SEATTLE -- Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol, who guided the franchise to its first playoff appearance a year ago, won’t get another chance at a second such berth.

The Kraken fired Hakstol, 55, on Monday after a disappointing campaign in which the team missed the playoffs and finished with 12 fewer wins and 19 fewer points than last season. His dismissal comes only 10 months after being a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year.

After a season-ending road victory against Minnesota on April 18, Hakstol had said: “Now, we have to take a step back and make sure that we do everything that we can to make sure that we’re not in this situation a year from now.”

Those above him in the organization apparently felt a change in coaches was one of those things.

Kraken general manager Ron Francis did not immediately announce a replacement but released a statement:

“I thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to the Kraken franchise. Following our end-of-the-season review, we have decided to make a change at our head coach position. These decisions are never easy, but we feel that this is a necessary step to help ensure our team continues to improve and evolve. Dave is a good coach and a terrific person. We wish him and his family all the best. We will begin our search for the Kraken’s next head coach immediately.”

Assistant coach Paul McFarland also will not return, Francis announced.

The team will conduct a coaching search that could extend beyond the NHL playoffs depending on whether prospective candidates are employed by teams still playing.

Among those to watch: Francis’ ex-teammate and current Carolina Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour, who the Kraken had hoped to hire in 2021 shortly before he signed a three-year contract extension. That extension expires after this season, and Brind’Amour is on record as saying negotiations won’t be easy.

Another to watch is Boston Bruins assistant Joe Sacco, a onetime Colorado Avalanche coach who was said to have been among the finalist candidates interviewed for the Kraken post three years ago.

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