Former Penguins coach Dan Bylsma brings the same energy to the Kraken

It became his signature as much as the Stanley Cup title he led the Pittsburgh Penguins to in 2009.

Be it in a postgame media scrum or a practice session that was recorded for television, Dan Bylsma was fond of repeating some variation of “We’ve got to get to our game.”

And nearly 11 years removed from his time with the Penguins, that hasn’t changed in his current station as coach of the Seattle Kraken.

“Yeah,” Kraken forward Jared McCann guffawed. “He says that quite a bit, for sure.”

The Kraken have yet to get to their desired game in Bylsma’s first season behind the bench. Entering Tuesday’s entanglement with the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, they had an 18-23-3 record and were in seventh place of the Pacific Division.

Tuesday’s morning skate was a fairly serious affair as the Kraken had lost five of their past six contests (1-4-1).

“A real recognition of where we’re at and how we’re playing and the results,” Bylsma said glumly. “No one is happy with that.”

Regardless of the current results, Bylsma is happy to be back in the NHL after spending the previous three seasons in the American Hockey League.

After being fired as coach of the Penguins in 2014 and then from the same position with the Buffalo Sabres in 2017, Bylsma spent three seasons as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings before am amicable parting in 2021.

That led to him linking up with the Kraken. Former Penguins executive Jason Botterill, currently the Kraken’s assistant general manager, brought Bylsma on as an assistant coach but at the AHL level shortly after he left Detroit.

But given that the Kraken were an expansion franchise at the time, it did not have a full-time AHL affiliate and shared the Charlotte Checkers with the Florida Panthers. Bylsma went to Charlotte as an assistant coach for one season (2021-22).

By the 2022-23 campaign, the expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds were up and running and Bylsma was installed as coach of that team. In that squad’s first two seasons, Bylsma led it to the Calder Cup Final, losing each time to the Hershey Bears.

This past May, the Kraken promoted Bylsma to be coach of the NHL club.

His time in the AHL offered profound benefits.

“Just a renewed energy or a renewed passion for coaching, for getting in with the guys, getting in with a team and growing a team,” Bylsma said. “Seeing that they can be at their best. … That coaching, that growth energized me a lot. That’s what I hope I’m bringing this time around.”

HE'S BACK ????

Dan Bylsma and @DanPotashTV reunite as the Penguins host the Kraken pic.twitter.com/5h8Wo2lGcI

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) January 14, 2025

That sounds a lot like what Bylsma brought to the Penguins in February 2009 when he was promoted from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Pittsburgh.

Roughly four months later, the franchise won its third Stanley Cup title.

“When he came in, the results weren’t there at the moment,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. “He brought a different attitude, a lot of energy in practice, a lot of energy in the games. The way we played with pace and tempo, I think reflects how he is as a person.”

Bylsma’s current players echoed a similar sentiment.

“He brings a lot of energy,” said McCann, himself a former member of the Penguins. “You see him out in the morning skates and the practices sliding around the ice. Just trying to keep things light-hearted. Things haven’t been going well for us … the last month. To have a guy like that who takes the weight off your shoulders sometimes, it’s nice.”

A common criticism of Bylsma during his tenure with the Penguins was he was unwilling to change his approach when the team failed to replicate the success they enjoyed in 2009.

He generally views the tactical side of the game through a similar lens today but acknowledges there is a need to adapt with regards to the implementation of those schemes.

“For me, growth as a coach is a little less X’s and O’s and black and white and more the identity pieces in how you want to play … and taking pride in who we are and what we do,” Bylsma said. “It’s also a change in a little bit in maybe looking back in where you could improve or making some decisions, going down a certain road for various reasons. One you look at and say ‘I can adjust from that.’ … We can adjust from those.

“It’s less X’s and O’s and black and white and more about how we feel and how we play and our identity in getting to that night in and night out as a group.”

Still, Bylsma has a specific game he wants to get to.

“The game is really no different now in terms of adapting and changing,” Bylsma said. “But there’s a recipe for aggressive, on-your-toes, physical, get-to-the-offensive-zone brand of hockey. You see a lot of teams trying to do it and trying to get there. We’re no different. You win the game in the offensive zone, and the longer you can be there, the longer you can stay there, the more you dictate the game.

“That’s hopefully what you see from the Kraken.”