SEATTLE KRAKEN

Kraken extend coach Dave Hakstol through 2025-26 season

Jul 19, 2023, 11:31 AM

Seattle Kraken Dave Hakstol...

Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol during a morning skate on Oct. 23, 2021. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken on Wednesday signed coach Dave Hakstol to a contract extension through the 2025-26 season after he led the franchise to the second round of the playoffs in its second season.

Will Seattle Kraken offseason moves change system that led them to playoffs?

Hakstol had one-year remaining on the three-year contract he got when he was named the first coach in franchise history before the start of the 2021-22 season. He received the new deal tacking on two more seasons because of what Seattle was able to accomplish in Year 2.

“We believe we are heading in the right direction with Dave as our head coach and it was important to show that confidence with this contract extension,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a statement. “Dave and his staff have done a great job of creating a close-knit, team-first mindset in our locker room and their work ethic helps set the tone for our team.”

Seattle made a 40-point jump from Year 1 to Year 2, finishing with 46 wins and 100 points. The Kraken hovered around the top of the Pacific Division for most of the season and earned the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

In the opening round of their first playoffs, the Kraken knocked off defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado in seven games, before falling to Dallas in Game 7 of the conference semifinals.

Along the way, Hakstol was lauded for finding a system that worked with Seattle’s style of play and using the entirety of the Kraken lineup. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.

“We are building something special here in Seattle. We have a committed staff, a great group of players and an incredible fanbase,” Hakstol said. “We took a lot of positive steps last season and we have much more to achieve.”

Hakstol, 54, was a surprise choice as Seattle’s first head coach when he was hired in the summer of 2021 ahead of the NHL expansion draft. He had marginal success in his first head coaching stint in the NHL with Philadelphia, taking the Flyers to the postseason twice but never advancing beyond the first round. The Flyers also never reached the 100-point mark in the regular season and Hakstol was fired midway through the 2018-19 season.

His first season in Seattle was a challenge, trying to pull together an entirely new squad with COVID-19 restrictions still in place and the overwhelming expectations of trying to come close to what Vegas did in its expansion season, when it made the playoffs.

Seattle fell short in its expansion season, putting some pressure on Hakstol and his staff to show significant improvement in the second season. The Kraken did more than that, rolling off win streaks of eight and seven games in the first half of the season to establish Seattle’s legitimacy as a playoff team.

The 40-point increase for Seattle was the largest in league history for a team from its first to second season.

Hakstol is the second member of Seattle’s staff to receive an extension this offseason; Francis signed an extension in May that will keep him locked up with the franchise through the 2026-27 season.

More on the Seattle Kraken

Seattle Kraken sign 9-year vet Bellemare, bring back Borgen
Kraken sign Kailer Yamamoto, Spokane native and ex-Oiler
Kraken sign veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin to 2-year deal
Morosi: Why Eduard Sale was ‘a really good 1st pick’ for Seattle Kraken
2023 NHL Draft Recap: Who did the Seattle Kraken pick?

Seattle Kraken

Seattle Kraken Colorado Avalanche Artturi Lehkonen...

Dennis Georgatos

Lehkonen scores go-ahead goal as Avalanche beat Kraken 6-3

Arturri Lehkonen scored the go-ahead goal on a power play in his season debut and Nathan MacKinnon had five assists as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 6-3 on Tuesday night.

2 days ago

Seattle Kraken Boston Bruins...

The Associated Press

Seattle Kraken shut out again in 2-0 loss to Boston Bruins

Jeremy Swayman had 23 saves and his first shutout of the season, and the Boston Bruins beat the Seattle Kraken 2-0 on Sunday night.

4 days ago

Seattle Kraken Shane Wright...

The Associated Press

Kraken shut down by Senators in 3-0 loss

The struggles continue for the Seattle Kraken as they fall to the Ottawa Senators and lose for the fifth time in six games.

5 days ago

Seattle Kraken Jordan Eberle Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews 2024...

The Associated Press

Kraken fall 4-1 to Maple Leafs for 4th loss in 5 games

Two days after an eight-goal explosion, the Seattle Kraken were shut out until the closing minutes in a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

7 days ago

Jessica Campbell Seattle Kraken...

The Associated Press

Trailblazing Kraken assistant Jessica Campbell: ‘I’m part of something a lot bigger’

“As I go through these moments, I don’t take it lightly, the path that I’m on and charting,” said Seattle Kraken assistant Jessica Campbell, the first female coach in the NHL.

7 days ago

Seattle Kraken Matty Beniers Winnipeg Jets...

Brent Stecker

Why coach Dan Bylsma believes Kraken can be ‘real dangerous’

"Guys recognized really early on," Seattle Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said, "that when we when we play together, when we play connected, when we play as five-man units, we can be a dangerous team."

7 days ago

Kraken extend coach Dave Hakstol through 2025-26 season