Kraken’s Dave Hakstol firing potentially fueled by players’ ultimatum

The Seattle Kraken played well under Dave Hakstol in 2022-23. In fact, they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the very first time. They took on the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round, beating them in seven games. They took the Dallas Stars to seven games in round two before ultimately losing.

Seattle was built upon their impressive depth. Unfortunately, they lost a good amount of that depth last summer. Forwards Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie both signed elsewhere in NHL Free Agency, for instance. Despite this, Seattle had their eyes on a return to playoff hockey.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. Seattle finished the season with a disappointing 34-35-13 record. The Kraken tied the Calgary Flames with 81 points. However, they finished below Calgary due to the regulation wins tiebreaker. Their scoring depth was not the same, as they had just eight 30+ point scorers in 2023-24 compared to the 13 they had the year before.

Potential Dave Hakstol replacements

Ron Francis did not name an immediate replacement for Dave Hakstol as Kraken head coach. That being said, Kaplan mentioned two potential candidates for the position in her report on Monday. The first candidate is Dan Bylsma, the current head coach of the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Bylsma has NHL experience as a head coach. He manned the bench with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres in his career. In 2009, he led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. He coached his final season in Pittsburgh during the 2013-14 season.

Bylsma became head coach of the Sabres in 2015-16, but his tenure wasn’t as successful. In fact, the veteran bench boss lasted just two seasons in Buffalo. The Sabres failed to make the playoffs both years before he received the axe. Bylsma became an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings and AHL’s Charlotte Checkers in the years following.

In 2022, Bylsma became head coach of the Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate. His first season at the helm produced wonderful results. The Firebirds made the Calder Cup Playoffs and eventually the Calder Cup Final. However, they fell in seven games to the Hershey Bears. Coachella Valley is once again in the Calder Cup Playoffs this season.

Kaplan’s other potential candidate is a big one. The ESPN insider wondered whether Ron Francis would try to lure Rod Brind’Amour to the Kraken. Brind’Amour is currently the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. He has been one of the best coaches in the league over the last few years. He and Francis played together with the Hurricanes for five years.

We will certainly get more clarity on the Kraken head coach search within the next few weeks. Whoever replaces Dave Hakstol will have some work to do in 2024-25, though. Especially if they want to return Seattle to the Stanley Cup Playoffs sooner rather than later.