Kraken expected to promote Jason Botterill to GM

A restructuring within the front office of the Seattle Kraken is expected to see assistant general manager Jason Botterill elevated to the top job, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

Seravalli adds that the new arrangement would see current GM Ron Francis move into another role within the organization.

Named GM of the Kraken ahead of its inaugural season, Francis has been at the helm in Seattle since 2019. During that time, the longtime executive has overseen many major moves, including the 2021 expansion draft when the club chose a handful of notable players including goaltender Joey Daccord, forward Jared McCann, forward Jordan Eberle, and defenseman Vince Dunn.

Francis has also been active free agency player in Seattle, adding goaltender Philipp Grubauer on a six-year, $35.4-million deal in the 2021 offseason, while last summer the club recruited former Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson on a seven-year, $43.75-million ticket, plus former Florida Panthers blue-liner Brandon Montour, who agreed to a seven-year, $50-million pact.

Despite the additions, the Kraken closed out the 2024-25 regular season with a 35-41-6 showing and 20 points back of the second wildcard seed in the Western Conference, marking the third time in the franchise’s four-year history in which it has not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Earlier Monday, the Kraken fired head coach Dan Bylsma after a single season behind the bench.

For Botterill, the 48-year-old previously spent three seasons as GM of the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-20, a stretch in which the club finished with 62, 76, and 68 points. Under Botterill, the Sabres dealt several key players, highlighted by a 2018 move that saw center Ryan O’Reilly moved to the St. Louis Blues in a deal that returned five pieces including a fellow forward Tage Thompson plus a first-round selection in the 2019 NHL Draft.