Seattle Kraken extend head coach Dave Hakstol through 2025-26 season
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 27: Head coach Dave Hakstol of the Seattle Kraken looks on during the second period against the Calgary Flames at Climate Pledge Arena on January 27, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SEATTLE - The Seattle Kraken have given head coach Dave Hakstol a contract extension through the 2025-26 season, the team announced on Wednesday.
"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," said Ron Francis, General Manager of the Seattle Kraken. "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."
In his second season as head coach of the Kraken, Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award which is given annually to the top coach in the NHL. Hakstol finished third behind Boston’s Jim Montgomery and Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils.
Under Hakstol’s leadership on the bench, the Kraken made a 40-point improvement in the standings in their second season of play. Seattle reached the second round of the playoffs and took the Dallas Stars to seven games as they just missed a chance to reach the Western Conference Final.
"Dave and the staff did a great job," Francis said in May. "I thought (there) was probably some unfair criticism thrown that way in the first year.
"Ultimately Dave’s the one that’s, on a daily basis, in the room, steering that ship. I get to sit up top and watch, and we have conversations, but he has to go in every day and work that room. You saw it from our guys from start to finish. They were a gutsy group, a gritty group, and that’s a reflection on him and how he prepares and wants his teams to play.
"So really excited, not only for the Jack Adams Award nomination, but the fact that the team had the season it did. And he gets some recognition because it’s well deserved."
Hakstol helped make some key changes as the season progressed that helped the Kraken become a legitimate playoff contender.
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After losing their first three overtime games, the team held a practice that was largely dedicated to cleaning up the 3-on-3 overtime format. Seattle would win their next seven overtime games and nine out of ten over the rest of the regular season (shootout results excluded). The only overtime loss over the stretch game in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars in March. And while the format is still 5-on-5 play in the playoffs, the Kraken won both of their overtime games in the postseason as well with a Game 4 win over the Colorado Avalanche and a Game 1 victory over the Stars.
Additionally, one of Seattle’s biggest areas of improvement came on the penalty kill. Through January 14, the Kraken had the second-worst penalty kill unit in the NHL at just 68.7 percent. The team made structural and personnel changes to the unit that paid off massively. Jared McCann joined the penalty kill efforts and Seattle reverted to a less aggressive structure. From January 15th onward, the Kraken’s penalty kill was third-best in the league at 86.7 percent.
The success carried into the playoffs as well as the Kraken allowed just two power play goals in 18 tries (88.9 percent) to the high-powered Avalanche power play in the first round. Their 82.9 percent penalty kill for the playoffs was fourth-best out of the 16-team field.