Philipp Grubauer Fast Facts
Number: 31 Position: Goalie
DOB: 8/19/96 Hometown: Rosenheim, Germany Height: 6-1 Weight: 201
How Acquired By Kraken: 2021 Free Agent
NHL Seasons as of 2025: 13
Previous NHL Teams: Washington, 2012-18; Colorado, 2018-21
Career Bests: Wins-30 (2020-21), GAA-1.95 (2020-21), Save %-.926 (2016-17)
Notable: Grubauer has been named to Team Germany for the 2026 Winter Olympics, is the German Gentleman
For the Seattle Kraken and for goalie Philipp Grubauer, the marriage made perfect sense.
Grubauer, playing for a new contract, put up spectacular numbers for the Colorado Avalanche in 2020-21. 40 wins, a 1.95 goals-against average, a save percentage of .922. In all his seasons with the Avs and Washington Capitals (where he won a Stanley Cup), “Grubi” never had a save percentage below .915.
Like any expansion franchise, the Seattle Kraken in 2021 would be largely built with players other NHL teams felt they could do without. That made having solid goaltending even a little more crucial than it always is. So the Kraken signing Grubauer to a six-year, $35 million free-agent deal was easy to justify. And in hindsight, they wouldn’t have done it.
Admittedly playing behind far weaker teams in Seattle than in D.C. and Denver, Grubauer has for the most part not come close to expectations.
According to MoneyPuck.com, 73 goalies appeared in at least 10 games last season. In the advanced metric “Goals saved above expected per 60 minutes,” Grubauer ranked 71st. Daccord finished 8th with the same team in front of him. This isn’t an outlier; Grubauer in past seasons has ranked 57th of 73 (2023-24), 41st of 79 (2022-23), and 67th of 74 (2021-22).
Those numbers say Grubauer rarely provided the Kraken with a game-changing save – the kind a netminder isn’t supposed to make, but somehow does. In each of Grubauer’s four seasons, his goals-against average remained depressingly steady between .875-.899.
That’s why Kraken general manager Jason Botterill surprised many observers by bringing Grubauer back for a fifth season. “Look, it’s a situation that people assume certain things, (that) if you buy out a player, it just automatically goes away. There’s still a cap hit and stuff from that standpoint. And, you know, we believe that Philipp can bounce back from that situation and we think there’s an opportunity still for success.”
The goalie has at all times lived up to his nickname of “German Gentleman.” He’s been an ambassador for the franchise, a well-liked teammate, and didn’t complain when he lost his #1 netminder job or got sent down to the AHL. He’ll be rightly remembered for his 2023 playoff performance. He shepherded the Kraken to a series victory over his old team – and the defending Cup champion – Colorado Avalanche, and within one win of a berth in the conference finals.
Grubauer’s on-ice ability to, in his words, “stay in the moment,” he credits in part to his love affair with horses.
Grubauer first experienced horsemanship in his childhood home of Rosenheim, Germany. Many in the small village practice dressage, an equestrian sport in which horse and rider perform precise movements.
The goalie never owned a horse of his own growing up. However, while a member of the Colorado Avalanche (Grubauer calls the region, “The Wild West”), he began visiting dude ranches. A buddy purchased one with 110 horses; Philipp fell in love with riding, and took time to understand his mounts. “What they want to tell us, how they feel,” he explained in an NHL Network interview. “Once I got out to Seattle it was the first thing we looked at, trying to find a connection to horses.” He found one with SAFE Horse Rescue, short for “Save A Forgotten Equine.”
SAFE’s 150 volunteers care for horses seized from unworthy owners by animal control. “There’s some really bad cases; they’re skin and bone. When they first come in, from years of abuse, they’re super anxious. We put them through a program where they start to trust humans again. The transition to the time when they can be adopted, a little kid can ride them again, is amazing to see.”
Grubauer says the trust built between rider and horse translates to the crease, and how teammates feed off a goalie’s energy. “You’ve got to be calm around a horse. The horse picks up if you’re nervous or super energetic. Finding that balance around the horse and in the stable is a pretty good outlet for me when I leave the rink.”