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Seattle Kraken fire coach Dave Hakstol after giving him an extension last summer
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- Seattle Kraken fire coach Dave Hakstol after giving him an extension last summer
Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2022-23, was fired by the team on Monday less than a year after receiving a contract extension.
The Kraken finished with 19 fewer points in 2023-24 and missed the playoffs by 17 points.
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The season featured a slow start, a 13-game point streak, an eight-game winless streak, a nine-game winning streak around the Winter Classic and another eight-game slide in March.
"We seemed to be up and down moreso this year than we had been," general manager Ron Francis said in a news conference.
Francis called the coaching move a difficult decision and made clear he didn't think that players had tuned out Hakstol.
Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol was fired on Monday.
"They worked hard for him. We just didn't get he results that we wanted," Francis said.
He said the search for a new coach will start immediately but doesn't have a timeline for a hire.
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Hakstol was the expansion Kraken's first coach. They entered the league in 2021-22 as the NHL's 32nd team and finished 27-49-6 for last place in the Pacific Division. They improved by 40 points last season, finishing with 100 points, to clinch a playoff spot in their second season.
They then upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round before losing to the Dallas Stars in seven games in the second round.
The Kraken rewarded Hakstol last summer with a two-year contract extension through 2025-26. Seattle, though, finished 34-35-13 this season.
"We had a real good season last year, probably better than we expected, and our staff did a good job and they got rewarded for it," Francis said. "This season didn't go as well as we hoped and then you got to look at things and make decisions at the end of the season."
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The Kraken also said assistant coach Paul McFarland, who oversaw the NHL's 17th-ranked power play, won't be back next season.
Hakstol is the third NHL coach to be fired since the end of the regular season, joining the Buffalo Sabres' Don Granato and the San Jose Sharks' David Quinn . The Sabres hired Lindy Ruff as coach.
Seven coaches were fired during the season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dave Hakstol fired as Seattle Kraken coach a year after playoff upset
