Who could replace fired Kraken coach Dan Bylsma? Here’s an early list

The Kraken fired their second coach, Dan Bylsma, on Monday following a 35-41-6 campaign. They also reportedly are reassigning general manager Ron Francis.

Bylsma got only one season before he was shown the door.

Last year the Kraken looked within the organization to hire Bylsma, who was guiding their minor-league affiliate, to replace the franchise’s first coach, Dave Hakstol. This year an external hire looks more likely. Here are some of the names out there as another coaching search begins.

Peter Laviolette

Two names previously linked to the Kraken are unavailable or potentially unavailable. Todd McLellan, whom the Kraken reportedly were talking to before they hired Bylsma, is now the Detroit Red Wings’ coach. Joe Sacco was reportedly in talks before Hakstol was hired. Sacco took over as Boston’s interim coach in November after the team fired Jim Montgomery following an 8-9-3 start. Sacco recently told the media he hasn’t received any clarity regarding his future behind the bench.

But there’s one former potential suitor who is freed up. Laviolette briefly coached Ron Francis at the end of his career in Carolina and was the coach there when Francis moved to Carolina’s front office. When the Kraken needed to hire their first bench boss, however, Laviolette was already coaching the Washington Capitals.

This time around, he was fired Saturday as coach of the New York Rangers, his sixth NHL team. Laviolette’s teams have made 14 playoff appearances and won one Stanley Cup, with a 846-562-161 record, plus 25 ties, as he was coaching back when those were a thing.

During a dysfunctional Rangers season, Laviolette was the coach who benched current Kraken winger Kaapo Kakko. Kakko told the New York media he wasn’t the worst member of the struggling team and was shipped out to Seattle for defenseman Will Borgen and draft picks days later.

“They trust me more here,” Kakko said last week. “I really feel like I got a chance here. The confidence is a pretty big thing.”

Re-signing restricted free agent Kakko, as Francis planned to do, and reuniting him with Laviolette could be fraught.

Rick Tocchet

The Vancouver Canucks have said they want coach Tocchet back, even though they backslid and missed the playoffs this season. The feeling might not be mutual.

Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said Monday that the team won’t exercise the option it holds on Tocchet’s contract for next season. He was offered an extension instead and is mulling it over.

“We will not exercise the team option to force him to stay. We don’t feel it’s right to have somebody here that may have his mind somewhere else, and I’d say that about anybody. This is not just about [Tocchet],” Rutherford said according to TSN.

Tocchet revitalized the Canucks and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season, following a Pacific Division title and a 50-23-9 record. He then dealt with injuries and an unenviable public rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller that led to the latter’s trade to the Rangers. Tocchet’s previous stops include Tampa Bay and Arizona.

Bruce Boudreau

Another recent Canucks coach, Boudreau, has been inactive for a while.

But at 70 years old he might prefer to remain a television analyst.

If there’s an established and available coach who can entertain a room like the outgoing Bylsma, it’s Boudreau.

John Tortorella

Bringing on the fiery and confrontational Tortorella doesn’t feel like a Kraken move, but five NHL teams have decided the drama and the fines were worth it. Tortorella was dismissed as the Flyers’ coach on March 27 as Philadelphia was barreling toward a third consecutive season without a playoff run under his guidance.

Tortorella won the 2004 Jack Adams Award right after his Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

Todd Nelson

Nelson has a long track record of American Hockey League success that includes back-to-back titles for the Washington Capitals’ affiliate, the Hershey Bears, the past two seasons. His résumé is also dotted with NHL assistant coaching jobs.

Karl Taylor

Taylor, longtime coach of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, doesn’t have NHL coaching experience but was another name put forward for a promotion last spring.

Don Granato

Former Chicago and St. Louis assistant coach and Buffalo coach Granato spent the season away from the NHL after he was fired by the Sabres in 2024.

He’s the brother of Cammi Granato, who became the NHL’s first female scout when the Kraken hired her in 2019. She left to become assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.

David Carle

Perennial candidate Carle is perhaps the college coaching ranks’ brightest star but hasn’t made the jump to the pros. He took over the head-coaching job at the University of Denver in 2018 at just 28 years old and led the Pioneers to the 2022 and 2024 national championships.

Carle, a onetime defenseman, was forced into retirement after a heart abnormality was detected by an electrocardiogram during the 2008 NHL combine. Denver honored his scholarship, and he became a student assistant coach.

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Gerard Gallant

Gallant, 61, still hasn’t worked full-time in the NHL since he was fired as New York Rangers coach following the 2022-23 season. But his name is certainly still out there, due to his 705-369-262 record with 11 years of experience. He guided the Vegas Golden Knights to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final in the team’s inaugural season.

Jay Woodcroft

Woodcroft rose through the ranks and led Edmonton to two playoff appearances before the Oilers fired him in 2023 during a slow start. He’s reportedly keen on another chance.

Similarly Greg Cronin and Derek Lalonde were recently fired from their first and only NHL head-coaching gigs in Anaheim and Detroit, respectively. They should be available for inquiries.

D.J. Smith

He’s coached in several pressurized markets, and the sense is he’s not done. Following a stint as an assistant coach in Toronto, Smith was the Ottawa Senators’ coach from 2019-23. Months later he was hired as an assistant for the L.A. Kings, who finished second in the Pacific Division and opened the playoffs Monday night.

Derek Laxdal

He’s been the coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds for only one season, but Laxdal has earned a phone call at least. As Coachella Valley shifted from veteran-heavy in its first few seasons to a true training ground for Kraken prospects, Laxdal and his new staff led the Firebirds back to the postseason this spring.

Jay Leach

This would be a plot twist, but he’s certainly familiar with the Kraken organization. Leach was an assistant on Hakstol’s staff on Day 1 and departed when Hakstol was fired. Leach spent the last season as an assistant for the Boston Bruins. Depending whom they hire, Leach might be looking for a new gig.