Kraken sign defenseman Brian Dumoulin on day they lose Carson Soucy in free agency
SEATTLE – On a day the Kraken bid farewell to defenseman Carson Soucy, they quickly replaced him by adding veteran blueliner Brian Dumoulin on a two-year deal worth $3.15 million annually.
The 6-foot-4, 207-pound Dumoulin, 31, who spent the past decade with the Pittsburgh Penguins and won two Stanley Cup titles, has the physicality to replace Soucy on the team’s third blueline pairing. He’s coming off a season in which he logged a career-high 25 points with Pittsburgh, 24 of them off assists.
Kraken general manager Ron Francis was familiar with Dumoulin from his front office time with the Carolina Hurricanes, who first drafted Dumoulin in 2009 and signed him to a professional contract in 2012. He wound up traded to Pittsburgh before ever suiting up with the Hurricanes and became a top-four defender as the Penguins won the Cup in 2016 and 2017.
“Brian is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and coming off of his most productive season offensively,” Francis said in a release. “He has been a consistent, reliable defenseman throughout his career and we are happy to welcome him to Seattle.”
Soucy, 28, earlier in the day signed a three-year deal worth $3.25 million annually with the Vancouver Canucks as the NHL free agency period launched.
The Kraken also lost forward Morgan Geekie, 24, who signed for two years with Boston at $2 million annually, and winger Daniel Sprong, 26, who inked a one-year, $2 million pact with Detroit coming off a season in which he scored 21 goals on Seattle’s fourth line. And forward Ryan Donato, 27, is also gone, signing a two-year deal with Chicago worth $1 million annually.
The four player losses were anticipated by the Kraken, given their plethora of incoming minor-league prospects in need of roster spots. On defense, the Kraken expect Ryker Evans to make his NHL debut at some point this coming season after his stellar All-Star AHL rookie campaign with the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
And in the forward ranks, the Kraken need to find spots for centerman Shane Wright, their No. 4 overall draft pick from a year ago, as well as potentially winger Tye Kartye, who made an impressive NHL debut for the Kraken during their recent playoff run replacing the injured Jared McCann.
The Kraken allowed Geekie and Sprong to become unrestricted free agents by not tendering them qualifying offers. Both were arbitration-eligible and poised to make significant raises had the Kraken made offers and then lost at the subsequent hearings.
The Kraken knew Soucy wasn’t in their long-term plans this winter and began preparing for his exit in February by signing veteran defenseman Jaycob Megna, 30, for insurance. But Soucy stuck around through the March trade deadline and playoffs while Megna barely got on the ice.
Dumoulin, a left-handed shot as is Soucy, appears a significant upgrade over Megna and a solid placeholder as the Kraken attempt to work Evans into the fold at some point. His playoff experience is expected to bolster a Kraken squad that came within a game of advancing to the Western Conference final this past spring before being eliminated by Dallas in Game 7 of the second round.
The Kraken on Saturday also made a handful of minor-league signings, the most notable being of forward John Hayden, a popular, hard-nosed player who broke his leg in a fight soon after being promoted by the Kraken in March. Hayden had been expected to play a key fourth-line power role for the Kraken down the stretch and in the playoffs prior to his injury.
He wound up returning for the AHL playoffs and helped the Firebirds to the Calder Cup championship round, where they lost Game 7 in overtime to the Hershey Bears.