Dan Bylsma will be hired as Kraken HC; Won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with the Penguins

The Seattle Kraken officially have a new bench boss.

Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reported that the Kraken are set to introduce Dan Bylsma as the franchise’s second head coach during the team’s scheduled press conference on Tuesday.

Bylsma has eight years of experience as a head coach in the NHL, notably with the Pittsburgh Penguins. His tenure lasted six seasons in Pittsburgh and he helped the franchise win the Stanley Cup in 2008-09. He also served as head coach of the Buffalo Sabers for two seasons.

In addition to his NHL head coaching experience, he also served as the head coach of Team USA at the 2014 Olympics. He is currently the head coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate. The Firebirds are still playing as the team reached the Western Conference final of the Calder Cup playoffs.

His tenure as head coach of the Penguins was very successful as he guided the franchise to a 252-117 overall record. Pittsburgh made the playoffs in every season he was behind the bench, although the team never reached the Stanley Cup Final again after that first season and only reached the Conference Finals. Is that once again.

Still, he won the Jack Adams Award for best NHL coach in 2010-11 and was considered a hot commodity when the Sabers job opened up. While his tenure with this franchise hasn’t been as successful, it could be called a trend as it was in the midst of the Sabres’ current 13-season playoff drought.

He’ll get a Kraken team that exceeded expectations in 2022-23 and reached the Western Conference semifinals, but underperformed in 2023-24 and finished with a 34-35-13 record.

It is also the youngest franchise in the league after beginning play in the 2021-22 season as an expansion team. Bylsma will be tasked with helping develop young pieces like Matty Beniers and Shane Wright while also trying to help the team advance in the Western Conference.