SEATTLE — Dave Hakstol signed a contract that will keep him behind the Seattle Kraken bench through at least the 2025-26 season on Wednesday.
Hakstol guided the Kraken (46-28-8) to a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, their second in the NHL, as the first wild card from the Western Conference.
There, the Kraken disposed of the defending champions from Colorado before being bounced by Dallas in the second round.
Hakstol was also a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the top coach in the NHL.
Some Seattle fans weren't enthused about Hakstol's first year performance as head coach of the expansion Kraken, but Erika Ayala of Locked on Kraken says "I always believed Hakstol deserved the benefit of the doubt."
Ayala further cites Hakstol as "the architect of the team's lineup, system, and culture."
His overall record stands at 73-77-14 in his two seasons with the Kraken, but the belief in him comes from the improvement in the numbers year over year.
Seattle improved by 19 wins and 40 points (from 60 to 100) from their inaugural season, and ranked in the top five in shots against per game (27.0, second), goals per game (3.52, tied for fourth), and 5-on-5 shot attempts (401, fifth) last season.
That's partly a testament to general manager Ron Francis and his staff finding the right pieces, but a lot of credit goes to Hakstol for putting the puzzle together.
The hope, of course, is the Kraken will take even bigger steps forward in 2023-24, and Hakstol has at least three more seasons to prove his system works before Seattle reevaluates the coaching spot.