Emerald City Hockey: Emily Kaplan on ESPN’s The Point on the Seattle Kraken firing Dave Hakstol on Monday.
Host: “Seattle fired Dave Hakstol Emily. That’s 17 coaching changes since the end of last season. Why and who could replace him?”
Kaplan: “Yeah, this one somewhat shocking, somewhat not shocking. What I can tell you is that Ron Francis did not want to make this move. Dave Hakstol is now one of four coaches who lost their jobs this cycle who didn’t even have their extension kick-in yet.
But I was told at the exit meetings with players, there was a handful of players, and pretty significant players, who made it clear to management, ‘I don’t want to play on this team in the future if Dave Hakstol is still the coach.’ And that forced them to make a change.
NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken
Paul McFarland an assistant also didn’t have the contract renewed.
If they look internally, Dan Bylsma is running their AHL team. You remember him from the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins has a very legitimate shot. He’s done a great job with Coachella Valley. They’re heading into the playoffs. They just had a bye after the first round.
But a lot of scuttlebutt I hear around the league is, can Ron Francis pry Rod Brind’Amour more away from Carolina? That’s a situation we wouldn’t see come to fruition until the Canes are eliminated.”
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times: Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis said that there is more at stake these days and the leashes are shorter for NHL coaches
“I think there’s so much at stake, right? The parity in the league is so close that on any given night you can win or lose.
“And the expectations are probably more intense now than they’ve ever been when you look at how teams can just get into the playoffs and have a chance to win the (Stanley) Cup.”
NHL Rumors: Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Seattle Kraken
Hakstol was let go before his contract extension kicked in. He wasn’t let go because of what was said during the players exit interviews. There will always be players griping about things. If there were issues between some players and the coach, management likely already new about it, so a decision to go a different direction was likely known weeks ago.