2 Potential Seattle Kraken Buyout Candidates

Now that the 2022-23 NHL season is in the final stretch, the clubs that are in the playoffs turn their attention to the postseason. The teams that didn't make the playoffs turned their attention to the offseason and what could be done to fix the issues they had the previous year. This series will look at each NHL team with buyout candidates. We continue the series and look at the Seattle Kraken, and who they have on their roster for a possible contract termination.

Philipp Grubauer

The Seattle Kraken signed Philipp Grubauer during their first offseason in the NHL. He left the Colorado Avalanche to sign with the Kraken, but things haven't gone as planned. He agreed to a six-year, $35.4 million contract, but there could be a chance he finds himself being bought out this season. If the Kraken do buyout him out, it'll cost them $16.1 of the total $24.1 million remaining on his deal. This means they save themselves $8.0 million in real dollars, which can be used to sign another goaltender this offseason. The Kraken will have a total cap hit of $15.5 million spread over eight seasons, with the first season having a cap hit of $666.5K, which clears up a total of $5,237,500 next season.

Chris Driedger

The Kraken had targeted Grubauer and Chris Driedger as their goaltending duo, however, due to injuries and other reasons Martin Jones has shouldered the workload. Seattle finds themselves in the top wild-card spot in the west and can improve on that if they can find a consistent number-one goalie next season. Driedger suffered a torn right ACL and missed a portion of the season, since his return he has been a buried cap hit in the AHL. This could result in him being a viable buyout so the club can allocate that money elsewhere. If the Kraken does go through the buyout process for him, it would span two seasons with a cap hit of $500K in the first season and $1.5 million in the second season. The total cost would be $3.0 million, with the club saving $1.5 million in real dollars.