Consider it Dunn: Kraken sign defenseman to 4-year deal fresh off career year
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – After a few months of waiting once the season came to an end in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Seattle Kraken have taken care of their most important piece of business this offseason. Defenseman Vince Dunn has put pen to paper on a four-year contract worth $7.35M AAV, keeping the Lindsay, Kawartha Lakes, Canada native in a Kraken jersey for the prime years of his career. Coming off the best season of his now seven-year career, Dunn and general manager Ron Francis found a compromise on a deal that doesn’t break the bank for the Kraken while giving Vince a deserved payday. Seattle can now check off the top priority on their offseason list, as they look towards further success in their third year as a franchise.
“I’m happy with where I am right now and I want to be a part of this organization for many years to come.”
Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn heads to celebrate his goal against the Tampa Bay Lighting in their February 26th, 2023 battle (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Compromise for a contract
When the offseason hit, the first order of business on everyone (fans and the front office alike) was to get a deal done. Considering his level of play this past year where Dunn at times seemed like a Norris candidate and was integral to Seattle's success, this wasn't going to be cheap. Dunn wanted and deserved to get paid for the shift he put in during the Kraken’s second season in existence, and Seattle needed to bring back their defense that was off a team-MVP level season while keeping him together in a pairing with Adam Larsson. It was always going to be interesting to see what Francis and the front office were going to be able to give up to Dunn in this deal, and the best-case scenario for both sides was always going to be if they found a middle ground.
“Ever since I stepped foot in here. It’s been a new chapter in my career. They’ve let me develop not just as a person but as a player. And I’m really fortunate for all the opportunities that I’ve been given. It was a big, big jump for me to do what I did this year. I got a lot of opportunity and tried to make the most of it. I know it’s only up from here and the demand is just going to keep growing on me so I’m ready for that. I’m really excited for what’s ahead.”
Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn looks up the ice against the Colorado Avalanche in the teams April 28th, 2023 battle (Photo by Liv Lyons)
Show me the money
Let’s get down into the financial business of all this, looking at the details of Dunn’s new deal. The basics of the deal are the length (four years) which will stretch until Dunn turns the age of 30, which is just about where his “prime” years are supposed to end. His AAV, or average annual value, sits at $7.35M, and to explain it to those who are used to contracts in leagues like the NFL, MLB, and NBA, that just means what he’d get per year if it was split evenly amongst those four years. Before we further get into the details, the contract is largely front loaded, as he’ll get $9 million for the 2023-24 season, $8 million for the 2024-25 season, $7 for the 2025-26 season, and then $5.4M for the 2026-27 season.
Sticking with the year-by-year details for the contract, on an interesting note, Dunn has trade clause information in his deal. Kicking in during the 2024-25 season (so there is no stipulation of the sort this upcoming year), Dunn has a full no trade clause during that year. For the two years after that, Dunn has a M-NTC which means modified no trade clause, where there are 16 teams that he won’t accept a trade to during those two seasons. All his deal is base salary, and he has no signing bonus on top of it. The deal for Dunn is the largest that general manager Ron Francis has given out since he’s transitioned into the executive chapter of his hockey career (yes, dating back to Carolina) in terms of AAV and in terms of how much of the team's cap space it takes up, at 8.8%. His AAV will make him the 25th highest-paid defenseman in the NHL by that metric, coming behind Morgan Reilly and Aaron Ekblad.
Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn in the teams Lunar New Year warmup jerseys ahead of their January 21st, 2023 game against the Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Liv Lyons)
A no-brainer
There’s two ways to view this deal and why it makes absolute sense for the Kraken and Dunn himself. One side is the sort of success that Dunn had on the scoresheet, which is obviously the big aspect of it, and the other would be the chemistry aspect of things. Both play a role in the value that Dunn brings to this group and franchise as it looks to continue their upward trend following the struggles of the inaugural season. Taking one or the other away decreases his worth, and considering that he’s got both, it’s why coming to a compromise to stay competitive was so valuable. If Dunn decided he wanted to take his case to arbitration or simply felt he deserved more money, Seattle likely can’t afford him and he eventually goes elsewhere. Instead, the Kraken keep their best scoring defenseman and can stay competitive.
It’s been stated numerous times (whether that be online or in this article), but Vince Dunn was huge for the sort of success that the Kraken had and getting to the playoff run that they had. Dating past just this last season, the two seasons that Dunn has had in Seattle are his best on the scoresheet during his career. He set career highs this year in goals (14), assists (50), and total points (64). Those assist numbers were best on the Kraken, and his point total ranked second on the team. Diving deeper into those assist numbers, Dunn was a big factor in helping his teammates score, as he was among the top skaters in the league this season in terms of "setting," a measure of creating scoring opportunities for teammates (plus-8 percent). So while he was doing his part on the teams blueline to help out goaltender Philipp Grubauer or Martin Jones and prevent the opposition from scoring, Dunn was chipping in on the offensive end as the Kraken lit up the scoreboard around the NHL and put teams on notice with the depth of that scoring.
When I mentioned previously that Dunn had consideration for the Norris Trophy (The NHL award awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position".), it wasn’t some sort of exaggeration. Amongst defensemen around the NHL, Dunn’s numbers stacked up well, ranking in the top 10 in goals, points, and assists, and in even strength play, only Erik Karlsson (the winner of the best defenseman this season), had more points and more goals. The Norris trophy isn’t just for scoring and offense from a defenseman, though, it is about that all-around ability. Dunn did his part defensively, making it hard for opponents to get into their offensive zone, turning the puck Seattle’s way, and retrieving it in his own zone.
According to AllThreeZones.com, the defender was the most effective among Kraken players in denying carry-in's against and overall entry defense.
Dunn reduced opponents' ability to generate offense by 3.9-percent - that's the second-best defensive impact of his career.
Dunn was also among the top Seattle players in being able to successfully retrieve pucks in the defensive zone, and no other Seattle defender was better at generating zone exits with possession (per 60 minutes of play).
Dunn had the best stretch pass completion rate among all defenders this season (68.4) and only Karlsson attempted more (397 vs. 370).
The factor that casual fans will negate is the chemistry that a player brings to their respective team, and Dunn is incredibly valuable to the Kraken in that regard. Not only as the pairing to Adam Larsson as the top defenseman on the team, but Dunn has also shown alternate captain level leadership throughout the course of this past season. While it appears for the time being that the A’s in the Kraken locker room are sorted, Dunn is certainly worthy and might as well have an honorary A on his jersey. Having that sort of fiery attitude that Dunn brings while also having his ability to be a leading voice is sometimes invaluable on a contending team, so having that from Vince is big as the team pushes forward.
Seattle Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn during pregame player introductions ahead of the teams January 16th battle against the Tampa Bay Lightning (Photo by Liv Lyons)
What’s next?
With this move, the Kraken are likely done at the NHL level when it comes to signings and moves unless Ron Francis pulls something off with some of his front office wizardry. That’s unlikely, though, as the Seattle roster is already likely set at this point outside of getting into actual training camp and having positions and spots settled. Training camp fast approaches, and in what will feel like no time the Kraken will be back on the ice with largely the same group returning to try and push further than the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It won’t be easy as other Pacific Division teams have upgraded as well, but with the main core of this time intact while both veteran additions and improving youth players are involved, the Kraken have just as good a chance to compete with them.