Golden Knights' Opposing Division Coaches: Dave Hakstol

Dave Hakstol failed to redeem himself this past season after being fired by the Philadelphia Flyers early on in the 2018-19 season.

Hakstol was brought on in June of 2021 to be the first head coach of the NHL's newest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken. 

Unfortunately for Seattle, the team didn't get much of a hospitable welcoming to the league, having finished in last place in the Pacific Division with a 27-49-6 record.

Hakstol and the Kraken appeared doomed from the get-go after starting the 2021-22 season with a 1-4-1 record. The following month, the team dropped six contests in a row as part of a 1-8 stretch.

The worst would come in December when Hakstol led Seattle to a nine-game losing streak from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15.

From Feb. 14 to March 10, they went 1-9-2, putting themselves out of playoff contention with over a month and a half still to go in the regular season.

Prior to Seattle, Hakstol had been the head coach of the Flyers for three-plus seasons.

In his first year with Philadelphia, he led the Flyers to a postseason berth with a 41-27-14 record after it missed the postseason the year before.

That ticket to the playoffs would be the only extension the team saw for its season, as the Flyers lost in the first round to the Washington Capitals in six games.

Hakstol was unable to further the franchise's progress the following season, and actually took a step backward, going 39-33-10 and missing the postseason.

He and the team made a point to end the inconsistency in the 2017-18 season when the Flyers finished in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 42-26-14 record.

Hakstol led Philadelphia back to the Stanley Cup Playoff, only to be bested in six games in the first round yet again. This time, its season ended at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After a 12-15-4 start to the season the following year, Hakstol was fired by the Flyers. The team went 25-22-4 after his departure.

The 54-year-old coach has a chance to return to the NHL postseason as a head coach with Seattle next season. While it's hard to come back and do so the year after finishing in last place in the division, the team has added some key pieces in forward Andre Burakovsky and the fourth-overall pick of this year's draft, forward Shane Wright.