Seattle Kraken fire coach Dave Hakstol after leading the franchise for its first 3 seasons

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dave Hakstol on Monday after the third-year franchise took a significant step back following a playoff appearance in their second season.

Hakstol was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year last season as Seattle finished with 100 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals in its second year.

But the Kraken failed to match expectations this season and spent most of the year trying to climb back into playoff contention after a terrible start, and failed to build on the success of that playoff run. Seattle finished tied for fifth in the Pacific Division after going 34-35-13 with 81 points, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two weeks left in the regular season.

Hakstol went 107-112-27 in his three seasons in charge of the Kraken.

Seattle general manager Ron Francis hinted that changes could be coming less than a week after the season ended. Given the chance to confirm Hakstol would get a fourth season, Francis instead hedged and said a review was underway to analyze the entire coaching staff.