Dan Bylsma was fired as coach of the Seattle Kraken on Monday.
No replacement was named.
“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench.
“Dan is a great person and a respected coach. He played an important role in the development of many of our young prospects and was a big part of our early success in Coachella Valley. We sincerely wish him and his family nothing but success moving forward.”
Bylsma was in his first season with the Kraken after replacing Dave Hakstol on May 28, 2024. They went 35-41-6, finishing seventh in the Pacific Division and missing the playoffs for the third time in their four-season history.
It was Bylsma’s first season as a coach in the NHL since 2016-17 with the Buffalo Sabres. He is 355-231-61 in 647 games with the Kraken, Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, who he won the Stanley Cup with in 2009.
Bylsma, 54, spent the previous two seasons as coach of Coachella Valley, Seattle’s American Hockey League affiliate. In each season, Coachella Valley reached the Calder Cup Finals.
Bylsma hired Jessica Campbell as the first woman to be a full-time assistant coach in NHL after she held the same position the previous two seasons for Coachella Valley. There was no word on whether Campbell will be retained.
Francis will address the media Tuesday.
Bylsma is the eighth NHL coach fired this season, joining Jim Montgomery (Boston Bruins on Nov. 19), Drew Bannister (St. Louis Blues, Nov. 24), Luke Richardson (Chicago Blackhawks, Dec. 5), Derek Lalonde (Detroit Red Wings, Dec. 26), John Tortorella (Philadelphia Flyers, March 27), Greg Cronin (Anaheim Ducks, April 19) and Peter Laviolette (New York Rangers, April 19).
