The Seattle Kraken have officially relieved Dan Bylsma of his head coaching duties. And based on a handful of other reports and sources, the changes don’t stop there.
The Kraken appear to be “kicking” Ron Francis further upstairs, to a President of Hockey Operations role, and introducing current assistant general manager Jason Botterill as the new GM.
Botterill was the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres from 2017 to 2020.
This whirlwind of activity follows an unsuccessful, sometimes uninspired fourth season for the franchise. The Kraken were effectively out of the playoff picture since February. Their regular season ended last week.
“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Francis said in an official press release. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench. Dan is a great person and a respected coach. He played an important role in the development of many of our young prospects and was a big part of our early success in Coachella Valley. We sincerely wish him and his family nothing but success moving forward.”
Bylsma coached the AHL affiliate to back-to-back Calder Cup finals in 2023 and 2024. That team finished fourth in the Pacific Division this season and begins the playoffs on Tuesday.
The club will immediately begin an NHL-wide search for Bylsma’s replacement.
