Kraken promote Jason Botterill to GM

The Seattle Kraken have restructured their front office, with assistant general manager Jason Botterill elevated to the top job and outgoing GM Ron Francis assuming the role of president of hockey operations, the club announced Tuesday.

Named GM of the Kraken ahead of its inaugural season, Francis had been at the helm in Seattle since 2019. During that time, the longtime executive oversaw 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 was also an active free agency player, 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 failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On 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 trade 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.

Prior to joining the Sabres, Botterill was a part of hockey operations with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2007-17.