The Seattle Kraken have officially named their replacement for former head coach Dave Hakstol. Dan Bylsma, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup in 2009, will take over behind the Kraken bench.
Bylsma has spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate. In 2023-24, Bylsma coached the Firebirds to a mark of 46-15-6, and they are currently in the Western Conference Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Bylsma got his start as an NHL head coach when he took over for Michel Therrien midway through the 2008-09 season, and he guided the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup in 17 years. Bylsma spent five more seasons in Pittsburgh, and he got the team to the Eastern Conference Final again in 2013, but the Penguins were swept by the Boston Bruins.
In 2014, the Penguins fired Bylsma, and he became the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres one year later. Bylsma only spent two seasons with the Sabres, never winning more than 35 games in a single season, and he was fired in 2017. Between his stints with the Penguins and Sabres, Bylsma has compiled an overall record of 320-190-55.
Starting with Mike Babcock resigning from the Columbus Blue Jackets last September, there have been 12 NHL coaching changes in 2023-24, and several of those teams still need to figure out who will be behind the bench for the 2024-25 season.
Three teams fired their head coaches in the middle of the season and immediately appointed a new full-time bench boss. The Edmonton Oilers made the switch from Jay Woodcroft to Kris Knoblauch, the Minnesota Wild replaced Dean Evason with John Hynes and the New York Islanders hired Patrick Roy on the heels of firing Lane Lambert.
Keep track of every NHL coaching carousel hiring and firing below.
