SEATTLE — The Seattle Kraken officially are moving on from the franchise's first-ever head coach after three seasons.
Dave Hakstol has been fired along with assistant Paul McFarland, the team announced Monday morning.
In his three seasons at the helm in Seattle, Hakstol had a 107-112-27 overall record. He helped guide the Kraken to its first playoff series win ever in 2022-23 when Seattle defeated the Colorado Avalanche in seven games.
“I thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to the Kraken franchise,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a team release. “Following our end-of-the-season review, we have decided to make a change at our head coach position. These decisions are never easy, but we feel this is a necessary step to help ensure our team continues to improve and evolve. Dave is a good coach and a terrific person. We wish him and his family all the best. We will begin our search for the Kraken’s next head coach immediately.”
The Kraken finished sixth out of eight teams in the Pacific Division in 2023-24, ending the regular season with 81 points.
Rumors around Hakstol's future in Seattle have been swirling since the team's last game in mid-April. Expectations were high for the Kraken entering this last season. The team missing the playoffs for the second time in three tries was a disappointment to many fans.
"Our goal is like a lot of teams: We want to make the playoffs," Francis said at a press conference Monday afternoon. "That's not why we made the change because we didn't make it this year but our goal is to get into the playoffs. Once you get into the playoffs, you look at the difference between the top teams and the teams that finished in the wild card spots there's not much (difference). You want an invitation to the dance. And once you get into the dance, you want to be able to have success while you're there."
Assistant coach Paul McFarland was also let go by the team in Monday's announcement.
Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award after the team's playoff run in 2022-23, given annually to the coach who "contributed the most to his team's success."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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