Seattle Kraken Fire Head Coach Dan Bylsma in Front Office Shakeup
The National Hockey League is a cutthroat business. With 16 teams (yes, half) making the playoffs each year, any team missing the playoffs is forced to evaluate what went wrong and how they can not be among those sad teams next season.
For the Seattle Kraken, the 2024-2025 season was a tough one to swallow. Despite both young promising talent and a stable of proven veterans, things never materialized. It ended up being a 76-point campaign for Seattle, the fourth-lowest in the NHL this season and the franchise’s lowest total since it’s inaugural season.
Certainly, something of a firesale at the trade deadline had something to do with it. Seattle parted with Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Brandon Tanev, and Daniel Sprong before the trade deadline clock struck midnight.
Still, the season ended with a flop and now the Kraken are looking for a new head coach for a second straight year.
Dan Bylsma is out after just one year on the job, leaving the Kraken to search for the franchise’s third ever head coach after just four seasons.
That isn’t the only move Seattle will be making either, according to various reports. The rumors are that general manager Ron Francis will be moved to a different position within the organization and assistant general manager Jason Botterill will take the controls as full-time replacement. Kraken fans are now left to wonder what moves will be made in an offseason filled with turnover.
Francis was optimistic after the haul they received at the trade deadline, saying “We’ve got 10 picks. We’re not sitting here hoping to draft 10 players, we’re hoping to use those picks as capital to try and acquire players and speed things up.”
That optimism gave fans hope that the turnaround time on the Kraken making upgrades and being in contention would be sooner rather than later. Now, it becomes an offseason of uncertainty with Blysma being one-and-done and a new general manager set to jump into the driver’s seat.
Still, the Kraken are flush with draft picks and cap space. There are various moves Seattle could make to become a contender again, even as soon as next season. That is, if the right moves are made with the right coach leading the way. All that now is cloudy at best.
