With Philipp Grubauer being injured late in Friday’s victory over Colorado, it was only a matter of time before Seattle needed to call up a second goaltender. That move has now been made as the team announced (Twitter link) that Joey Daccord has been recalled from Coachella Valley of the AHL.
Grubauer struggled considerably last season, his first with the Kraken after surprisingly turning down an offer from Colorado to ink a six-year, $35.4M deal with Seattle in 2021. Things haven’t gone any better in the early going this year as the 30-year-old has a 3.77 GAA along with a save percentage of just .860 through his first four appearances. Head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t speak with the media today so there is no information on how long Grubauer might be out for.
Daccord, meanwhile, cleared waivers at the end of training camp and made three starts in the minors for the Firebirds in the early going of this season. He has seen NHL action in three of his first four professional seasons but has made just 14 appearances over that stretch, posting a 3.77 GAA and a save percentage of just .878. He will serve as the backup to Martin Jones who now takes over as the starter with Grubauer injured and Chris Driedger still months away from returning.
Worth noting is that Daccord was the only NHL-contracted goalie that Seattle had in the minors (Magnus Hellberg was scooped off waivers by Ottawa when Seattle tried to send him down) so if another netminder gets hurt before Grubauer is able to return, the Kraken will need to make a quick move to sign another goalie.
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