The Kraken have made several roster moves leading into Monday’s game against New Jersey. The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Joey Daccord and center Yanni Gourde have been placed on injured reserve. Taking their place on the active roster are defensemen Cale Fleury and Gustav Olofsson who have both been recalled from AHL Coachella Valley on an emergency basis.
Daccord has been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained just before the holiday break. Fresh off a long-term extension signed before the season, he has lived up to the expectations of that new deal as he has a 2.51 GAA and a .912 SV% in his first 23 starts, numbers that were very close to his ones from last season (2.46 and .916, respectively). Philipp Grubauer will continue to serve as the starter in Daccord’s absence. His placement was retroactive to December 22nd so he has already served the minimum number of days on there, meaning he can be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.
As for Gourde, he missed last night’s game with a lower-body injury, his second one in recent weeks. The 33-year-old has been relatively quiet offensively when he has played, tallying six goals and 10 assists in 35 games while his playing time is down to 15:34 per game, his lowest since 2019-20 when he was still with Tampa Bay. It’s a contract year for Gourde so the decline in production certainly isn’t coming at an opportune time, nor is the continued injury trouble. His placement is retroactive to Saturday so he’ll be out through the rest of the week at a minimum.
It’s the fourth recall of the year for Fleury but he didn’t see much action in his first three, playing just twice. He has played in 19 games with the Firebirds, picking up 14 points. Fleury has 65 career NHL appearances under his belt between Montreal and Seattle and is the likelier blueliner to draw in if needed.
As for Olofsson, it’s his third recall in the last two weeks but he didn’t play in the first two. He has 11 points in 29 games with Coachella Valley, one point shy of matching his output from last year in 22 fewer games. Olofsson has 63 career appearances at the top level with Minnesota, Montreal, and Seattle. It’s unclear which defensemen’s availability for Monday’s game are in question at the time, necessitating the recalls with an emergency designation.