Seattle Kraken sign goaltender Philipp Grubauer to a six-year deal

Grubauer, one of three goaltenders born and developed in Germany to play in at least 100 NHL games, was selected by the Washington Capitals in the fourth round (No. 112) of the 2010 NHL Draft following his second season in the Ontario Hockey League.Following a midseason trade, Grubauer finished the 2009-10 season with Windsor, leading it to the Memorial Cup championship. He finished the tournament 16-2 with a .909 save percentage.

After one more year in the OHL with Kingston, Grubauer turned pro starting in 2011-12 and spent most of the season with South Carolina in the ECHL, where he was named to the All-Rookie team after going 23-13-5 with a 2.22 GAA and .918 save percentage.

Grubauer spilt time between the ECHL with Reading and the American Hockey League with Hershey in 2012-13, starting for Hershey in an opening-round, five-game playoff series loss to Providence. He made his first NHL start that same season, making 40 saves in a 5-2 loss at the New York Islanders on March 9, 2013.

By the 2015-16 season, Grubauer had earned a full-time role with the Capitals as the backup to Braden Holtby, finishing 8-9-1 with 2.32 GAA and .918 save percentage. He improved to 13-6-2 in 2016-17 and was 15-10-3 with a 2.35 GAA and .923 save percentage in 2017-18 before starting Washington’s first two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Capitals traded Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche on June 22, 2018, just 15 days after winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since entering the NHL in 1974. He signed a three-year contract with Colorado one day later.

Internationally, Grubauer has been a mainstay with the German national team since 2008, when he was named to the All-Tournament team at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge despite Germany finishing ninth.