If you were expecting fireworks from the Seattle Kraken’s end-of-season locker cleanout days, you may have been disappointed. While there were plenty of interesting tidbits to be gleaned from what was said by the players and head coach Dave Hakstol on Saturday and general manager Ron Francis on Monday, no official bombs have been dropped at this point.
Coming in, we were at least half expecting some sort of big personnel-related news, seeing as things went sideways for this club, which couldn’t score its way out of a paper bag and finished 19 standings points worse than last season.
But, the always cautious and taciturn Ron Francis continued to slow play any adjustments while also not ruling them out.
The future of the coaching staff
While we weren’t *certain* changes to the coaching staff would come, we also wouldn’t have been shocked if something like this came out over the past couple of days.
Our spidey senses had been piqued for a couple of reasons. First, there is a precedent of changes to the coaching staff being announced in this setting. Two seasons ago, after the Kraken had dreadfully bad goaltending in their inaugural campaign, Francis announced at his end-of-season presser that goalie coach Andrew Allen would not return in that role (though Allen has remained on staff with Seattle as a pro scout). So, another such announcement after the Kraken failed to live up to expectations in 2023-24 wouldn’t have surprised us.
The other thing that made us wonder if there was a personnel-related announcement coming was Francis doing his availability solo. This doesn’t sound like that big of a thing, but Francis and Hakstol spoke with the media together as a united front last season, after the team reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and came up one goal shy of the Western Conference Final.
This season, Hakstol spoke after the players on Saturday, and Francis spoke alone on Monday. Was there something to that slight procedural change?
Francis was asked about the coaching staff, and he stopped short of any definitive declarations.
“It’s part of the process we go through now, right?” Francis said. “Meeting with the coaching staff, the management team, all that stuff, and assessing, and so we’re still in that process now.”
Francis then spoke at length about the many injuries the team sustained this season, and implied that those were being factored into any decisions the team is still making.
When asked specifically about Hakstol’s future with the organization, Francis said, “Well, you’re going to read into it one way or the other, but this is the process we do every year, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
So, that’s not exactly a resounding, ‘Yes, Dave Hakstol will be the head coach of the Seattle Kraken next season,’ but it’s also not a, ‘We’re moving on from Dave Hakstol’ type of response either.
Hearing Hakstol on Saturday, he sounded generally disappointed with the result of the season, but he also did not sound like a coach that expected to be terminated. Instead, Hakstol spoke a lot about his conversations with players and how he was pleased with their reactions to not making the playoffs.
“Most of the player meetings have been really good,” Hakstol said. “Just straight up, honest discussions, not necessarily individually based. We’ve got some really smart guys, we’ve got some great veterans, and everybody cares a lot. So today is… as we gain perspective, it’s also Day 1 or Day 2 of working toward solving some of the issues that lead to some inconsistencies.”
Reading the tea leaves, we truly don’t think anything has been decided on the coaching staff just yet. It’s entirely possible that the whole crew returns next season, but there is due diligence being done by the front office right now to help them make those calls.
Worth noting, we did ask defenseman Vince Dunn about how the message from the coaches was landing with the team in the later stages of the season, and here is what he said:
“I thought we responded to what they said the same way throughout the whole year. I think there’s only so much a coach can say, realistically. If you want to point fingers around the room, and it’s easy to do, it ultimately comes down to the guys in the dressing room, and we’re the ones out there that need to do what it takes to win. I think there’s obviously moments in the season where there’s tension between players and everything, with so many distractions and outside noise and so much pressure when it’s time to push for the playoffs. And the messages are very direct and very intense, but by no means was the dressing room lost.”
While no announcement of personnel changes has come yet, we still would not be shocked to see something happen on this front in the coming weeks.
Injury updates
Seattle finally got mostly healthy toward the end of the season, but Dunn, arguably the team’s best player, missed all but two games from March 4 onward after a very dirty hit by Calgary Flames forward Martin Pospisil.
Dunn declined on Saturday to tell us what the injury was, but Francis said Monday that it was a neck injury. On the plus side, Dunn did imply that he was close to 100 percent, but that the injury was one he didn’t want to “mess with.” So, we would expect him to be fully healthy in time for training camp.
Jared McCann missed a few days toward the end of the season but returned for the last couple games. He said he is fully healthy and will join Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF World Championship.
Francis also revealed that Jordan Eberle broke his hand early in the season in his lone fight of the year, after Logan O’Connor of the Colorado Avalanche made him “answer the bell” for injuring Andrew Cogliano in the playoffs last season. Eberle played through the injury.
Shane Wright talk
Both Francis and Hakstol spoke highly of top prospect Shane Wright and his recent stint with the team in which he racked up five points (4-1—5) in five games between April 1 and April 11 before returning to Coachella Valley.
