Inside the NHL’s Biggest Contract Blunders of 2025: Shocking Surprises from Huberdeau to Provorov
The bigger issue, though, is Stephenson’s five-on-five play. That was a red flag going into free agency, where it looked like he would struggle without Mark Stone. Lo and behold, Stephenson managed just a 37 percent xG last year, seven percentage points lower than the next-worst Kraken forward. The gap between the 13th and 14th being that large is difficult to comprehend, a matter of Stephenson being incredibly porous without the puck. With him on the ice, the Kraken gave up 0.45 more xGA/60, the sixth-worst mark in the league and one that is consistent with his last season in Vegas. Stephenson is a defensive black hole, and that showed up on the scoresheet, too, where the Kraken gave up a lot of goals against with him on the ice.
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