SEATTLE -- Philipp Grubauer was placed on waivers by the Seattle Kraken Wednesday, with the intent of assigning the goalie to Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League.
Grubauer is 5-15-1 with a 3.83 goals-against average and .866 save percentage in 21 games. His GAA and save percentage are last among the 54 goalies to play at least 15 games this season.
He hasn't won a game since Dec. 30, is 0-5-1 in his past six starts and has allowed at least three goals in all six. That includes five goals on 22 shots in Seattle's 6-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old is in the fourth season of a six-year, $35.4 million contract ($5.9 million average annual value) he signed July 28, 2021.
In four seasons with the Kraken, Grubauer is 54-76-12 with a 3.10 GAA, .890 save percentage and five shutouts in 151 regular-season games (145 starts).
He helped the Kraken reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022-23, and had a .926 save percentage in a seven-game first-round series win against the Colorado Avalanche. Seattle lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games in the second round.
But Grubauer gradually has lost playing time the past two seasons as the Kraken have leaned more heavily on Joey Daccord, who signed a five-year, $25 million contract ($5 million AAV) on Oct. 9. Daccord is 17-12-2 with a 2.45 GAA, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 33 games (31 starts) this season.
Daccord had started seven straight games before Grubauer played Tuesday.
When asked about Grubauer's play Tuesday, Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said, "We hung him out to dry. ... Just too many pucks he didn't have a chance on."
However, when Bylsma was asked if defensive breakdowns happen more frequently with Grubauer in net compared with Daccord, Bylsma responded with one word: "No."
If Grubauer does not get claimed and is assigned to the AHL, the Kraken will need to recall a goalie in time for their game against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN).
Neither of Seattle's two goalies in Coachella Valley have played in the NHL. Ales Stezka is 8-12-4 with a 3.00 GAA and .902 save percentage in 24 AHL games; the 28-year-old was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round (No. 111) of the 2015 NHL Draft and is in his second season in the Seattle organization after playing the previous six seasons in his native Czech Republic. Niklas Kokko, 20, a second-round pick (No. 58) in the 2022 NHL Draft, is 12-3-1 with a 2.49 GAA and .909 save percentage in 17 games.