Seattle Kraken AHL Coaching Job Is The Perfect Fit For Dan Bylsma

New Seattle Kraken’s minor-league coach, Dan Bylsma, has not been behind the bench as a head coach in a while. The 2009 Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguin hasn’t been a head coach since he was fired after the 2016-2017 season with the Buffalo Sabres. He followed that up with a job as an assistant coach on Jeff Blashill’s staff with the Detroit Red Wings until the end of the 2020-2021 season.

Bylsma is a head coach again but in North America’s second-best hockey league. On Tuesday, Bylsma was announced as the inaugural head coach of the expansion Coachella Valley Fire Birds. The Fire Birds will serve as the top farm team for the Seattle Kraken.

Bylsma has one of the best resumes out of coaches seeking a job, although after his last two lackluster stints in the NHL he was unlikely to receive serious big-league attention. His failure to bring Buffalo any type of success after the franchise drafted their then Mr. Everything dropped his stock. Not to mention, Jack Eichel wasn’t a fan of him. Even his success in 2009 was mostly using Michele Terrien’s roster after his midseason firing.

For the first time in a while, Dan Bylsma is a head coach but at the AHL level. The hire makes sense for him and for the Seattle Kraken.

Even if it’s “just the AHL”, this is a good gig for Bylsma. It’s a job in hockey, which he hasn’t had in over a year, in a very attractive area. No offense to Buffalo or Detroit, but Southern California is a much nicer locale. Bylsma gets to live life in the fancy California desert knowing the top job is Seattle is just an organizational step away.

Seattle was worse than they hoped to be last season. In the midst of their draft deadline fire sale, you could sense general manager Ron Francis might be feeling a bit of pressure and becoming impatient. Could current head coach Dave Hakstol be on a short leash? If he is, Bylsma seems certain to be a potential replacement.

Seattle should have no concerns about the problems that plagued Bylsma at his old jobs. Eichel was the main priority in Buffalo, so the team front office did anything to accommodate its then-star player. Seattle doesn’t have a player of that caliber yet, although Matty Berniers might eventually get there.  Bylsma was let go from Pittsburgh after multiple early playoff round exits. Seattle has to worry about getting near the playoffs before they worry about premature postseason exits.

This is a new and exciting opportunity for Dan Bylsma. For all his baggage, anyone who had success with a young Sidney Crosby has a lot to offer young players. This job might just be a formality as an audition to take over the big club in Seattle.