The 2024-25 NHL campaign was a rough overall season for the Seattle Kraken, who would ultimately fall short of attaining a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time in their four-year existence.

They finished in second-to-last place in the Pacific Division with a 35-41-6 record, resulting in the firing of coach Dan Bylsma after only a single season. Taking his place behind the Kraken bench is former New York Islanders head coach and Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Lane Lambert.

Another factor that didn't help the Kraken were the struggles of goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who started the season with a poor 5-15-1 record and would be placed on waivers and eventually relegated to the American Hockey League when nobody claimed him.

However, new Kraken general manager Jason Botterill said that he has no plans to buy out the final two seasons of Grubauer's contract and still believes that the German-born goaltender can be successful in Seattle.

“We believe that Philipp can bounce back from that situation,” Botterill said via The Seattle Times. “We think there’s an opportunity still for success here.”

“People sometimes think (that) if you buy a player out, it just automatically goes away. There’s still a cap hit and stuff from that standpoint.”

Grubauer still has two years remaining on his contract with a $5.9 million cap hit. If they did buy out the remainder of his contract, they'd owe him $1,683,333 for the next for years.

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Philipp Grubauer signed a six-year contract with the Kraken in 2021

Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer (31) during the second period against the Utah Hockey Club at Climate Pledge Arena.
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Grubauer, who began his NHL career with the Washington Capitals, often played second fiddle to starter Brayden Holtby. His name is on the Stanley Cup, having mostly played the backup role behind Holtby in the Capitals' run to their first title in team history in 2018.

He then got an opportunity as a starter, playing the next three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. But he would be claimed by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and then signed to a six-year contract.

Grubauer helped the Kraken beat the Avalanche in Seattle's first postseason series, in 2023 and then took them to within a victory of reaching the Western Conference Final before bowing out to the Dallas Stars.

He has a career record of 166-39-33 with a 2.65 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and 22 shutouts.