Kraken fire Dave Hakstol

[BHD]

Keep in mind, Dan Bylsma is coach of the Firebirds in the AHL. Not saying he should get the job, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an interview.

 

[Scomerica]

Seattle overachieved last year. This past season they came back down to earth.

They let Geekie and Sprong leave last year. Both would have been 3rd and 4th top scorer in the Kraken. The guys they brought in didn't do as well. I don't think either Hakstol or Francis look great after that (there's been talk neither player liked Hakstol and players were sometimes left confused on what to do).

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

new coaching staff: AV, Gallant, and Quinn.

 

[majormajor]

This is a bizarre take.

Hakstol is a run-of-the-mill coach. He was meh in Philly and meh in Seattle. His teams always are poor at scoring chance generation, because he relies on an antiquated style of play.

That's a swing and a miss.

Seattle had the best 5v5 offense in the league a year ago.

With the rosters they've had to work with, Seattle has beat expectations offensively.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Bit surprising. Seattle has a pretty mid roster yet were still in the playoff picture for a spell. I don't know how much more they could expect from any coach but I suppose someone has to be blamed?

 

[BHD]

I had a hard time seeing him take them to the next level.

 

[Curufinwe]

Hak has the emotional intelligence of a cucumber.

That's a swing and a miss.

Seattle had the best 5v5 offense in the league a year ago.

A bunch of guys had career years. Once that fluke was over, normal service resumed.

 

[GKJ]

Keep in mind, Dan Bylsma is coach of the Firebirds in the AHL. Not saying he should get the job, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an interview.

He’s the likely favorite

 

[NYR94]

Crazy how expansion coaches get no rope nowadays

Vegas early success set a high standard.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

I don’t get this move honestly.

 

[StickShift]

“Release the kraken!

Or, at least the coach of the Kraken. Release him.”

 

[57special]

He's the one holding back Shane Wright from the stardom that will surely be his.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I'm not enamored with Hakstol as a coach long term but what is the expectation here? He got a lot out of what isn't a great roster. Maybe they need a better tank commander!

 

[BB79]

He’s the likely favorite

Sabres fan says LOL good luck Kraken

 

[cptjeff]

That or Ron Francis thinks his roster is better than it is.

Oh, very likely that one. Francis thought his 5 year plan was on the verge of success in Carolina, too. After he was fired, Waddell and the Borg (the post Francis Canes are big into collaborative decision making) wound up overhauling literally half of the roster in the first year. Francis's version of the team was a mediocre team that was always at the bottom of the bubble looking up, and he thought he had something far better than it was.

Francis is a passive GM who takes zero risks. In a competitive business like sports, you have to take risks to gain advantage. It's not just enough to manage your team well and make it better year over year, you have to make it better more than the next guys are making their team better. Francis is showing the same tendencies in Seattle. Just be patient and we'll somehow magically get better.

He's served as a GM for 7 NHL seasons and has only made the playoffs as a GM once. At some point, the finger has to point at him.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Oh, very likely that one. Francis thought his 5 year plan was on the verge of success in Carolina, too. After he was fired, Waddell and the Borg (the post Francis Canes are big into collaborative decision making) wound up overhauling literally half of the roster.

Francis is a passive GM who takes zero risks. In a competitive business like sports, you have to take risks to gain advantage. It's not just enough to manage your team well and make it better year over year, you have to make it better more than the next guys are making their team better. Francis is showing the same tendencies in Seattle. Just be patient and we'll somehow magically get better.

He's served as a GM for 7 NHL seasons and has only made the playoffs as a GM once. At some point, the finger has to point at him.

To be fair to Francis, he was left with an absolute quagmire of a roster when he took over from Rutherford, with many albatross contracts and no prospect pool to speak of. Much of his time here was more about fixing mistakes of the past and setting up the organization for future success.

 

[TheBeard]

Seattle saw David Quinn was suddenly available.

 

[613Leafer]

Stupid. He’s a good coach. He smoked Bednar in the playoffs last year. Completely out coached the Avs.

It looks like a classic case of a GM who built a mediocre roster blaming the coach for not squeezing a contender out of the mediocre roster.

 

[Rebels57]

Keep in mind, Dan Bylsma is coach of the Firebirds in the AHL. Not saying he should get the job, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an interview.

