The Coachella Valley Firebirds have gotten a major shake-up in net this week.

Seattle Kraken veteran goaltender Philipp Grubauer cleared waivers Thursday and has been assigned to Coachella Valley. Replacing him in Seattle will be Ales Stezka, who had been splitting the Coachella Valley net with prospect Nikke Kokko

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Grubauer, 33, signed a six-year contract with Seattle in July 2021 shortly before their inaugural season. That deal has a $5.9 million annual average value and runs through the end of the 2026-27 season. Before coming to Seattle he had played parts of nine NHL seasons with the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche, winning a Stanley Cup championship with the Capitals in 2018.

Grubauer last appeared in the AHL in the 2014-15 season when he played 49 games with the Hershey Bears as a Capitals prospect. He led Seattle to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023, but portions of his time in Seattle have been a struggle, and his play had bottomed out recently. Just before Seattle management put him on waivers, he had made his first appearance in more than two weeks and had allowed five goals in a home loss to the Anaheim Ducks. In 21 games with Seattle this season, Grubauer has gone 5-15-1 | 3.83 | .866.

Joey Daccord, who led the Firebirds to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals in 2023, has taken over the number-one job in Seattle. The 28-year-old is 17-12-2 | 2.45 | .917 and signed a five-year $25 million contract with Seattle this past October.

At 22-27-3 and 47 points, Seattle has started to fade from contention in the Western Conference playoff chase. After missing the postseason last year, the Kraken are nine points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. They also yield at one game in hand to the other four teams ahead of them chasing that same wild-card spot. A five-game homestand continues Thursday night when the San Jose Sharks visit the Kraken.

Stezka, 28, has gone 8-12-4 | 3.00 | .902 in 24 games in his second season with the Firebirds. Originally a 2015 fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Wild, he signed a one-year deal with the Kraken in May 2023 following two seasons with Czech club HC Vítkovice. Seattle also recalled AHL All-Star defenseman Cale Fleury from the Firebirds on Wednesday.

Coachella Valley is tied for second place in the Pacific Division with a 22-15-1-5 mark. The Firebirds visit the Texas Stars on Friday and Saturday. Kokke had 28 saves Wednesday night as the Firebirds broke a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 home win against the Abbotsford Canucks. Daniel Sprong, another NHL veteran who has been sent to Coachella Valley, had a goal as the Firebirds scored four times in a 3:13 span of the third period. Sprong is 5-6-11 through nine AHL games.

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