The Seattle Kraken will be without their No. 1 goalie Chris Driedger for the better part of the 2022-23 NHL season. According to the team, Driedger had surgery to repair a torn ACL earlier this week and will be sidelined for up to nine months.
In a statement published on their official website, Kraken revealed that Driedger got injured while playing for Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. Team Canada went on to win a silver medal at the tournament.
Driedger has been in the NHL since 2014, when he signed an entry deal with the Ottawa Senators. He later joined the Florida Panthers and spent two years with the franchise before being taken by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
Kraken signed Driedger to a three-year, $10.5 million contract shortly after, but it is safe to say their investment didn’t pay off so far. The 28-year-old player struggled in his first season in Seattle, posting a 9-14-1 record. He also had a career-worst .899 save percentage and 2.96 goals-against average.
It is expected that Seattle now embarks on a search for a new goalie and add to their current group that consists of veterans Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord.