Francis hiring Bylsma would be the least surprising move I can think of.

Oh, very likely that one. Francis thought his 5 year plan was on the verge of success in Carolina, too. After he was fired, Waddell and the Borg (the post Francis Canes are big into collaborative decision making) wound up overhauling literally half of the roster in the first year. Francis's version of the team was a mediocre team that was always at the bottom of the bubble looking up, and he thought he had something far better than it was.

Francis is a passive GM who takes zero risks. In a competitive business like sports, you have to take risks to gain advantage. It's not just enough to manage your team well and make it better year over year, you have to make it better more than the next guys are making their team better. Francis is showing the same tendencies in Seattle. Just be patient and we'll somehow magically get better.

He's served as a GM for 7 NHL seasons and has only made the playoffs as a GM once. At some point, the finger has to point at him.

Francis and Hextall are one in the same.

 

[jbron]

Hakstol should have never been hired. He was terrible in Philly and if not for a car conversation in Europe with GM Ron Francis he would have never been in Seattle. If you watched the Kraken for the last three years you would really wonder what identity the team has. Their play was inconsistent,
haphazard, and head scratching at best. Ownership should have also shown Francis the door as well. Ron Francis is responsible for this mess. Francis did an underwhelming job in the expansion draft and a below average job in free agency. He brought in a bunch of 2nd and 3rd line players that are either pass prime, under low price contracts, and expected them to out perform their ability. Beniers
regressed, Schwartz can't stay healthy ( not a surprise) , Eberle regressed and was resigned, Grubauer should never have been signed to that contract, and only three players are actually worth keeping in McCann, Dunn, and possibly Bjorkstrand. Non of which are elite . Seattle deserves better than a conservative GM who built an average roster planning to take chances building through the draft. Looking at the Western Conference are the Kraken even considered in the top ten teams on the ice or with prospects in their system? With the roster Ron built it could be years till they compete.
Blow it up now and cut Ronnie loose as well. Bring in a GM that's savvy enough to have the vision to establish a team identity, culture, and plan for the future.

 

[sigma six]

Bylsma's fine where he is, thanks.

 

[cptjeff]

To be fair to Francis, he was left with an absolute quagmire of a roster when he took over from Rutherford, with many albatross contracts and no prospect pool to speak of. Much of his time here was more about fixing mistakes of the past and setting up the organization for future success.

And he left the team with an absolute quagmire of a roster, and the new management was able to fix it much more quickly. And apart from Semin (and you could argue both the Staals, but he didn't fix Jordan's and he just waited out Eric's contract), he didn't inherit any true albatross contracts, everyone else was pretty reasonable. The best defense was that Karmanos had basically no liquid assets and refused to spend on the team, making otherwise 'whatever' contracts seem more burdensome than they actually were, but the way Francis 'fixed' those was also just waiting. And when Dundon came in and wanted to spend and asked Francis to be more aggressive, Francis simply refused.

 

[majormajor]

If you watched the Kraken for the last three years you would really wonder what identity the team has. Their play was inconsistent,
haphazard, and head scratching at best.

I've watched the Kraken for the last three years and I don't think this is remotely accurate.

They were a low talent roster that played to a team oriented identity - smart, swarming, stifling, whatever you want to call it. They were a decent team up until the last quarter of the season this year when the wheels fell off.

 

[Scomerica]

Seems like a kneejerk reaction, but then again Vegas made a few kneejerk changes only to eventually win a Cup, so they must think there's a blueprint there.

I think it's a sacrificial lamb. I think Kraken ownership are putting pressure on Francis to be more aggressive behind the scenes and gain more relevancy in the Seattle sports market (they didn't capitalize on the momentum of last seasons play offs).

Last season was boring to watch and as mediocre as it gets and i'm not sure how they fix it barring some prospects going beyond expectations and hoping they get good value for some of their ageing players like Gourde. The Kraken also charge top dollar for tickets.

UW football coming off a national championship appearance, Seahawks turning the page on the next chapter and making changes to try and contend again, Mariners looking like they could be a play off team and the possibility of the Sonics return being announced at the end of the year. The only team in the doldrums right now are the Sounders.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

my buddy is a flyers fan and I have only heard bad things about this guy so im not surprised