Seattle Kraken Coach Search: 5 names insiders say are in mix

We have officially passed the one-month mark of the Seattle Kraken not having a head coach.

The Kraken surprisingly moved on from Dan Bylsma after just one season on April 21, and at the same time restructured their front office by promoting original general manager Ron Francis to team president, and assistant general manager Jason Botterill to the GM role.

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Since then, there have been a lot of names that have come off the list of available coaches – most notably Rick Tocchet, who left Vancouver for Philadelphia, and most recently former Detroit coach Jeff Blashill, who landed Chicago’s head coach job Thursday.

So who’s left?

There are five names who have been mentioned by hockey insiders in the last week as potential fits for the Kraken who are still out there.

Most recently, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Wednesday that the Kraken would talk to Toronto assistant coach Lane Lambert, joining David Quinn and former Everett Silvertips player and assistant coach Mitch Love as candidates “believed” to also be in the mix.

Seattle continues to work through its process in hiring a head coach. Toronto has granted the Kraken permission to speak with Lane Lambert. Mitch Love and David Quinn believed to be among those in the mix as well.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 21, 2025

Late last week, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said Love and Marco Sturm are on the Kraken’s “list” during an episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, and added Quinn and Don Granato as possible targets.

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Here’s a quick look at who each of those five names are.

Potential Seattle Kraken coach candidates

• Mitch Love

Currently an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals, the 40-year-old British Columbia native has strong ties to the Puget Sound. Not only did he play for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL from 2003-05, he returned to the team in 2011 and was an assistant coach for the Tips until 2018. He was head coach of another WHL team, the Saskatoon Blades, from 2018-21. He then led the Stockton Heat (2021-22) and Calgary Wranglers (2022-23) – the AHL affiliate for the NHL’s Calgary Flames (the franchise moved in 2022) – to back-to-back Pacific Division titles.

• Lane Lambert

The associate head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past year, the 60-year-old Lambert previously was head coach of the New York Islanders. He led the Islanders to a fourth-place finish in the Metropolitan Division in 2022-23, his first season as the team’s coach, and they lost in the first round of the playoffs to Carolina. He was then fired 45 games into the 2023-24 season. As a player, Lambert was a forward in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques in the 1980s.

• David Quinn

A Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach, the 58-year-old Quinn is also head coach of the US men’s national team. A first-round draft pick as a defenseman in 1984, Quinn never made it to the NHL as a player but has twice been a head coach in the league – three seasons with the New York Rangers (2018-21), and two with the San Jose Sharks (2022-24). He also had a successful five-season run from 2013-18 as head coach at Boston University.

• Marco Sturm

A native of Germany, the 46-year-old Sturm is the current head coach of the Ontario Reign, the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings. Sturm was a one-time NHL All-Star while playing wing in 1999 for the Sharks. He also spent time with the Bruins, Kings, Capitals, Canucks and Panthers over an NHL career that lasted from 1997 to 2011. He has been head coach and general manager of the German national team, and spent time as an assistant coach with the Kings.

• Don Granato

The 57-year-old Granato has a connection to new Kraken GM Botterill, as Botterill was Buffalo Sabres GM when Granato was hired as the team’s assistant head coach in 2019. While Botterill was let go by Buffalo in 2021, Granato became the team’s head coach in 2021. In three-plus seasons as Sabres coach from 2021-24, Granato went 122-125 with no playoff appearances. Granato is a member of a famous hockey family that includes brother Tony, who played 15 years in the NHL, and sister Cammi, a Hall of Famer considered one of the best women’s hockey players in history.

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