Seattle Kraken netminder Joey Daccord is the Hilary Swank of the NHL.
If you were a fan of the TV show The Office, you no doubt recall the episode in which it was there was heated debate over the relative attractiveness of the two-time Academy Award-winning actor. The staff was split right down the middle when it come to the yays and the nays in this plebiscite.
You'll find similar arguments taking place over the relative merits of Daccord's puckstopping ability. Is he an elite NHL netminder? Hockey pundits and fans alike appear to be equally divided when this argument is waging.
The Kraken are leaving no doubt upon where they stand on this issue. The club recently was rewarding their No. 1 goalie with a five-year contract featuring an AAV of $5 million. Not a bad haul for a 28-year-old goaltender with one full season as an NHLer on his resume.
The eye test supports those contract numbers. Last season in 46 games, Daccord was posting a .916 save percentage and a 2.46 GAA.
The analytics community, though, are suggesting that Daccord's success story is more the product of the Seattle defensive system. The underlying data is showing that the Kraken generally generate more quality shot attempts on offense when Daccord is between the pipes.
At the same time, Seattle is significantly prohibiting opponent shot quality in the defensive zone when playing in front of Daccord. In 2023-23, that number was nearly 15% lower than the league average.
According to Naturalstattrick.com, Daccord was facing just 275 high danger scoring chances last season. That was the lowest number of any of the 20 NHL netminders who made at least 50 appearances. The 217 high danger saves he was required to make were also a league low.
Daccord's .806 high danger save percetange ranked 16th among the 50-game club. His high danger GAA of 1.08 was fourth-best in that group. So again, we're left with a divided outcome.
Is Daccord among the top NHL goalies? Clearly, the jury is still deliberating that outcome. The Kraken certainly felt that it was aise to invest in Daccord futures. We'll find out this season whether it was money well spent.