The Seattle Kraken still don’t have a head coach for the 2025 NHL season, but based on a report by a noted NHL insider, they’re ready to end their search.

It just depends on if their choice wants to come to the Emerald City over a number of other options.

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Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff provided an update on the biggest available head coach name in the NHL on a recent edition of The DFO Rundown podcast, and the Kraken were the first team to come up as a suitor.

“When it comes to Rick Tocchet, I think he’s interviewed and been offered in Seattle,” Seravalli said.

That would be quite the story as Tocchet would be making a short jump over the border from the rival Vancouver Canucks if he decided to join the rival Kraken.

The thing is, the coaching carousel right now completely revolves around Tocchet, who led the Canucks to a Pacific Division title and won the NHL’s Jack Adams Award as the 2023-24 coach of the year, his first full season leading the team. He left Vancouver last month at the end of his contract, which followed a season that had locker room drama between stars J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson for several months.

Tocchet won’t return to Canucks, could be Kraken coach candidate

Seravalli listed the Penguins, Flyers and Bruins all as teams he believes are interested in hiring Tocchet. He also expects Tocchet could make serious waves with his next contract.

“I think Rick Tocchet has the coaching world eating out of the palm of his hand, and I think he’s going to have multiple mega-offers that are game changers for the coaching pay scale,” Seravalli said. “… I’m going to project that Rick Tocchet is on at least a five-year deal and north of $6 million per year.”

The Kraken have been without a head coach since they moved on from Dan Bylsma after just one season on April 21. At the same time, Seattle promoted Ron Francis from general manager to team president, and Jason Botterill from assistant GM to Francis’ old GM position.

Don’t hold your breath on the Kraken filling their vacancy all that soon if they have their hearts set on Tocchet, though.

“I think there are teams that are going to sit and wait until they get an answer from Tocchet,” Seravalli said. “You would think that that would come relatively soon except he’s going to do (NHL playoff broadcasts on) TNT.”

This is the second offseason in a row that the Kraken are making a change at head coach. They replaced inaugural head coach Dave Hakstol with Bylsma last year, meaning they will begin their fifth NHL season in the fall with their third coach.

The Kraken went 35-41-6 in the 2024-25 season to finish seventh in the eight-team Pacific Division. Tocchet’s Canucks went 38-30-14 and were fifth in the Pacific, finishing two spots back of a playoff berth.

More on the Seattle Kraken

• Here’s where the Kraken will pick in the 2025 NHL Draft
• Kraken voice Forslund weighs in on coaching, front office changes
• Seattle Kraken fire coach Dan Bylsma, make change at GM