Commentary: Why it was time for the Kraken to move on from Dave Hakstol

SEATTLE – Ron or Dave? Who was this really on?

The big news in Kraken Land on Monday was coach Dave Hakstol being fired after three seasons in Seattle – the second of which included a playoff berth and first-round series win. General manager Ron Francis made the decision, pointing to inconsistencies and a clear third-year regression, when Seattle missed the playoffs by a conspicuous 17 points.

A 1-4 start foreshadowed the kind of season it would be, and an eight-game losing streak in March punctuated it. But is this more the responsibility of the coach who took on the unenviable task of leading an expansion team? Or more on the man who put that team together?

The Kraken’s second season, after all, was one of the more surprising in recent NHL history. Seattle went 27-49-6 (60 points) in its inaugural year, then surged to 46-28-8 (100 points) the next. Seattle went on to upset defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado in the playoffs behind hot goalie Philipp Grubauer.

Part of this was due to an 11.6 shooting percentage – second in the NHL – which helped propel the Kraken to the fifth-highest goal total in the league. This seemed like an unsustainable outlier heading into 2023-24, and Seattle’s shooting percentage of 9.1 this season (fourth lowest) proved that it probably was. But last season’s Kraken also had 35 combined goals from fourth-liners Daniel Sprong and Ryan Donato, both of whom were lost to free agency. And Seattle parted ways with goalie Martin Jones, who went 27-13 when filling in for an injured Grubauer, who was 17-14 and had the 39th-best save percentage in the league.

The hopeful offensive reinforcements – left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Kailer Yamamoto – contributed little to the scoring total after signing with Seattle in the offseason. The former had four goals in 40 games and the latter eight in 59. Yes, there were health issues all season long with the Kraken, but there’s a case to be made that the GM didn’t provide this group with postseason-worthy talent.

“There was a lot of challenges to the roster,” Francis said Monday while also pointing out the injuries and “off seasons” players had. “We have to make some changes to the roster and try to get back to where we want to get to next season.”

That “where” is, at the minimum, a playoff spot. The NHL is where the lowest seeds cannot only knock off titans but make a run all the way to the title. The wild-card Kraken lost by one goal to the Stars in a second-round Game 7 last year, temporarily taking over the Seattle sports scene in the process.

But let’s look at what else that team featured: There were the 40 goals and 30 assists from Jared McCann, who finished with 29 goals and 33 assists this season. There were the 20 goals and 43 assists from Jordan Eberle, who had 17 goals and 27 assists this season. Perhaps most conspicuously, there were 24 goals and 33 assists from Calder Trophy winner (top rookie) Matty Beniers, who had 15 and 22 this season.

Look at Yanni Gourde, or Jaden Schwartz, or Adam Larsson, or just about every player on the roster save for a couple, and you’ll notice a decline. Look at how flat the Kraken started, or how they disappeared in the most crucial point in the season. And when you do that, can you really point to roster construction as the reason for the skid? Or was this a coach who couldn’t make the necessary adjustments for his team to excel?

It’s never black and white when it comes to evaluating executives, coaches or even players. But in this case there is ample evidence to suggest, point blank, that Hakstol didn’t meet the job requirements. Doesn’t mean the onus shifts away from Francis to repair this team and get it back into playoff contention. It could be his job next year at this point if he doesn’t.

For now, though, this falls on the coach. It was time to move on.

Francis spared Hakstol from any direct criticism Monday, instead praising his thoroughness and attention to detail. He sounded sincere that letting him go was a difficult decision for him to make, and took no joy in delivering Hakstol the news.

Maybe there wasn’t much any coach could have done with this team, and Francis needs to make sure that Hakstol’s successor has a deeper and more potent arsenal. But this year’s regression went well beyond the expectation. Moving on from the coach wasn’t just the right move, it was the only move.