Seattle Kraken sign Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to one-year, $775,000 contract
The Seattle Kraken have signed winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a one-year, $775,000 contract.
Bienvenue, Pierre-Edouard! 🇫🇷
We’ve agreed to terms with forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on a one-year, 775k AAV contract! pic.twitter.com/Q8kPdt32N1
Bellemare was an unrestricted free agent after finishing his two-year contract with a $1 million cap hit with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He sees a $225,000 decrease in pay on his new deal, and will have the lowest cap hit in his career since the 2016-17 season.
Bellemare, 38, is coming off a down season with the Lightning in 2022-23, where he had just 4 goals, 9 assists, and 13 points in 73 regular season games, his lowest point total in an 82-game season since 2017. He also had a goal and an assist in six playoff games with the Lightning as they were eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2019 at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games.
Bellemare was an undrafted free agent, spending the first 11 seasons of his career playing in Europe before he signed his first NHL deal with the Philadelphia Flyers at the age of 29. He’s since played for the Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and Lightning over the course of his nine-season NHL career.
The Kraken haven’t made too many significant additions to their NHL roster so far this offseason, with their only significant roster signings seeing them bring in a veteran defenseman in Brian Dumoulin and taking a flyer on the struggling Kailer Yamamoto. They still have over $12.5 million in cap space, although they have a few restricted free agents to sign on their blueline in Vince Dunn, Will Borgen, and Cale Fleury.
The Kraken are coming off a strong sophomore season in the NHL with a 46-28-8 record to get the first wild card spot in the Western Conference and secure their first ever playoff appearance in franchise history. They then got their first ever playoff win with a Game 1 win over the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, and their first playoff series win by beating the Avalanche in seven games before losing to the Dallas Stars in the second round in seven games.