The Garth side gets a major shot in the arm today, as the Kraken announced that they have extended Defender Ryker Evans for two years, and for a total of $4.1 million; split in $2.05m AAV chunks over each year.
Ryker Evans is one of the Kraken’s success stories at the draft; a 2nd rounder from 2021 who was a major part of Coachella’s runs to the Calder Cup, and eventually a full-time big boy Kraken as of 2024; finishing his 2024-25 campaign with 25 points in 73 games, which is not bad at all for a Defenseman!
Analytically, Ryker Evans has been a pretty responsible defense-first Defenseman who’s offensive contributions day-in and day-out are largely negligible, but is made up for by his work in his own end. While it may not translate to much Top 4 time without a partner willing to go do more offensive stuff for him long-term, this is the kind of niche you want to have as a bottom pair defender; smart and sensible.
At under 2-and-a-half million AAV, that’s solid value for a player who will likely (well, hopefully) settling into a depth role for the next couple of years.
Let’s all re-welcome back Ryker Evans to The Deep!