The Seattle Kraken announced Wednesday that they have extended head coach Dave Hakstol through the 2025-26 season. The financial details of the contract have not been made public. Hakstol is the first head coach in Kraken history and has overseen a dramatic rise from expansion team to playoff team in just two seasons.
“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,” general manager Ron Francis said, via NHL.com. “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. Dave helped guide this team to a 40-point improvement and was a Jack Adams finalist for coach of the year. That recognition is well deserved.”
Francis took a largely unexpected route to the expansion draft. He went for some players that appeared to be middling talents and created a team that has a proper balance in all positions. After the immense success of the Vegas Golden Knights just a few years prior, there was pressure to have immediate success.
The Kraken didn’t have much on-ice success in the first year of their existence, finishing third-last in the NHL. They only had one player reach the 50-point plateau and had some of the worst goaltending in the league. However, they soldiered on and didn’t change their plan from the beginning.
In the second year of their franchise history, they didn’t have high expectations following the 30th place finish the year before. They were a pleasant surprise in the 2022-23 season, however. The Kraken finished first in the wild card with a record of 46-28-8 and 100 points to qualify for the playoffs.
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