Kraken promote Ron Francis to president, Jason Botterill to GM

After firing coach Dan Bylsma, the Seattle Kraken have promoted longtime general manager Ron Francis to president of hockey operations, with assistant Jason Botterill taking over day-to-day responsibilities.

The shakeup announced Tuesday comes after the Kraken missed the playoffs for the third time in four years and regressed in Bylsma’s only season behind the bench.

“These changes reflect our commitment to becoming a sustained playoff team,” owner Samantha Holloway said in a statement. “Ron has done an excellent job of building our hockey operations and setting a solid foundation. Our new enhanced structure will allow Ron to continue shaping our long-term vision while empowering Jason day to day.”

Francis had been in charge since not long after Seattle’s ownership group was granted an NHL expansion franchise. He and Botterill are now tasked with finding a coach and repairing a roster that is lacking in elite talent.

“I am proud of what we have started here in Seattle and look forward to continuing in my new role as president,” Francis said. “I have worked closely with Jason for many years at both the NHL and international levels. He helped build three Stanley Cup-winning rosters in Pittsburgh and has been a key member of our management team since day one. He has demonstrated the ability to construct winning teams, and his experience, leadership, and vision will be invaluable as we continue towards a championship-caliber organization in Seattle.”

This is Botterill’s second GM job in the league after he ran the Buffalo Sabres from 2017 to 2020.

“We are focused on taking the next step as a franchise, and for us, next season starts now,” Botterill said. “From roster decisions to player development, we will do everything we can to build a team that can compete for the playoffs every year and ultimately bring a Stanley Cup to Seattle.”

That did not happen under Bylsma. The Kraken this past season finished 35-41-6 for 76 points — 20 back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference — after 81 in 2023-24 for previous coach Dave Hakstol.

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“I thought our team could use more structure, more details in our approach,” Francis said of Bylsma’s dismissal. “And, at the end of the day, we didn’t get the results that we were expecting this year.”

Bylsma had been promoted from within after coaching the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds to back-to-back Calder Cup finals before losing to Hershey. He won the Stanley Cup as Pittsburgh’s coach in 2009 and remained with the Penguins through 2014, winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2011.

“We have to continue to improve and add to our skill level in all areas,” Botterill said. “It’s not as if we’re one player away right now from a Stanley Cup championship. We have to become a perennial playoff team first, and then find a way.”

Seattle was Bylsma’s third head coaching job in the NHL after an ill-fated two-year stint with Buffalo from 2015 to 2017. Bylsma is the third coach fired in as many days after the Anaheim Ducks moved on from Greg Cronin and the New York Rangers dismissed Peter Laviolette.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.