Kraken coaching candidates: one month later, who emerges for the job?

It’s a year later and to quote Maxine Nightingale from the year 1976, we’re “Right Back Where We Started From.” 

This isn’t a position the Seattle Kraken envisioned themselves being. But the message was clearly sent, this was necessary. They want to win. 

That philosophy rang as loud as a cannon when the Kraken fired Dan Bylsma last month, not even a week after the conclusion of the regular season. They’re searching for their third coach in three years with one clear mission in mind: get this roster, built on the heels of an aggressive approach, back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

“Aggressive” has been commonly used to describe what the Kraken want to do, and have always wanted to do. This wasn’t an intended slow build out of the gate. They have been active in free agency and the trade market for three of their first four off seasons – and have pledged the same approach this summer under new general manager Jason Botterill, promoted to the position with Ron Francis moved to the overarching role of President of Hockey Operations. 

But the newest in line to take the coaching reins will have a significant impact on where this goes, from managing veteran personalities to appropriately fostering the development of ripening prospect talent, such as Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, and more. Catton will be here in five months, likely as a nine-game tryout for a full-season fit, and Nyman has checked nearly every box in his first NHL stint this season. 

The Kraken are tight-lipped on coaching search candidates and declined to comment in an e-mail from a team spokesperson to 93.3 KJR-FM. But the clues have long been publicized to the criteria that fits the next hire.

“We think whatever coach we bring in here, from head coach standpoint, we'll have to work closely with our younger players,” Botterill said on April 22, when he was introduced to his new role, also pointing to the use of analytical resources. 

That coach though, expectedly will have personnel already in place, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, who reported the entire bench staff of Jessica Campbell, Bob Woods, and Dave Lowry have been retained, with Campbell’s position potentially transitioned to an “eye in the sky” role.  

All in all, the team potentially casted a wide net. Experience matters, but this summer could be described as a “coach’s market,” with as many as eight teams in search of a new bench boss (currently down to six, with Mike Sullivan already off the board to the Rangers, and Joel Quenneville back in the league, to Anaheim). The Kraken are competing with other open markets such as Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver. What about a young, up-and-coming voice, needing the first break (think, Spencer Carbery, Ryan Huska, etc), and with an eye for maximizing young talent production? 

Among the potential candidates: 

RED HOT: 

·      Rick Tocchet: Here we go again. Well known as a runner-up in Seattle four years ago, with the gig going to Dave Hakstol, Tocchet opted out of his deal with the Canucks while expressing his desire for family time, but also for a vision, plan, and potential to win. He was a finalist for the Anaheim job. He’s reportedly in the mix again for the Kraken job. The Canucks lack of a practice facility also reportedly was a touchy subject for Tocchet (the Kraken have one of the best in the NHL). He won the Jack Adams Award last year, is escaping a chaotic environment with non-stop roster drama, but will also be in high demand – he’s been heavily linked to the Philadelphia job, where he has deep ties as a player and with executive Keith Jones. But he also has heavy links to Botterill, when the two worked together and won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh last decade.

·      Jay Woodcroft: After sitting out of the NHL circle for a year, indications are that Woodcroft is ripe for a return. He was the other finalist for the Ducks job, reportedly was in on the Blue Jackets and Sharks openings last year, and interviewed multiple times last year for the Devils job that went to Sheldon Keefe. In between his firing from the Oilers last season and to present day, Woodcroft attended Flyers camp last September as a guest of John Tortorella, and told The Athletic over the last year he worked on strengthening his understanding of psychology. He left Edmonton with an unceremonious start last year at 3-9-1, before the Oilers replaced him with Kris Knoblauch and rode a rocket ship pace to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. But eliminating that start, Woodcroft’s .683 lifetime points percentage as NHL head coach is the third highest in NHL history, among coaches with at least one full season behind the bench. He came up Edmonton’s ranks as a head coach in AHL Bakersfield, hands on with the development of players such as Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod (now onto Buffalo), and more, encasing 13 years in an NHL coaching capacity across numerous assistant or support roles. The general feel around the league is that it’s not a matter of if, but when, Woodcroft returns. 