Here’s what Dave Hakstol said:
“Really positive performances for Shane in his games with us here at the end of the season. The offensive piece is an easy one again to evaluate, and he produced there. He produced on a consistent basis, and he looked like he was ready to do it, right? Some of the goals that he scored, they were National Hockey League goals. They were inside, they were on and off his tape, so very, very positive in that sense. Some of the other growth is a little bit harder to evaluate through stats, but things you can see with your eyes, he’s much more comfortable with the puck on his tape in tight spaces, getting us out of our zone, really a ton of advancement in his game defensively, positionally, from stick detail to positioning of his feet, his body. So, we saw some great growth in his game.”
And Ron Francis:
“In Shane’s case, I’ve always seen things in his game that we like. I think he’s come a long way in his development. I think he’s much more confident, I think he’s having fun again playing the game, and the stint he had up here, I’m not sure it could have went much better other than if he got the hat trick in Anaheim, then it would be really good… We see a bright future for Shane in the organization. I don’t think there’s any reason why he couldn’t make our team coming out of camp [next season].”
Will the team name a captain?
The team will at least have discussions about the *idea* of naming a captain this offseason.
Said Hakstol, “I’m not leaning either way on that. That’s a discussion that I think is a valid discussion to have, as we get into the early part of this offseason.”
Added Francis, “We talked about that as the season went along, looking at naming a captain next year.”
Fans seem to care about this a lot, but we really don’t think it has a huge bearing on the success (or not) of the team. Leaders can lead regardless of if they have a ‘C’ on their jersey.
Contractual items
Francis implied that conversations would be starting very soon with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen to try to “get something done.” He also indicated the team will have to make a decision on whether or not to qualify Kailer Yamamoto, who has arbitration rights. “If we qualify him, then he can take us to [arbitration].”
It’s just our guess, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Yamamoto is cut loose this offseason.
Meanwhile, Francis was coy about his unrestricted free agents, but we did ask defenseman Justin Schultz about his future.
“It’s still pretty early,” Schultz said. “Obviously, I love it here, and there’s still a lot to be played out. We’ll see what happens over the summer.”
Again, just looking at his fit with the club now that Ryker Evans has mostly proven he’s ready for the NHL, we would expect Seattle to let Schultz move on, but we shall see.
General takeaways
The general mood of the press availabilities was unsurprisingly one of disappointment. The Kraken players expected to still be playing at this point, and they recognized that they could have performed better this season.
“I think maybe we came into the year thinking things were just going to be the same, and we’ll just [make the playoffs] again, and it didn’t turn out that way,” Eberle said. “So I think you’ll see a different team that will come back and try and get back to that point next year.”
The slow start to the season was also a common theme, as was the sharp decrease in scoring. Hakstol had some interesting things to say about the team’s offense in the below video clip.
Now the Kraken players have a full offseason ahead of them to recuperate, train, and marinate on what it’s like to be done playing in April. If nothing else, hopefully we see a quicker start out of the gates in 2024-25.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at soundofhockey.com and the host of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is a member of the PHWA and is also usually SOH’s Twitter intern (but please pretend you don’t know that). Follow him @DarrenFunBrown and @sound_hockey or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but putting the blame for this season on Hak would be wrong. We all knew that we weren’t going to get the goal scoring that we had last year and a playoff appearance was unlikely. Throw in the injuries and the season is sunk right there. However, I expect the coaching staff to be responsible for getting the team ready to play each game and there were far too many where we came out flat or didn’t respond adequately during the game. If a coaching change is not the answer then maybe a louder voice in the lockerroom is? I don’t know but I do know that this team desperately needs goal scorers or else we’re never going to be good enough. Great work this year BTW DFB.
Hakstol has gotten his teams to the playoffs three times in the seven seasons he’s started as the head coach… but he hasn’t had a winning record even once after ten games.
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15/16. 4-6
16/17. 4-6
17/18. 5-5
18/19. 4-6
21/22. 3-7
22/23. 4-6
23/24. 3-7
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If you think Hakstol will have the Kraken ready to go at the beginning of next season…. prepare to be disappointed… again.
i think u r wrong. last year was a fluke? He did that with players that failed with other teams. No other coach could have done as well as Hakstol did.
Last year may have been a “fluke”… I don’t deny that. Staring poor EVERY season is not a fluke… it’s the norm.
You cannot coach winning hockey if you do not have winning players. This is all on Francis and he is bringing down Seattle like he did with Carolina. Francis should go, not Hasktol.
🤣🤣 you were doing so well when you made your Hakstol comment and you well full moron here.
We don’t allow name calling in our comment section. Disagree all you want, but don’t call each other names. Keep it cordial. This is your warning.
