Bylsma ready for Kraken job thanks to AHL time
SEATTLE — When Dan Bylsma took the job as an assistant coach in the American Hockey League in 2021, his hope was to rediscover some enjoyment being a coach.
Being back on an NHL bench at that point was the furthest thing from his mind.
“I think I needed to discover the joy of coaching again and changing a little bit in establishing relationships with the players,” Bylsma said. “Having done that over the past three years, it’s led me to this wanting to be the opportunity that I took next.”
Bylsma was introduced as the second head coach in the history of the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, putting him in charge of an NHL bench for the first time since 2017.
It’s been a bit of a journey for Bylsma since his previous head coaching job at the NHL level in Buffalo. There were a few years as an assistant coach in Detroit after his dismissal in Buffalo. There was the assistant job with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL during the 2021-22 season that became the stepping stone to taking over as the head coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds for their first season in 2022-23 as the top affiliate for the Kraken.
And now comes the chance to again oversee a team and see if he can replicate some of the success from his first stint as an NHL head coach in Pittsburgh when he won a Stanley Cup title, made the playoffs six times and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.
“He’s worked hard to get back to this level and earn this opportunity,” Seattle general manager Ron Francis said.
Bylsma replaces Dave Hakstol, who was fired following his third season in charge after the Kraken took a significant step backward and struggled badly at the offensive end of the ice. Seattle made the playoffs in its second year and earned Hakstol a two-year contract extension, but he was let go before that extension ever kicked in.
Francis said he interviewed five candidates for the job before eventually choosing Bylsma.
“Watching him work with Coachella Valley the last couple of years, seeing the relationships he had with his players, the effort he had with his players, the effort he got each and every night, the way his teams played … it became clear he was the guy we wanted to lead us at this point,” Francis said.
Going with Bylsma is a decision that must go right for the Kraken management as they continue to try and find a hold in the local sports marketplace – and with the always looming hope of the NBA and the SuperSonics returning sometime in the future.
The team made strides with the unexpected playoff appearance in Year 2, but the backslide last season combined with distribution issues with the local regional sports network led to the team losing some relevance.
The Kraken recently announced it will have over-the-air broadcasts along with a streaming option via Prime Video beginning next season which should help. But ultimately a winning product is what will be needed.
“I think we’re still growing this franchise and we have incredible fans and we want to do right by them. They deserve the best and we want to build our fan base,” Seattle owner Samantha Holloway said.
Before he can fully turn his attention to his new position, Bylsma must finish the job he’s currently doing. Coachella Valley will host Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in the Calder Cup playoffs on Wednesday night.
Once finished with his obligations in Seattle, Bylsma was getting back on a plane and headed back to Southern California.
“I think what we’ve built in Coachella Valley with the community and the fans, and the team is a large part of me being here today,” Bylsma said.
The New York Rangers are in advanced contract talks to make former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes on Thursday.
The deal is expected to be one of the richest coaching contracts in NHL history, the sources said.
Sullivan would head to New York in a move that is coming together three days after he left his job with Pittsburgh, where he coached for 10 seasons and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
The Penguins have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons amid a retooling of the roster.
David Quinn, Sullivan’s top assistant in Pittsburgh, is not expected to join him in New York. Quinn will be a candidate for other head coaching vacancies, including Pittsburgh’s, according to sources.
John Tortorella is a strong possibility to rejoin the Rangers organization. Sullivan, Quinn and Tortorella were on the coaching staff for Team USA at Four Nations.
In New York, Sullivan would replace Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers didn’t make the postseason for the first time since 2021.
Sullivan was selected by the Rangers in the 1987 draft but never played for New York, choosing to stay in college at Boston University before going on to an 11-year NHL playing career with four teams.
Sullivan, 57, previously served as a Rangers assistant coach from 2009 to 2013 on Tortorella’s staff. He also was the head coach of the Boston Bruins for the 2003-04 and 2005-06 seasons.
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Ryan S. Clark
Winnipeg Jets coach Scott Arniel said Thursday that star center Mark Scheifele will not travel with team ahead of Game 6 against the St. Louis Blues.
Scheifele will remain in Winnipeg after he missed the second and third periods of his team’s 5-3 victory Wednesday against the Blues in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.
“You’re hoping for the best that maybe he wakes up today and things are better,” Arniel told reporters before the team flight to St. Louis. “But right now, he won’t be making the trip, and we’ll just go day-to-day moving forward.”
With 13:51 remaining in the opening period, the Jets were in the Blues’ zone when Scheifele had just played the puck along the half wall. That’s when he was instantly checked by Blues captain Brayden Schenn. Scheifele appeared to be concentrating on the puck and looked as if he did not see Schenn, who connected with the top half of Scheifele’s chest and knocked him down to the ice.
Schenn was given a two-minute minor for interference and another two-minute minor for roughing.
A little more than 10 minutes later, Scheifele was involved in another physical sequence. He was just about to reach the Blues’ zone when forward Radek Faksa also checked him and appeared to have struck Scheifele in the same area as the previous hit from Schenn.
Scheifele finished the first period, but Arniel spoke to the officials as both teams were entering the dressing room before first intermission. Blues coach Jim Montgomery confirmed with reporters after the game that Arniel spoke to the officials about the Schenn hit before sharing his thoughts.
“Let’s make it clear: Fifty-five got hurt from the Faksa hit,” Montgomery said. “He played six minutes after the Schenn hit. He didn’t come back after he got rocked by Faksa.”
Upon hearing Montgomery’s comments, Arniel had some thoughts of his own.
“I didn’t know Monty got his medical degree and can say how our player got hurt. He’s way off base and should not make that comment,” Arniel told reporters. “There’s some things that have been going on in this series and that was a repeat of what we’ve seen before: A player leaving his feet and then hitting a player in a very unprotected spot. Like hitting him in the sense, almost blindsiding him. Not happy with how the call was made. A two-minute minor. Not even looking at it is what I was upset about.
“It is something we have talked to the league about for five games.”
On Thursday, Arniel was asked if Scheifele was in concussion protocol.
“I’m not going down that road,” Arniel said.
It’s possible that the Jets could once again turn to Vladislav Namestnikov like they did in Game 5 and elevate him to the top line. The second-line center would take Scheifele’s place on the first line alongside Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi.
Namestnikov, who had 11 goals and 38 points in 78 regular-season games, had his strongest game of the postseason in Game 5. He finished with a goal and two points while logging 17:15 of ice time.
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