Don't Be So Sure Kraken GM Francis Only Gets One Coaching Change

Seattle Kraken fans two years from now already know who general manager Ron Francis tabbed to be his new head coach back in 2024. And whether that pick worked out. And whether Francis is still the GM.

Those idle thoughts are relevant here in the present, because of a widely expressed media narrative. Which is: Francis will get one shot to pick a replacement for Dave Hakstol. If that replacement doesn’t succeed to ownership’s expectations, Francis will be next to go.

That got us wondering how many kicks at the coaching can NHL owners generally give their general managers.

To corral the data, we set up guide rails. The chart below includes all current NHL GMs with their clubs for a minimum of five years. We’ve tallied the number of coaches they’ve hired and fired.

The far right column notes if one of the coaches fired was inherited, because those not brought in by their new boss often don’t last long. (“Was ICF?” means “Was Inherited Coach Fired.”)

1

13 general managers have been in their current position since at least 2019 – 14 if you count Francis, though his team has only played three seasons.

Only two have never had to dismiss a coach. One is Don Waddell in Carolina, the man who replaced Francis there. The same day Waddell took the job, Rob Brind’Amour became his coach. Despite Francis’ wishes to bring Brind’Amour to Seattle, it doesn’t appear he’s going anywhere.

The other enduring coach-GM relationship is in Tampa Bay, where Julien BriseBois has never had reason to stray from Jon Cooper. Two Stanley Cups, three straight trips to the Final will cement a relationship.

Steve Yzerman in Detroit is the only other GM on the list with as few as one coach firing.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Stars’ Jim Nill has dismissed five coaches, the Blues’ Doug Armstrong four. Five other general managers have changed coaches three times apiece.

The Takeaway

Each team has unique circumstances which affect its GM’s ability to survive multiple coaching changes.

Having said that, it’s clear a switch in bench bosses – even multiple switches – isn’t necessarily fatal to a general manager.

Will Ron Francis face the scenario of changing Kraken coaches again? If he does, will management sign off? If we’re able to make contact with those 2026 Kraken fans, we will be sure to report back.