·      Jay Leach: Here we go again, 2.0. Leach’s connections make a foundation for a simple case: he coached here. Leach was a part of Dave Hakstol’s staff for the first three seasons, behind the bench for their first playoff run in 2023, and the steward of the Kraken fleet of defensemen who routinely suppressed shots and were amongst the league’s best defending teams. Last year, the Kraken were the only team to finish in the league’s top ten for fewest goals allowed per game, and miss the playoffs. Leach reportedly got two interviews deep into the Kraken opening last year, then left for the Boston Bruins bench, close to his coaching roots (he spent four years holding the head coach reins for Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence). He reportedly will get an interview for the Bruins job. 

MID-LEVEL BURN: 

·      Mitch Love: The second-year assistant coach for the upstart Washington Capitals, who have flawlessly turned over their roster to the second round for the first time since 2018, is getting more looks for openings. Pursuing the first head coach role of his NHL career, Love interviewed for jobs previously with the Flames and Sharks, each rebooting with a youth-oriented roster. He holds AHL Coach of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. He’s widely regarded as another scorching-hot name rising up the ranks, stressing accountability with a delicate balance of young player “buy in.” Not to mention – a move to Seattle would be a return home to his roots, where family resides, and nearby where his retired number hangs in the rafters of the Everett Silvertips home venue, Angel of the Winds Arena, where he also started his coaching career. The deeper that the Capitals move in the playoffs, the bigger of a case he builds. 

·      Peter Laviolette: The connections to the Kraken opening are too hard to ignore. Francis played under Laviolette for one season, then transitioned to the Carolina Hurricanes front office for Laviolette’s final three seasons in that job. His experience is undeniable and influential – to the point where through an evolving sport, he’s maintained a job for 23 straight years. He has a Stanley Cup title and three trips to the Final on his resume. You don’t have to question his stance on accountability – just look at the legendary “dry island” story leaking from his days behind the Flyers bench. He’s missed the playoffs just three times in the last 16 years. A reputation that’s followed him suggests he favors veteran-heavy ice time, but it’s impossible to ignore the work and opportunities he’s provided for a young Eric Staal, Claude Giroux, Seth Jones, and Filip Forsberg, all who flourished under his watch. 

It’s also impossible to ignore friction between him and Kraken forward Kaapo Kakko (largely orchestrating the trade to Seattle last winter), but the feel within the hockey world is the matter is fluid to the point where it can be peacefully resolved. Laviolette, who has never coached on the west coast, is reportedly yet in serious contention for the Canucks job, where his former boss Jim Rutherford is now president of hockey operations. 

·      Gerard Gallant: He’s still available, last running the bench for the New York Rangers two years ago, and well-known as a veteran presence who can orchestrate a quick fix. Gallant holds more than 700 games as an NHL head coach, famously took Vegas to the 2018 Cup Final as an expansion team, and has been to the conference final twice. He’s also lasted no longer than three seasons in a head role, most recently involved with Canada as head coach in the Spengler Cup. 

OTHER NAMES “OUT THERE”: 

·      Don Granato: Botterill originally hired him assistant coach when running the Sabres. Granato, promoted after Botterill’s departure for Seattle, was well known as a popular coach, and orchestrated Buffalo’s best season amidst a still active 13-year playoff drought, longest in the NHL. But Granato was let go last year with Sabres players expressing the need for more “accountability and structure.”. He was instrumental in developing key talent, such as Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and Rasmus Dahlin. 

·      David Carle: Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported that Carle has an “out” clause in his multiyear extension with Denver. He’s been linked to multiple NHL openings and already removed himself from the Blackhawks job. Baseline optics say it’s not a matter of if, but when, Carle takes the leap from college hockey to the NHL. But he’s dictating that on his own terms. 

·      John Tortorella: He’s legendary for his stance on discipline, accountability, structure, and details. Players often swear by him, his core values, and influence. His resume is iron clad with success. Things can change. But his tenure in Philadelphia ended in volatility, including an alleged verbal incident with defenseman Cam York. He’s gone through five coaching stops, bearing the question at age 66 if he’s in the mood for a sixth, and in a move west that would place him in the Pacific time zone for only the second year out of 23 he’s worked as an NHL head coach (he lasted in Vancouver for just one, 11 years ago).