A defenseman is traveling across the country to his new home.
On Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken signed defenseman Josh Mahura to a one-year contract. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the deal will carry a $775,000 cap hit through the 2024-25 season.
It is a small pay cut for Mahura, as he is coming off a one-year contract with a $925,000 cap hit.
Mahura has spent the last two seasons with the Florida Panthers, and was part of the team that won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup this year, beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. However, Mahura was not in the lineup for any of the Cats’ games this postseason. He did play in 30 regular season games, missing some time due to a lower-body injury, registering nine assists and a plus/minus of -2.
Mahura was due to be a restricted free agent, but he did not receive a qualifying offer, so he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
In two seasons in Florida, the St. Albert, Alberta native played in 112 games, scoring four goals and 21 assists with a +15 rating. He played 21 playoff games with the Panthers during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.
Mahura started his career in the Anaheim Ducks system, the team that took him in the third round, 85th overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft. He split time between the Ducks and their American Hockey League affiliate, San Diego Gulls. In 191 career NHL games, the 26-year-old has notched 10 goals and 35 assists with a -2 rating. In 112 AHL appearances, all with San Diego, Mahura scored 11 goals and 49 assists, playing in 12 Calder Cup Playoff games.
Prior to jumping into the pro ranks, Mahura had a fruitful junior hockey career. With the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels, he won the Chynoweth Cup as league champions in 2016. He also won gold with Team Canada at the 2015 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
With the signing, the Kraken has 47 of a possible 50 standard player contracts on the books for the 2024-25 season. According to CapFriendly, Seattle has over $11.6 million in projected cap space.
Leave a Reply