The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma on Monday, ending his tenure after one season far out of playoff contention.
The Kraken regressed after Bylsma took over for Dave Hakstol, who coached them for their first four seasons of existence and got them to the playoffs in 2023. They finished 35-41-6 for 76 points — 20 back of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference — after 81 the previous season.
Bylsma had been promoted from within after coaching the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds to back-to-back Calder Cup Finals. He won the Stanley Cup as Pittsburgh's coach in 2009 and the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2011.
This was his third head-coaching job in the NHL after an ill-fated two-year stint with the Buffalo Sabres from 2015-17. He’s the third coach fired in as many days after Anaheim parted with Greg Cronin and the New York Rangers dismissed Peter Laviolette.
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
