On Wednesday, Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis refuted reports from Emily Kaplan that there were important names on the Kraken roster who told management they wouldn’t want to keep playing for the Kraken if head coach Dave Hakstol returned. The belief was, as a result of those testimonies from players in the exit interviews, Hakstol was fired. The rumor is false, says the organization. Furthermore, they are disappointed in the reports.
Francis, along with some other key players on the Kraken roster vehemently denied those conversations ever took place.
The Seattle Times published a piece quoting Francis and names like Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann, all whom say the reports aren’t true. There were no instances where players expressed their dissatisfaction with Coach Dave Hakstol which led to his termination. Francis noted, “not a single player” had made such statements. He clarified that the decision to part ways with Hakstol was unrelated to player feedback and that the organization made the decision for other reasons.
Forwards Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann also denied the reports. Eberle noted he was “extremely disappointed” in the report and McCann said “left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Kraken Says the Exit Meetings Aren’t About Coaches and Their Jobs
Francis said that the point of exit meetings aren’t to air grievances about coaches if there are any. And, players certainly weren’t presenting ultimatums in any meetings that may have happened outside of the exit interviews.
He noted:
“Zero players issued any ultimatums of any kind regarding the coach — that I can assure you. That’s not what those meetings are really about. Usually, it’s us telling players what they have to do to prepare for next season, or how we thought they did this season. No one sits there asking them ‘What did you think of the coach?’ That’s not what these meetings are there for.”
Hakstol was one of many coaches to be fired this season. The Kraken underperformed, but that isn’t entirely his fault.
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