Joey Daccord signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $5 million and begins next season.
The 28-year-old goalie could have been an unrestricted free agent after this season. He's in his second full season in the NHL after going 19-18-11 with a 2.46 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts in 50 games (46 starts) for Seattle in 2023-24.
"It's really special," Daccord said Thursday. "I'm super excited. My family and I are beyond thrilled. It's a day to reflect on the journey and what it's taken to get here and all the people and places and moments and memories that hockey's brought me and given me and my family. Super grateful and just blessed to be able to do what I love every single day for a living. I can't wait to play here for another five years in front of the best city in the League, the best fans in the League."
Daccord took over the No. 1 role after Philipp Grubauer sustained a lower-body injury Dec. 9, 2023, and started nine of the Kraken's next 10 games, going 6-1-2 with a 1.43 GAA, .953 save percentage and his first two NHL shutouts. That included 35 saves in a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the first shutout in the history of the event.
“I've coached Joey not last year but two years prior to that and then witnessing his success last year from a distance, it's a great progression and a great lesson," Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. "We had a number of conversations about how he was going to get to the NHL, and how he could get to the NHL and stay in the NHL and just his progression over that time frame as a goalie and as an individual. And getting the success last year and proving that he's a full-time NHL guy ... it's been enjoyable to see for the past three years.
"I think he's had the mindset and still has the mindset of how he can be better, where he can get better, what he's improving on, and he's done that over the last three years… regardless of the contract situation. And that's the mindset I love about Joey as a goalie."
Daccord is 22-27-13 with a 2.77 GAA and .907 save percentage in 69 games (61 starts) for the Kraken and Ottawa Senators. He was selected by Ottawa in the seventh round (No. 199) of the 2015 NHL Draft and Seattle in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
"He's so structurally sound, his angles are always on," Kraken forward Jared McCann said. "He's a big body too, so when his angles are on, it's hard to find a spot on guys like that. He's obviously put a lot of work into it and he's earned that contract, so we're definitely excited about it."
The Kraken visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; KHN, KONG, BSWI, BSN). Grubauer made 22 saves in a 3-2 season-opening loss to the St. Louis Blues at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.
NHL.com independent correspondent Darren Brown contributed to this report
