The Seattle Kraken have fired head coach Dave Hakstol of Drayton Valley, Alberta. The firing of Hakstol on Monday came over a week after the conclusion of the 2023-24 National Hockey League regular season, which saw the Kraken miss the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
2023-24 NHL Regular Season record
The Kraken had a regular season record of 34 wins, 35 regulation losses, and 13 losses in extra time for 81 points. They were tied with the Calgary Flames for fifth place in the Pacific Division and were 17 points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Problems Scoring
A major reason why the Kraken missed the playoffs is simply because of their lack of scoring. They constantly struggled putting the puck past the opposing team’s goaltender. As a team, the Kraken only scored 217 goals. That was the fourth fewest number of goals in the entire NHL. The only teams that scored fewer goals were the Anaheim Ducks (204), the San Jose Sharks (181), and the Chicago Blackhawks (179). The Kraken only had two 20 goal scorers as centre Jared McCann of Stratford, Ontario had 29 goals and right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand of Herning, Denmark had 20 goals.
Drop off from the 2023-24 NHL Season
The Kraken made the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first and only time in franchise history. They had a 2022-23 regular season record of 46 wins, 28 regulation losses and eight losses in extra time for 100 points. McCann led the Kraken with 40 goals and Seattle had six players with 20 or more goals. The Kraken then stunned the Colorado Avalanche in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, before losing to the Dallas Stars in seven games.
However, in 2023-24, progress in Seattle was not made. The Kraken scored 72 fewer goals and they had 19 fewer points as a hockey club. As a result, Hakstol lost his job.
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