Daccord signs up for 5 more years

 

Even though he’s come into some money lately, Seattle Kraken goalkeeper Joey Daccord admits he’s not planning to take his teammates to dinner on the Kraken’s upcoming road trip.

When asked how many meals he was going to pay for when the Kraken travel to Minnesota, Dallas and Nashville starting this weekend, Daccord replied ``hopefully one.”

That drew a laugh from the media horde that surrounded Daccord’s locker at the Kraken Training Facility this morning, but Seattle was very serious when it extended the 28-year-old goalkeeper contract for five more seasons at a total of $8.8 million.

Not bad for a guy who only received one Division 1 scholarship offer coming out of North Andover High, a Boston suburb. That came from Arizona State, a school whose hockey program was in its infancy. Daccord was, in fact, ASU’s first scholarship player.

He played well enough to get drafted into the NHL (2015, 199^th player overall), but spent most of five seasons in the minors with the Ottawa Senators and the expansion Kraken. A late bloomer, he’s three years older than the Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman, who just signed a $66 million deal for eight years.

``Joey stepped up last season and proved his ability to handle an increased workload,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. “We’re confident he can take his game to another level, and we’re excited to have him under contract long term.”  

Daccord signed a two-year deal with the Kraken before the 2023-24 season worth $1.2 million per year. His contract extension won’t take effect until the beginning of the 2025-26 season.

``It’s a day to reflect on the journey that brought me here,” said Daccord, ``and the people, places, moments and memories that hockey’s brought me. I’m super grateful to the Kraken organization.”

In his first full season at the NHL level, Daccord compiled an eight-game winning streak, highlighted by an outdoor win over the Vegas Golden Knights on New Years’ Day. In that contest, Daccord became the first netminder to `pitch’ a shutout in a Winter Classic contest.

During that streak, he recorded a .956 save percentage, and finished the year at .919 in 50 games. He also recorded a victory in his hometown, against the Boston Bruins.

While Daccord may be a late bloomer at the NHL level, it’s not like he came to the sport at an advanced age. His dad, Brian Daccord, played professional hockey in Switzerland and then started an instructional program for aspiring goalkeepers -`Stop It, Goaltending.’

``I was in goalie pads when I was six years old,” said Daccord.

With four contracts expiring at the end of this season – Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, Will Borgen and Tye Kartye – the Kraken currently project at $8.8 million in available cap space.

That’s not the case this season. Seattle’s currently only $4 thousand over the cap limit (which is expected to increase next season). Because of that, the Kraken are currently only carrying one healthy scratch – Josh Mahura, a free-agent signed from Florida. The team has a 21-man roster, while the league allows 20 regulars and three scratches.

There has been some conjecture that the Kraken could make a trade- probably dealing away either Gourde or Tanev to free up salary space. That could promote rookie Ryan Winterton, one of the Kraken’s best players in the pre-season to the main roster, and add John Hayden and/or Ben Meyers as healthy scratches. Winterton and Hayden were the last two players sent to the Coachella Valley AHL team before the season began.