from Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times,

Starting, of course, with the fates of Francis and Hakstol. While it’s unlikely the Kraken exile their 61-year-old GM, Francis’ player-personnel decisions warrant scrutiny. After Seattle surprised last season on the strength of its scoring depth, that versatility vanished. Departees Daniel Sprong (18 goals and 25 assists for Detroit), Morgan Geekie (17 goals and 22 assists for Boston) and Ryan Donato (12 goals and 18 assists for Chicago) all made positive impressions elsewhere, while additions like Kailer Yamamoto (eight goals and eight assists) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (four goals and three assists) provided no such playmaking.

Still, it’s a coach’s job to put his players in positions to succeed. And while injuries to Dunn, Andre Burakovsky and Jaden Schwartz certainly didn’t help, it’s difficult to argue Hakstol maximized his talent.

Aside from injuries and unmerciful hockey gods, mainstays like McCann (70 points in 2022-23 to 62 in 2023-24), Beniers (57 to 37), Eberle (63 to 44), Gourde (48 to 33), Brandon Tanev (35 to 16) and Eeli Tolvanen (16 goals in 48 games last season, 16 goals in 81 games this season) all saw their statistics slip.

That comprehensive corrosion typically comes down to coaching.

After three seasons under Hakstol, the second-longest-tenured Western Conference coach, it may be time for a new voice and system in Seattle.

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