Hakstol has Kraken making unbelievable believable heading into Game 3

SEATTLE --Dave Hakstol held the game puck in the locker room after the Seattle Kraken eliminated the Colorado Avalanche with a 2-1 win in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round in Denver on April 30.

The Kraken had finished 30th in the NHL in their inaugural season of 2021-22. Now, a year later, the expansion team had upset the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"What a gutty performance, boys, top to bottom," Hakstol said in a video the Kraken released on social media. "Unbelievable."

He paused.

"Actually, it is believable," he continued, "because we've been doing it all [bleeping] year long, right? Been doing it all year long, because of the belief in the room right here."

Hakstol singled out goalie Philipp Grubauer for his performance that night, then panned his finger across the room to acknowledge "every single guy."

RELATED: [Complete Stars vs. Kraken series coverage]

You might think it's unbelievable that Hakstol was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award on Friday or that the Kraken will play the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the second round at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN, TVAS) with the best-of-7 series tied.

But you better believe that Hakstol belongs up for NHL coach of the year with Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins and Lindy Ruff of the New Jersey Devils. And though the award is based on the regular season, the Kraken's success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs reinforces the point.

"It's a real indicator of the good work that our players have done," Hakstol said Saturday. "It's a nice recognition of the hard work of the entire staff. But maybe more importantly, I believe it's an indicator of the progress as an organization, the steps that we've taken through the regular season, and that's really positive."

The Kraken struggled for a variety of reasons last season, from injuries to goaltending to COVID-19.

Hakstol's challenge was to take a group of guys who had never played together before and mold them into a team, and they had to cancel team-building events due to the pandemic, even their holiday party.

He remained the right man for the job.

"That's never wavered, from my standpoint," general manager Ron Francis said Saturday. "There were a lot of factors last year, but in my opinion, he wasn't one of them.

"... Just a lot of things that didn't go well for us. I was impressed Dave and the staff continued to stay solid in their approach and what they were trying to teach and the system they were trying to implement. I think this year has been a little bit different."

Center Matty Beniers, the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, joined Seattle at the end of last season.

In the offseason, the Kraken signed goalie Martin Jones, defenseman Justin Schultz and forward Andre Burakovsky in free agency, and they acquired Oliver Bjorkstrand in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Kraken were able to hold team-building events early this season, and as the season went along, they claimed forward Eeli Tolvanen off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Dec. 12.

"Our roster changed," Hakstol said. "Our roster really improved. So now we've had the luxury of being able to try to apply that while still having some of the foundation, and very important foundation, from Year 1."

Seattle improved by 19 wins and 40 points, earning the first wild card in the West.

Without a player in the top 58 in scoring, the Kraken scored 3.52 goals per game, tied for fourth with the Devils. They had six players with at least 20 goals and 13 with at least 13.

Hakstol plays to their strengths: speed and depth.

"He's just continued to work at it," Francis said. "He teaches a system that we want to play and gets buy-in from the players. We started having success, and I think it's been great in that regard."

The Kraken were known for counterattacking and scoring on the rush in the regular season. In the playoffs, they have been aggressive on the forecheck and kept opponents to the outside defensively.

"Every line plays the same, very structured," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said after the Kraken's first-round win. "Dave's got them playing the way they have to play to have success."

Hakstol has helped make the unbelievable believable.

"I think he obviously knows the game very well, he's very passionate about it, and he's here to win," defenseman Jamie Oleksiak said Saturday. "I think that translates to the locker room as well. I think he doesn't settle for just good enough. I think he's pushing for success, and I think we all kind of feed off that."