Hey McNubb… have you checked out the Athletic?
They don’t cover the Kraken, but I think you might enjoy the comment sections.
Where is Francis’ boss in all this?
The Kraken appear to be mired in mediocrity and this lays fully at Francis’ door. It is Carolina redux.
Vegas has missed the playoffs once in six seasons. Seattle has already missed twice in three seasons. Francis has not installed a winning culture.
The franchise needs a culture change. That can only happen when the broom comes out and new leadership is brought in.
Utah will get all the focus in the west next season, as a visible and dynamic owner takes charge. Where is Seattle’s ownership hiding?
How can so many people quote Vegas and Carolina and know nothing about the situations that led to their results. Your knowledge about the Kraken plan is also severely lacking. From day 1 the plan was to build from the draft. This year prove that things are going well with that respect. Last year was kind of a flukey run due to insane shooting percent and health: this year was the opposite with a regression below average and insanely bad injury luck. It’s always the most uneducated that are the loudest when things go wrong.
Please elaborate…. There was a reason why RF was fired and it was the best decision for the future for the franchise. I don’t think we should be getting rid of Francis this year but I could see that it could also be the best option for the franchise in another few years. It was widely considered to be an unsuccessful expansion draft and yea after the draft our only option was to build through the draft….. Lots of good players were left on the table, players that could have at least turned into picks at the deadline. The Gru signing????
Francis isn’t going anywhere this season mostly because he will almost certainly get a coaching change to show it isn’t his fault. The writing is on the wall for 🔥H. He is a VERY inconsistent coach who seems to have trouble getting his players ready for games (even during our “good year”)… that’s on the coach. He’s never once taken any responsibility for anything he’s always just pointing fingers. The system he’s running!!!! It’s so simple, predictable and easy to defend against. That goes for our PP and our zone exists and entrees.
I’m curious about another thing, Gru came back more focused than we ever have seen him in Seattle when his starting job was clearly being questioned. Seems to me that he is and always has been capable but most often is not ready to go or motivated enough to preform at his best. He was certainly motivated during the playoff series vs his former team, he was definitely motivated when his job was on the line. Would a different coach have better success with Gru, could he be a better goalie under another coach, does he need tougher love and more pressure to be at his best? I’m very curious to see how he performs under other coach.
I don’t think you as a GM say the things RF said without planning on firing 🔥H. Nothing positive and he was very clear that he is considering a coaching change. My personal opinion is that he has made his decision already but is going to wait until the fire birds have completed their playoffs before announcing a coaching change. Mostly to keep the situation stable down in the valley as Dan has to be a very likely candidate.
Ridiculous response. If you note my namesake, I have been involved with the game since then and have forgotten more than you will clearly ever know about this sport. The Kraken plan? Any boss in any business can come in and say “I will spend lots of money for the next five years but promise no results.” How long do you think they will last?
That is what Francis’ plan essentially is. Francis is doing everything he did in Carolina, misjudging goalie talent, not doing anything bold, waiting for the draftees to pay off, etc. He seems to have learned nothing from it. It is clear who are the talented GMs around the league and who are the lesser ones making nothing happen. Francis’ only TDL move was to get the 65th draft pick for Wennberg, in a year when teams were crying out for centers.
Vegas was and is different because Vegas leadership was a lot bolder from the get go. They created their better drafting situation, under the exact same rules the Kraken had. They still are, hiding Stone on LTIR this year to allow them to bring in 3 additional players for another Cup run. Bending the rules to win. Can anyone imagine Francis being that bold?
Injuries happen to every team, that is no excuse to hide behind. Three seasons are enough to get a good measure of progress. We know why Francis is doing what he is doing but where are the Kraken owners? They seem to be absentee owners in hockey operations.
Why do people seem to not understand that Carolina not missing the playoffs once since Francis left is a direct result of his emphasis on drafting and developing talent? Or the collective GM lunacy that led to Vegas’ current state?
Bringing in new leadership in a knee-jerk fashion with a newly established franchise is not a smart move. Throw all the tantrums you want, the reality is this organization is in a good place but will need to suffer through a few more years of borderline teams before consistent playoff appearances can be a reasonable expectation. If your expectations are much higher you aren’t being realistic, and that’s on you. If this same stuff is happening in year 6 and 7 then I think there is a case to be made that Francis hasn’t installed a winning culture. To make that judgement now is a bit silly.
I feel like Hak got wins commensurate with talent. This team needs more goal scorers. The Kraken will start rising from the depths when young players we drafted mature a bit more.
The team has stuck to their guns with the long game while still putting out a competitive product. I like that.
