Former Penguins Coach Returns to NHL
The Seattle Kraken have officially hired a former Pittsburgh Penguins champion head coach.
PITTSBURGH – Dan Bylsma is known as one of the best coaches in Pittsburgh Penguins history, and his story as an NHL head coach will continue. After a few weeks of searching, and a couple days of speculation, the Seattle Kraken has officially hired Bylsma as their newest head coach.
The Kraken fired Dave Hakstol shortly after the 2023-24 season ended and Bylsma quickly became a front-runner for the job. After joining the Kraken organization upon its creation in 2021, Bylsma is getting a call to return to the NHL.
Bylsma has spent the last two seasons as head coach of the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. In their first season, Bylsma led them to a Calder Cup Final. This year, they are still alive in the AHL playoffs, and set to begin the Western Conference Finals.
Before officially taking over as the Kraken head coach, Bylsma will finish his playoff run with the Firebirds.
Bylsma started his NHL head coaching career in 2009 with the Penguins and saw immediate success. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009 and Bylsma went on to win the 2011 Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach.
When the Penguins fired Bylsma in 2014, he left as the winningest coach in franchise history with 252.
Bylsma should be a good fit for the Kraken moving forward. He’ll have a ton of familiarity with players expected to make the jump from the AHL to the NHL next season, and their win by committee style meshes well with Bylsma’s coaching.
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