Lane Lambert was hired as coach of the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
The 60-year-old replaces Dan Bylsma, who was fired April 19 after one season, and will coach for the second time in the NHL. He was 61-46-20 in 127 regular season games and 2-4 in six Stanley Cup Playoff games for the New York Islanders, who fired him Jan. 20, 2024, after two seasons.
Lambert was an associate coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season under Craig Berube. Toronto (52-26-4) won the Atlantic Division and reached the Eastern Conference Second Round, a seven-game loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Kraken (35-41-6) missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time in their four seasons, finishing seventh in the Pacific Division and 20 points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card from the Western Conference. Jason Botterill was promoted to executive vice president and general manager and former GM Ron Francis became president of hockey operations.
Botterill confirmed April 22 that assistant coach Jessica Campbell will be retained for next season with decisions on the rest of the coaching staff coming on a later date. Campbell became first woman to coach behind an NHL bench after following Bylsma to Seattle from Coachella Valley.
Lambert was Islanders associate coach under Barry Trotz for four seasons (2018-22) and won the Stanley Cup as Trotz’s assistant with the Washington Capitals in 2018. He was a Nashville Predators assistant from 2011-14 under Trotz, coached Milwaukee of the American Hockey League for four seasons (2007-11) and was an assistant for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 2006-07. Lambert was a second-round pick (No. 25) of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1983 NHL Draft and had 124 points (58 goals, 66 assists) in 283 regular-season games as a forward for the Red Wings, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are the lone team without a coach. The Boston Bruins ended the season with Joe Sacco as interim coach and are conducting a search for a permanent coach.
Jeff Blashill was hired by the Chicago Blackhawks on May 22, Rick Tocchet (Philadelphia Flyers) and Adam Foote (Vancouver Canucks) on May 14, Joel Quenneville by the Anaheim Ducks on May 8 and Mike Sullivan by the New York Rangers on May 2.
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