Reports before the free agency period opened indicated that the Seattle Kraken were going to be aggressive in the free agent market, and Kraken General Manager Ron Francis did not disappoint.
Their opening move when the market opened was signing former Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $4.5 million. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound, 26-year-old center put up 29 points (17 goals, 12 assists) in 56 games with the Panthers last season. He will help bolster the team up the middle of the ice, which is one area they were left thin following the expansion draft.
Welcome to SEA-town!
The #SeaKraken have agreed to terms with @AlexWennberg on a 3 year contract ($4.5M AAV). pic.twitter.com/65RLEN3iHv
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) July 28, 2021
Following up much speculation, the Kraken then announced that they had signed former St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz to a five-year contract with an AAV of $5.5 million. The 29-year-old, 5-foot-10, 190-pound wing had 40 points (eight goals, 13 assist) in an injury-shortened season with the Blues. He immediately steps in and becomes their top wing on the left side, but also in an affordable fashion.
🙌 Schwartzy 🙌
We’ve agreed to terms with Jaden Schwartz on a 5 year contract ($5.5M AAV). pic.twitter.com/p0ZPIfUUWW
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) July 28, 2021
The biggest move of the day was Francis stepping in line ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and snagging the top goaltender on the market in Vezina Trophy finalist Philipp Grubauer. Grubauer signed a five-year contract with an AAV of $5.9 million. Last season, the 29-year-old, 6-foot-1, 188-pound German goaltender had a record of 30–9–1 in 40 games en route to a third-place finish for the Vezina Trophy for the league’s most valuable goaltender. He will slide into the starting spot in net just ahead of expansion draft selection Chris Driedger. This signing will also allow the Kraken to flip one of Vitek Vanecek or Joey Daccord to a (hopefully) desperate team in need of goaltending depth.
Don’t mind if we do. 😏
The #SeaKraken have agreed to terms with goaltender @philgrubauer31 on a 6 year contract (5.9M AAV). pic.twitter.com/gSdeyGKwPO
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) July 28, 2021