francis is guaranteed to stay in power in Seattle, but no matter what happens, he’s in no real danger to lose his job at this stage.

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