Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke kept his promise to media members following last week’s season ticket holder event that “announcements” demonstrating the team’s commitment to winning were forthcoming.
One way or another, his affirmation that Ron Francis will stick around held true, too.
This week, Seattle relieved head coach Dan Bylsma of his duties and promoted Francis from general manager to president of hockey operations, naming current assistant general manager Jason Botterill as his replacement. At an end-of-season media availability Tuesday, Kraken brass spoke highly of this organizational restructuring, believing it will produce a sustainable playoff team– and quickly.
“Our hockey folks and our staff have worked hard and deserve winning. Our partners and our fans who support us every night deserve winning,” owner Samantha Holloway said. “So we’re moving to a model that many teams in the NHL have adopted with a president and a GM, and we believe that will set us up for the future.”
Francis, hired in 2019 as the first general manager in franchise history, signed a three-year extension in 2023 after the Kraken fell a win short of making the Western Conference finals in their playoff debut. Little progress has been made since towards the organization’s aspirations of consistent contention despite significant personnel changes on the ice and behind the bench.
Seattle failed to replicate their postseason success the next two years under the command of Dave Hakstol and then Bylsma, the latter leading the Kraken to a record of 35-41-6 and five fewer points in the standings. Free agency signings Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson helped the Kraken jump from 29th to 16th in total goals scored, but increased production came at the cost of winning defense– they allowed the ninth-most goals in the league. Francis and Bylsma’s answers disagreed regarding whether this defensive decline was symptomatic of a structural change.
“I didn’t like the way we were playing. I thought our team could be more structured, more detailed on our approach and at the end of the day, we didn’t get the results that we were expecting,” Francis said.
Not even a year has passed since the Kraken initially hired Bylsma and signed him to a three-year deal. Leiweke and Holloway expressed they didn’t see any logic in waiting for better results when initiative could be taken regarding an issue they feel urgently about: winning.
“It’s not that we’re just gonna fire a coach if we keep losing. It’s about how you learn from that, how you’re coaching the team, how you’re getting along, how you’re communicating, how you’re coachable by these folks [Francis, Botterill, Leiweke], and for us it’s just about having the right fit,” Holloway elaborated. “You take risks, and sometimes you get that wrong for the organization.”
“The path of least resistance for both [Francis and Botterill] and the owners was to do nothing on the coaching side. But they thought we could do better,” Leiweke explained. “There’s a conviction at this table that we’re doing the right thing even if it means making tough decisions.”
Hiring Bylsma’s successor demands input from both Francis and Botterill. Leadership, strong communication skills, and a willingness to use the resources provided by the organization to aid in coaching are some of the traits they’ll look for in candidates.
With the dynamic shifting between Francis and Botterill– Francis will now serve as the “main link between ownership, the senior executive group, the business, and the team” according to a team press release, and his duties will also revolve around scouting and player development– this won’t be the first time they collaborate. Francis made it clear, however, that Botterill has authority ahead of what the team plans to be another aggressive offseason.
“I feel strongly that if we’re asking Jason to step into the GM chair and manage all those responsibilities, he has to have final say in decisions,” Francis said.