3 candidates to replace Dave Hakstol as Kraken head coach

The Seattle Kraken will have a new figure behind the bench for the upcoming 2024-25 NHL season. Whoever it is will be the second head coach in franchise history. Shortly after the most recent season concluded, which saw the Kraken unable to build on last season’s incredible playoff run, general manager Ron Francis decided to terminate Dave Hakstol, who was hired as the team’s first coach in 2021 for their inaugural campaign as the NHL’s 32nd franchise.

There are several ideal candidates that Francis could consider for the job. However, one notable name has just been taken off the list of available coaches, as Craig Berube has officially been hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kraken GM Ron Francis pushed back on reports of players demanding Hakstol’s firing 

Francis was sure to push back on various reports that a handful of unnamed players allegedly issued an ultimatum to management that Hakstol be fired or they’d seek a trade elsewhere, per Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times.

“Zero players issued any ultimatums of any kind regarding the coach — that I can assure you,” Francis said. “That’s not what those meetings are really about. Usually, it’s us telling players what they have to do to prepare for next season, or how we thought they did this season. No one sits there asking them ‘What did you think of the coach?’ That’s not what these meetings are there for.”

It’s a direct contradiction to the words of ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, who reported the alleged demands of the Kraken players.

“I was told, at the exit meeting with players, there was a handful of players — and pretty significant players — who made it clear to management that ‘I don’t want to play on this team in the future if Dave Hakstol is still the coach.’ And that forced them to make a change.”

With that being said, let’s take a look at the most ideal candidates that the Kraken could consider now that Berube is officially off the market.

Current Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour

The first and most obvious candidate the Kraken ought to consider is Rod Brind’Amour, the current head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. Earlier this season, reports surfaced that the Hurricanes and Brind’Amour were not any closer to a contract extension, and the team reportedly even withdrew a contract offer.

Brind’Amour is a former teammate of Francis with the Hurricanes, and the pair helped lead the team on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002.

Currently, Brind’Amour has indicated that he feels confident a new contract will be worked out to keep him behind the Hurricanes bench long-term. However, until that happens, there will be plenty of speculation that Francis could target his former Hurricanes teammate to relocate to the Pacific Northwest.

Former Los Angeles Kings head coach Todd McLellan