Seattle Kraken’s best-kept secret this year? Goalie coach Steve Briere

When NHL journeyman goalie Martin Jones signed a one-year, $2 million prove-it deal with the Seattle Kraken last offseason, both the burgeoning fan base and hockey pundits failed to discover a lot of optimism that the team’s bottom-10 defense would improve as much as it needed to in the franchise’s second season.

After four years of recording -56 goals saved above expected and a -1.57 wins above replacement in his last year in Philadelphia, Jones seemed finished.

He was paired with the Kraken’s incumbent shot blocker Philipp Grubauer, who recorded an 18-31-5 record as the Kraken goalie in Seattle’s debut NHL season. His 31 losses were more than he had in his last three years combined.

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Martin Jones was a cast-off. Grubauer lost his edge. And the Kraken’s defense looked bleak — until former Toronto Maple Leafs’ goalie coach Steve Briere showed up at Climate Pledge Arena’s front door.

Welcome to Seattle! 🦑

Get to know our newest #SeaKraken hire, Goaltending Coach Steve Briere → https://t.co/cxBVDrn5bZ pic.twitter.com/ngPqzX85ZE

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) July 5, 2022

“I’ve always been able to find the motivation factor behind everybody,” Briere told MyNorthwest. “Like James Reimer, I got him after the 2014 debacle where they were up by three with three minutes to go against Boston.”

The game Briere was referencing to was Toronto blowing a 3-0 lead in an eventual 5-4 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the first round of the 2013 playoffs.

“He wanted to prove to everybody that he could bounce back and that he was an NHL goalie,” Briere continued. “And he ended up being a top-10 goalie. We traded him to San Jose, and that was a great deal for everybody involved.”

Briere also cited his success with Freddie Anderson, who had to either back up or share duties with Anaheim goalie John Gibson before getting his shot as a franchise’s de facto goalie.

“When I got him, he was motivated to be the guy for us in Toronto,” Briere said. “So Martin Jones is trying to show, ‘hey, you know what guys, I am an NHL goaltender, and I am a stud, and I want to prove to everybody that I still got it.’ And that’s something that no matter what you do, you can’t forget. You can’t forcefully create that; they have to have that inside of them organically. And it’s your job as a coach to find what it is and use that as the motivation behind things.”

Despite not ranking in the top-20 for save percentage (.895), Jones’ win-loss record is currently 23-6-3 this season, while Seattle’s current pace projects a finish of 105 standings points and .641 points percentage. If the Kraken maintains this pace, that would be the most points and the highest points percentage in a second season among the 26 expansion franchises to have joined the NHL, according to NHL.com.

The loudest declaration for the Kraken’s bid to be placed among NHL’s elite this season was Wednesday night’s 5-1 win over Vancouver — the first win against the Canucks in franchise history.

Jones is tied for the third-most shutouts in the NHL, while the Kraken ranks ninth in the league with a 28-14-5 record.

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“The franchise is new, but at the end of the day, most of our players have played in the league for a long time,” Briere told MyNorthwest. “The guys have experience. A lot of guys have played in the playoffs, and we’ve got guys that have won the Stanley Cup, like Schultz and Gourde. So I mean, we have a lot of experience.”

Both Grubauer and Jones have also won Stanley Cups, just as reserves, while Jones went to a second title game as the starting goalie with the San Jose Sharks, losing in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But both goalies were on the back nine of their careers until Briere revitalized their success on the ice.

“I don’t like to take any credit for any of it,” Briere said. “At the end of the day, they’re the athletes. They’re the experts, and they’re the ones having to do all the work. They’re the ones that have to perform. My job is the conduit, right? My job is to be a facilitator and to try to get the most out of them. Sometimes it’s not as obvious, but in the end, everybody has a motivation. Why do you get up every morning? What’s your motivation? What are you trying to accomplish in your life? Everybody’s got that, and it’s just a matter of finding it.”

Briere was on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ coaching staff for seven seasons before joining the Kraken. The franchise made six straight playoff appearances but failed to get out of the first round each time.

“I actually played my junior hockey for Dave [Hakstol], and then I had coached with Dave in Toronto,” Briere said. “And Kraken GM Ron Francis was a friend of the Toronto GM and staff, so there were a lot of connections. There is a lot of crossovers. And a lot of this has to do with trust and relationships. So there was a lot of trust and a lot of familiarity between the coaching staff and myself. Assistant coach Paul McFarland and I also knew each other and coached together in Toronto.”

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Briere’s career has always revolved around protecting the hockey net. As his nine-year pro career as a goalie was pivoting to coaching, Briere also established and owns the Canadian Professional Goalie Schools (CPGS), a goalie academy built on teaching fundamentals and the various ways to apply the save selections in multiple situations for aspiring goalies.

The CPGS style has enabled the instructors, including Briere, to teach goaltenders of all levels, no matter what size, age, or gender, according to its website. This includes educating the students on all the latest styles, the new movements, the new ways the game is progressing and changing, and how to communicate on the ice.

But Briere doesn’t alter his coaching style based on experience, using the same coaching strategies for both aspiring amateurs and professional goalies.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think there is a huge difference,” Briere said. “The big difference is, obviously, in the schools, the talent is a lot less, so you got to do a little bit more teaching, and you got to be a little bit more patient, so on and so forth. But even if there are 30 goalies at the camp, you’re working with one kid at a particular time, and it’s one-on-one coaching for that moment. And then you go to the next goalie, and it’s one-on-one coaching for that moment.”

But Head Coach Hakstol and Briere will have some tough goaltending decisions amid a dramatic playoff push. The Seattle Kraken-dedicated blog, Davy Jones Locker Room, published an article earlier this week asking for Grubauer to start once more.

The Kraken is one of three teams within the top 10 to have two goalies age 30 or older (Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings).

“I think you’re seeing a little bit of that in Boston with its combination of goaltenders,” Briere said. “Now, they’re both younger, but there’s a combination and a goaltending tandem. Anaheim had it with Gibson and Freddie Anderson. There have been some times when there’s more of a rotation than others. I think the advantage we have is these guys are both veteran goaltenders. That’s been very nice to have. They’re both professional. They both love to work.”

But as for who will start down the stretch, Briere made it clear that the call comes from Hakstol.

“At the end of the day, that is Hakstol’s decision,” Briere said. “He’s the boss, and it’s his team. Our job is to stop pucks and to give ourselves the best opportunity to win.”

The Kraken, winners of seven of its last 10, take on the Calgary Flames tonight at 7 p.m.