I don’t agree, we should have been better than our record showed this season. I feel H was more concerned with shots on goal than shot quality. So many shots from bad areas with nobody within 15 feet of the net. Shoot the *$#% puck H got what he wanted and it was just boring hockey for the rest of us. Yes our team still has holes to fill but much of what we saw is on H.
I said this a few weeks ago, the team NEEDS to show that it’s committed to winning to sell tickets. The proper direction is definitely building from the draft, coaching change is the best option to show the fan base that they are committed without doing anything stupid like overspending via free agency or a trade for top end talent. Committing to long heavy contracts now will just keep up mediocre for years, yes possibly get us into the playoffs but not past a round or two.
You certainly may be right about the “just shoot it” mentality. But I wonder if that comes mostly because the Kraken lack enough talented offensive players to do otherwise? Beniers is talented but gets muscled way too much. Burakovsky has some of that talent but has been injured too much. I don’t feel like the Kraken had around .500 talent considering injuries, and thats where they ended up.
The very last thing I want is for the team to move their chips in too early and start trading picks and prospects too early. I feel confident that won’t happen with our current leadership.
I’m not a big hockey guy. I will admit I don’t know the game like many on here. But I do feel like I can understand the strategy involved of building a team. If you have a GM who consistently drafts above average and you lean into the draft, the team will eventually hit big.
A few thoughts…..first being the absent ownership and lacking of clear direction for the team. What is the goal and the plan to reach that goal….seems listless, just like Ron’s responses
So the lack of clarity starts from the top….there doesn’t need to be ownership messing with hockey decisions, however, having a direction and goal set from the top with the right people and plan in place to execute.
Next is to Ron…..he has historically said the team will be build through the draft, however, goes and signs a Oleksiak to big ticket for #5, then signs Dumoulin to multiple years when there are prospects that should be ready in year 4. Ron’s record in Carolina was always a slow an methodical approach facilitated and encouraged by a cheap owner. His draft picks in Carolina have proven to be excellent and his track record so far has been above average and time will tell if he can get to Dallas levels of incredible drafting. I’ll include some expansion picks that were long-term picks like Daccord, Borgen, Larsson, Yanni, McCann and Dunn. This is preferred if you are building long-term vs aggressive win at all costs (see Vegas).
What Ron should really be criticized for is his FA signings, WOOF! His replacements for the fourth line (Yamo, PEB) this year were just plain bad and in now way looks good. Geekie is playing great for Boston but couldn’t get more time on this team (see Hak comments later). No further than Gru, who is a backup goal and will be an anchor for the next several years. It will be painful to have $10mm on goalies with Joey and Gru in two years, yikes. Burky can’t stay healthy (a known issue), Schwartz with a NMC, Yamo, PEB, not a great look.
His trades have largely been solid, but opportunistic. Clearly the Bjorky was great and Eeli was a nice snag but Tatar and not getting more for a Wennberg or Yanni or others that were being looked at.
All-in, I think Ron has more runway…will get one more coach pick (this year) and have two years to get that coach the right players
On the Hak front, I think he is gone. He was not handed the best roster and the roster is far to thin to handle normal amounts of injury (Ron’s fault). In my opinion the writing was on the wall down the stretch when the Coach is trying to make the plays and has Tatar playing with the rookies in the press box. The GM brought up the young guns for experience and the Coach is in win now mode.
Hak’s inability to change systems for driving offense is a problem. And his inability to take any personal accountability was disappointing. It is always odd to say a coach needs to get the players ‘ready’ to start the game…I mean these are paid professional athletes, they shouldn’t need motivation. So it is either this group really does need more motivation for some reason or they are unprepared or lack clarity of game plan. (insert popular response goals against clip here)
All-in, I think Hak is gone. The organization already has their next coach in Dan Bylsma, who last year lost in the Calder Cup Finals in Game 7 in Overtime. He then won the Western Conference and was second best team in the AHL this year. Oh, did I mention he has a Cup.
Despite lack of color from ownership, management or the GM, it seems building through the draft is the plan. When you have the coach of said draft picks doing an amazing job and the proven inability to sign FA, you must play with your own hand.
I think Danny B was always the backup plan for Hak. The organization was in position to make this move from the beginning and this always felt like the plan. Plan: 1) Build for the long-term at the expense of near term success; 2) Hire a cheap head coach for three years; 3) Hire hungry, proven NHL coach for AHL team to create incredible pipeline of well coached draft picks; 4) Move on from cheap head coach; 5) promote Stanley Cup coach from AHL to NHL who already has a history with the draft picks; 6) Position team for success in years 4 and beyond
This plan was altered with over achievement in year two….and now need to hope the draft picks progress as quickly as possible because the business side is going to be suffering. I don’t believe the Kraken get any dollars from the Utah move, so they need to start winning before the Sonics return or this little experiment is moving