NHL News: Kraken commit CBA violation on Philipp Grubauer contract
Anthony Scultore
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After taking Chris Driedger from the Panthers in the expansion draft along with Vitek Vanecek (WSH) and Joey Daccord (OTT), it was believed the Seattle Kraken were set in net.
On Day 1 of Free Agency, GM Ron Francis surprised a number of people by signing goaltender Philipp Grubauer to a six-year, $35.4 million contract.
They subsequently traded Vanecek back to the Capitals after the signing. Grubauer and Driedger are expected to be the Kraken’s goaltending tandem.
Kraken restructure Grubauer’s contract
Seattle submitted the deal to the NHL and it was rejected for a violation of the collective bargaining agreement. According to CapFriendly, the issue was for improperly front-loading the deal.
The infraction was a $1.5M increase between 22/23-23/24 which exceeded the first year’s salary by 25%. This forced the Kraken to revise the structure of the deal for approval by the league.
Regardless, the deal represents a significant raise for Grubauer, who just completed a three-year, $10 million deal with the Colorado Avalanche.
Grubauer, 29, was named as a Vezina Trophy finalist last season after posting a 30-9-1 record with seven shutouts, a 1.95 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in 40 games with the Avalanche.
A Stanley Cup champion with the Capitals, Grubauer owns a 109-61-21 record with 18 shutouts, a 2.34 GAA and .920 save percentage in 214 career games with Washington and Colorado.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article