Breaking NHL News: Seattle Kraken Fire Head Coach Dan Bylsma

2 days ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors

Big news coming out of the Pacific Northwest on this NHL Monday, as the Seattle Kraken have confirmed that they are firing head coach Dan Bylsma, while other reports indicate that they are also naming a new GM while promoting Ron Francis.Hearing the Seattle Kraken are making a coaching change. Dan Bylsma will be let go…and a full search will begin.— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 21, 2025After their second consecutive disappointing season out of the playoffs after their stunning run to the Conference Semi-Finals in 2023, the Kraken are doing a significant re-org at the top. In addition to the coaching change, it appears that Jason Botterill will be named the team’s new GM, while Ron Francis will be named team president, per Arthur Staple.🚨𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: #SEAKraken will be naming Jason Botterill the team’s new GM, and Ron Francis will be named team president, per @StapeAthletic— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) April 21, 2025 “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench," said Francis in a statement.The Kraken went 46-28-8 in only their second season as an NHL franchise, in 2022-23, then won their first-ever playoff series. They dropped to 34-35-13 the following season, however, leading to the firing of their inaugural head coach, Dave Hakstol. Bylsma took over this season, but the Kraken did not make any improvements, in fact dropping five points in the standings, after a 35-41-6 record. The team's goals-per-game was rejuvenated this year, going from 29th in the NHL last season, to 16th in the just-concluded campaign. But their defense suffered considerably, dropping from 9th in goals against per game last year, to 24th this season. Injuries did play a major role in Seattle's struggles this season as well, as captain Jordan Eberle missed 40 games, center Yanni Gourde was out for 26 games before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning just before the trade deadline, and key defenseman Vince Dunn missed 20 games. Bylsma joins two other head coaches—so far—to lose their jobs since the end of the regular season, after the New York Rangers' firing of Peter Laviolette, and Greg Cronin's ouster by the Anaheim Ducks. The Kraken will now be engaged in a full search for a new bench boss. Photo: © Robert Edwards-Imagn Images   ...

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