Kraken coach Dave Hakstol certainly enjoyed a swing in his team’s and his own fortunes this past season and on Wednesday was rewarded for it with a two-year contract extension.
Once anticipated to be on a coaching hot seat after a 60-point debut campaign, Hakstol, 54, saw his Kraken engineer a 40-point turnaround and make the playoffs in 2022-23 — eliminating Colorado and taking Dallas to seven games before bowing out in the second round. His efforts earned Hakstol a finalist nod for the Jack Adams Award handed out annually for the NHL’s coach of the year, and now have gotten his contract extended through the 2025-26 season.
“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 news release. “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.”
Hakstol’s hiring two years ago came as somewhat of a surprise given his name hadn’t been among a slew of highly-regarded veteran coaches being bandied about as the franchise’s first bench boss. But Francis had met him while they were working with Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championships in Slovakia and came away tremendously impressed by Hakstol’s work ethic.
The extension comes as the Kraken enter a period of heightened expectations coming off their 100-point campaign and playoff run.
“We are building something special here in Seattle. We have a committed staff, a great group of players and an incredible fanbase,” Hakstol said in Wednesday’s news release. “We took a lot of positive steps last season and we have much more to achieve. I’d like to thank Ron Francis, Tod Leiweke, as well as Samantha Holloway and the Kraken ownership group, for their continued faith in me.”
Hakstol never played or coached in the NHL before the Philadelphia Flyers hired him out of the University of North Dakota in 2015. His Flyers teams made the playoffs twice in three seasons before he was let go partway through his fourth campaign. He then spent two seasons as a Toronto Maple Leafs assistant before Francis gave him another shot at the head coaching job.
His lack of NHL pedigree dogged Hakstol throughout his otherwise relatively successful Flyers tenure — he went 134-101 over those three-plus regular seasons — and similar criticisms resurfaced when the inaugural Kraken team went just 27-49-6 for the league’s third worst record. But his sophomore 46-28-8 campaign saw Hakstol named a Jack Adams finalist alongside eventual winner Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins and hometown friend Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils.
Though Hakstol finished third in voting, his finalist appearance likely helped him shake any lingering stigma of his college-to-NHL coaching jump for good.
Kraken co-owner Holloway has spent ample time getting to know Hakstol and his thought processes since assuming a more active role in team operations in place of her father, billionaire co-owner David Bonderman, in January 2022.
“It has been a pleasure getting to know Dave over the last two years,” Holloway said of Hakstol in the same team release. “His achievements last year were remarkable, and his leadership skills and work ethic are admirable. I look forward to continued collaboration.”
