Another Cup Winner Joins

When Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin agreed to terms with Kraken on the first day of 2023 NHL free agency, he became the seventh member of the Seattle current roster who have hoisted the coveted Stanley Cup as a champion.

Dumoulin, 31, agreed to terms with the Kraken on a two-year contract at $3.15 million average annual value. Dumoulin, originally drafted by Carolina in 2009, has been a fixture with the Penguins since becoming a regular in the 2015-16 season.

"Brian is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and is coming off of his most productive season offensively," said Seattle GM Ron Francis. "He has been a consistent, reliable defenseman throughout his career. We are happy to welcome him to Seattle."

The 6-foot-4, 207-pound won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh (2016 and 2017) and rejoins fellow blueliner and then-teammate Justin Schultz, who accepted a contract offer from Kraken last summer on the first day of free agency. Along with the two former Penguin D-men, Kraken alternate captain Yanni Gourde has also won back-to-back Cups, in his case with Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021. Teammates Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn were 2019 Cup winners in St. Louis, while goalie Philipp Grubauer (2018, Washington) and forward Andre Burakovsky (2022, Colorado) round out the seven Kraken who know the full Stanley Cup journey.

Dumoulin notched 25 points (one goal, 24 assists) for the Penguins this past hockey year, playing the entire 82-game slate. He has notched 19 goals and 120 assists in 546 regular season game and four goals and 21 assists in 81 postseason games.

He set a career best with 23 even-strength points, which ranked second among Pittsburgh defensemen. He finished the regular season with 123 hits and a team-leading 142 blocked shots, both of which were the second-highest totals of his career.

The 2022-23 regular season marked the seventh-consecutive year in which he averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time per game, finishing the season ranked third among Penguins skaters with 20:38 of average ice time. His 799 blocked shots since 2015-16 top all Penguins skaters and his 750 hits are the third-most on Pittsburgh's roster during that span.

A long-time partner with future Hall of Famer Kris Letang on Pittsburgh's first defensive pair, Dumoulin is highly respected for his physical presence and on-ice approach, plus his textbook abilities to control gaps with opponents, awareness in all zones (especially the Pens end), stick work and making the first pass for successful zone exits.