Last summer, during the Expansion Draft, the Seattle Kraken drafted their first captain in franchise history, selecting Mark Giordano from the Calgary Flames with their Calgary pick.
As we well know, the Kraken ended up dealing Giordano to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the deadline this spring. Gio has since inked a 2-year extension in Toronto, which has left the Kraken in search of their next captain. Fortunately they had a number of candidates already in the room.
According to Seattle Times writer Geoff Baker, the Kraken are expected to name the 2nd captain in franchise history during training camp next month. Who's it going to be? Well, Baker is reporting that Yanni Gourde is the man for the job.
Gourde was the team's second-leading scorer last year, posting 48 points in 74 games played. He sat behind only Jared McCann in scoring, with McCann having posted 50 points. Gourde led the team in average ice time last season, playing 18:29 per game.
Gourde won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021, but was exposed to the Kraken in the Expansion Draft due to the Bolts trying to address their cap concerns. The 30-year-old center is signed through 2024-25 at $5.166M per season.
