NHL coaching carousel: Kraken hire former Penguins coach Dan Bylsma

The NHL coaching carousel is spinning quickly these days

By Austin Nivison May 28, 2024 at 12:41 pm ET• 1 min read

The Seattle Kraken have officially named their replacement for former head coach Dave Hakstol. Dan Bylsma, who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup in 2009, will take over behind the Kraken bench.

Bylsma has spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken's AHL affiliate. In 2023-24, Bylsma coached the Firebirds to a  mark of 46-15-6, and they are currently in the Western Conference Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Embarking on a new journey. 🌊

The #SeaKraken have named Dan Bylsma as the second Head Coach in franchise history → https://t.co/UYnakJYi7c pic.twitter.com/Q5EguPPreg

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) May 28, 2024

Bylsma got his start as an NHL head coach when he took over for Michel Therrien midway through the 2008-09 season, and he guided the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup in 17 years. Bylsma spent five more seasons in Pittsburgh, and he got the team to the Eastern Conference Final again in 2013, but the Penguins were swept by the Boston Bruins.

In 2014, the Penguins fired Bylsma, and he became the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres one year later. Bylsma only spent two seasons with the Sabres, never winning more than 35 games in a single season, and he was fired in 2017. Between his stints with the Penguins and Sabres, Bylsma has compiled an overall record of 320-190-55.