SEATTLE — The Kraken’s first draft pick is set to stick around for a good, long while.
Matty Beniers, 21, agreed to a seven-year, $50 million contract with an average annual value of $7.14M. The deal was announced Tuesday morning, less than a month before the Kraken open training camp.
It was speculated that Beniers’ camp would seek a “bridge” deal, so they could renegotiate sooner after his drooping numbers theoretically improve. He was just one year removed from an NHL rookie of the year campaign, winning the Calder Trophy in 2023. But his sophomore season never got off the ground. He started the 2023-24 season on a 13-game goal drought and finished with 15 goals and 37 points in 77 games, far off his previous pace of 24 and 57, respectively.
“As much as this year didn’t necessarily go as well as I’d planned … I think I did grow a lot,” Beniers said in exit interviews. “I learned a lot about myself and my game.”
The Kraken showed their commitment to Beniers and ponied up, giving the young center a massive raise and long-term security. He’s set to be 28 when the contract expires in 2031. According to Puckpedia, the final two years of the deal include a 12-team, no-trade clause.
The Kraken’s top six forwards were shaken up by a new addition this summer. Former Vegas Golden Knight Chandler Stephenson signed a seven-year, $43,750,000 contract the day free agency opened. The Kraken could opt to build a new top line around Stephenson, have Beniers center the second and drop Shane Wright, once thought of as Alex Wennberg’s replacement on the second line, down to the third, should the 2022 fourth overall pick make the team out of training camp as expected. Longtime third-line center Yanni Gourde would be left manning the fourth line.
This shake-up could provide an opportunity for new head coach Dan Bylsma and his staff to rethink Beniers’ role, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if he’s able to keep developing strong two-way play.
“A lot of guys at that age, they look at their offensive numbers. Matty’s actually the opposite,” longtime linemate Jordan Eberle said. “He works a lot on his game [defensively], and you don’t see that a lot at that age.”
Beniers was chosen second overall in the 2021 draft, just before the franchise’s inaugural season. Out of his draft class, only he and the Dallas Stars’ Wyatt Johnston have already reached 100 career points. Beniers was named to the 2023 NHL All-Star Game during that standout rookie season, though he had to withdraw because of injury.
Beniers’ three-year, entry-level deal, signed April 10, 2022 after his sophomore season at Michigan, finished this spring and he became a restricted free agent. It didn’t seem likely the Kraken would let him walk, with Beniers showing up to Las Vegas in June to announce Seattle’s latest first-round pick, rather like a franchise cornerstone would.
Indeed, he and winger Eeli Tolvanen were extended qualifying offers, a formality so that the team retained their negotiation rights before the July 1 deadline. Anyone who didn’t receive a qualifying offer — like underused forward and Spokane native Kailer Yamamoto — became an unrestricted free agent. Another team can sign a UFA without compensating the Kraken.
Tolvanen agreed July 5 to a two-year, $6.95 million deal, leaving the Kraken with more than $8 million with which to re-sign Beniers and potentially shop for more scoring, a real problem in a 2023-24 campaign that didn’t include a postseason berth.
Many weeks passed between Tolvanen’s extension and Beniers’, but the final outstanding item on the offseason to-do list has been checked off.
“Signing Matty to a new contract was a top priority for our offseason, and we are excited to have it done,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a team release. “We’re looking forward to seeing Matty take the next steps as a player and watching him contribute to many more memorable moments for our franchise.”
With Beniers’ long-term deal complete, more moves could be imminent. According to Puckpedia, the Kraken have just $4,000 projected salary-cap space with 21 active players.
Especially by his own previous standards, Francis was a big spender this summer. Before inking Stephenson, 30, to that long-term deal, the Kraken made a splashy signing on defense, securing newly minted Stanley Cup champion Brandon Montour. Thirty-year-old Montour, formerly of the Florida Panthers, signed a nearly identical deal to Beniers — seven years, $50 million.
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