Last night the Kraken teased us with an announcement for this morning. Most expected it to be the announcement of the hiring of Rick Tocchet, while I personally thought it was going to be the jersey reveal. It turns out it was neither as Ron Francis has introduced Dave Hakstol as the first coach for the Seattle Kraken.
Most know Hakstol for his tenure as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Over his four seasons with the Flyers his teams posted a 134-101-42 record. He was the first coach to make the jump from the NCAA to the NHl in 25 years. It was during his fourth season in December 2018 when the team began to struggle that Hakstol was fired. One note is that during his first year as head coach he did help the Flyers make it to the post season where they lost in the first round.
Prior to joining the NHL, Hakstol coached for the University of North Dakota and helped a number of players that would go on to have successful NHL careers such as T.J. Oshie, Jonathan Toews, Travis Zajac, and Aaron Dell. It is this growth and development that will be a crucial part of the job description for Hakstol.
Hakstol's time with the Flyers was tumultuous. He lacked the initial experience of an NHL head coach and at no time did he seem to truly have the confidence of either his team or the management of the Flyers. Both sides need to wear that and it's for that reason there are going to be many unhappy with bringing in a hire like Hakstol.
The positives are that since his time in Philly he has gained more experience. In 2017 he joined Gallant and Jon Cooper to coach the Canadian IIHF men's team. After being fired by the Flyers, Hakstol joined the Leafs as an assistant coach, originally with Babcock but even after Mike was relieved of duty, Hakstol was kept on.
Ron Francis spent a long time on picking his coach so for now Kraken fans should be excited that they gave their first coach. Hakstol will quickly be brought into the fold as both he and Ron Francis and the rest of the management team make their decisions on who to select in the Expansipm Draft.