Lane Lambert Named 3rd Head Coach in Kraken History After Dan Bylsma Firing

Former Toronto Maple Leafs associate coach Lane Lambert has been named the third head coach in Seattle Kraken history.

The Kraken announced Lambert's hiring on Thursday after firing Dan Bylsma on April 21.

Lambert spent the last season on Craig Berube's staff with the Leafs.

His past experience includes roles on Barry Trotz's staff with the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals. He served as an assistant coach on the Caps' staff during the team's run to the 2018 Stanley Cup.

Lambert also has previous NHL head coaching experience with the New York Islanders. He led the Isles to a playoff berth in his debut 2022-23 season, but was dismissed after starting off his second head coaching campaign with a 19-15-11 record.

Those past jobs connect Lambert with former Islander and current Kraken captain Jordan Eberle, as well as former Capitals players including Chandler Stephenson, Andre Burakovsky and Philipp Grubauer.

The Kraken were coached for their first three seasons in the NHL by Dave Hakstol, who led the team to 46 wins and the second round in 2023 but was fired after missing the playoffs in 2024.

Seattle then promoted Bylsma from the team's AHL affiliate ahead of the 2024-25 season because of what former Kraken general manager Ron Francis called his "proven track record of developing both young and veteran talent."

The Kraken failed to take a step forward under Bylsma, finishing the campaign with five fewer standings points than Hakstol's final season while missing the playoffs for a second straight spring.

Injuries, player regression and special teams cost the Kraken last season. Seattle Eberle, defenseman Vince Dunn and since-traded center Yanni Gourde for significant stretches of the campaign. Jared McCann, a 40-goal scorer two seasons ago, recorded 22 goals in 82 games. Grubauer struggled to the point that he hit waivers in January. To cap it all off, the Kraken's power play and penalty kill ranked bottom-12 in the NHL.

The Kraken have plenty of reasons to hope for better results in 2025-26. Joey Daccord, who took over the starting role from Grubauer, is signed to a five-year extension that kicks in next fall. Young players like 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matthew Beniers, as well as Shane Wright and Eeli Tolvanen form an up-and-coming core. RFAs Kaapo Kakko and Ryker Evans could join them if re-signed this summer. The franchise also has 2024 No. 8 pick Berkly Catton eyeing his potential debut next season.

Lambert will now be tasked with developing the Kraken's young talent as Seattle looks to make its second playoff bid in franchise history next season.