Kraken goalie Chris Driedger to miss first three months of next season due to torn ACL

The Seattle Kraken haven't been in action for over a month but shared some bad news with fans on Tuesday afternoon. 

Per the official NHL website, Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger is expected to be sidelined for seven-to-nine months after he underwent surgery to repair a torn right ACL on Monday. Driedger suffered the setback featuring for Team Canada in the gold medal game of the 2022 IIHF World Championship against Finland on May 29, and his recovery timeline means he's expected to miss at least the first three months of the 2022-23 NHL campaign.

Driedger initially joined the Kraken when he was claimed from the Florida Panthers in last summer's expansion draft, and the 28-year-old then signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract that carries a $3.5 million annual average value and runs through 2023-24. Across 27 games and 24 starts with Seattle in 2021-22, he went 9-14-1 with a 2.96 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

According to Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic, Driedger posted a 1.76 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in six contests with Canada at the Worlds.

With Driedger sidelined, Kraken starter Philipp Grubauer could be backed up by 25-year-old Joey Daccord. Daccord has appeared in just 14 NHL games during his career and went 0-4-0 with a 4.30 goals-against average and .850 save percentage for Seattle last year.