It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re deep into the conference finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but teams that didn’t make the tournament are in the news. Some clubs have already decided to make coaching changes and will have a different look behind the bench. A number of these vacancies have already been filled. However, there are still a few job openings yet to be filled. General managers would ideally like these vacancies taken care of prior to the NHL Draft.
One team that’s trying to find a new head coach is the Seattle Kraken. This edition of NHL rumours deals with an assistant from a high-profile team receiving interest.
All NHL Rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Seattle Kraken Have Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Coach High on List
Rumour: David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period stated that the Kraken have shown interest in Toronto Maple Leafs associate coach Lane Lambert. Pagnotta said that Lambert was interviewed last week for the position.
Analysis: Lambert is believed to be a frontrunner for the position according to Pagnotta. Names like Mitch Love, David Quinn, Jay Woodcroft and Jeff Blashill were also interviewed for the position. However, Blashill is off the market after the he was hired by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lambert interviewed for the post after the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round. This information was provided via a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast with Elliotte Friedman.
The insider said that it’s not a foregone conclusion that Lambert will be hired. However, Friedman stated that he was on top of their list. New Kraken General Manager Jason Botterill is looking to make the right hire since taking over in April.
What It Means
Lambert does have head coaching experience at the NHL level with the New York Islanders. He amassed 61-46-20 record in 127 games, but was let go after a season-and-a-half. Lambert was replaced behind the bench by Patrick Roy, but Lambert joined the Maple Leafs staff. He helped manage the forward group that had a top-10 rated offence.
It seemed that Lambert was hard done by former Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello. Lambert got the Islanders into the playoffs in 2022-23 after missing out the year before under Barry Trotz. During Lambert’s first season, the Isles were much better at even strength situations and picked up their scoring production. However, he was fired midway through the next season.
Lambert joined Craig Berube behind the bench in Toronto and became a valuable asset. That work has seemingly made Lambert a commodity to teams looking for a new head coach.
Seattle is looking for some stability behind the bench. Dave Hakstol was the team’s first head coach for the club’s first three seasons. Dan Bylsma came in last season after success at Coachella Valley, but he was fired just recently. Bylsma’s team struggled after the Kraken struggled in possession metrics. Botterill is hoping this fire will give the league’s newest team some much-needed continuity behind the bench.
Main photo by: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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