Kraken 26th in Latest Contract Efficiency by The Athletic

With the mayhem of free agency finished, Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic has published his annual contract efficiency rankings.

This offseason, the Kraken added just three players but spent top dollar to acquire them. The additions of Brandon Montour at $7.1M and Chandler Stephenson at $6.3M were two of the lower grades the Kraken received. Montour received a C- and Stephenson, alongside Philipp Grubauer, were given the worst grades on the team with a D-.

The Kraken's two highest grades came from Jared McCann, given an A-, and Vince Dunn, given a B+.

On the front end, Jaden Schwartz and Andre Burakovsky had their contracts criticized while Eeli Tolvanen and Jordan Eberle received praise.

On the backend, Josh Mahura was given a positive grade for his league-minimum deal, while the rest of the Kraken's blueline received average grades.

In goal, Joey Daccord received a B+ grade after his stellar breakout season with the Kraken. Where Grubauer falters, Daccord picks them up.

After ranking 21st last year, Luszczyszyn gave his reasoning for the Kraken dropping five spots.

"The Kraken should probably stay away from free agency at this point. Philipp Grubauer, Jaden Schwartz, and Andre Burakovsky all don't look great. And now you can add Brandon Montour and especially Chandler Stephenson to that list. Good thing Seattle has a no-income tax advantage right?

On the positive end of the spectrum, Jared McCann and Vince Dunn's extensions are aging well and Joey Daccord looks good enough to make up for Grubauer's negative value. There's just not enough elsewhere to make up for a lot of problems on the books. Maybe new coach Dan Bylsma can help get more out of the group, but for now, it doesn't look pretty."

The rankings are subject to change. Multiple players can perform very well and change the perception of the team's contract efficiency.