New Coaches in 2024-25: Dan Bylsma, Seattle Kraken

After a ton of success in the AHL with the Firebirds, the Kraken hope Bylsma will bring that to the Kraken in the near future.

The Seattle Kraken were supposed to take another step forward last season after surprising everyone and knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2023 Playoffs. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and instead of a playoff team with a 46-28-8 record, they fell to 34-35-13 and missed the postseason altogether.

Still a building franchise, general manager Ron Francis decided to move on from his inaugural head coach Dave Hakstol and hire from within, bringing in veteran bench boss Dan Bylsma, who has coached their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate for the past two seasons.

Bylsma’s Coaching Career Before Entering the Emerald City

After a long career in the NHL that saw him play 429 games for the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Bylsma retired in 2004 and turned to coaching. He immediately got a job in the Mighty Ducks’ organization with their AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, which he then parlayed into an assistant coaching gig with the New York Islanders a season later. He returned to the AHL as an assistant coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2006-07 and became their head coach in 2008-09, the same season he was promoted to the NHL to take over from Michel Therrien mid-season.

Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)

Bylsma took the Penguins on a remarkable run to end the year, going 18-3-4 in the regular season and 16-8 in the playoffs, winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since the Mario Lemieux days. He remained the Penguins’ coach for five seasons after that, compiling a 252-117-32 record in the regular season and a 43-35 record in the playoffs. He also won the Jack Adams Award in 2010-11.