Seattle Kraken general manager Jason Botterill announced Thursday that Lane Lambert has been named the team’s new head coach, capping off a month-long search that began shortly after Botterill took the helm.
Lambert, 60, most recently served as associate coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. His hiring marks a reunion with several former players—including Chandler Stephenson, Andre Burakovsky and Philipp Grubauer—who won the 2018 Stanley Cup with Lambert as an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals.
He also previously worked closely with Kraken captain Jordan Eberle during a four-year run with the New York Islanders.
“After conducting an extensive search, we’re thrilled to announce Lane as our new head coach,” Botterill said in a statement. “What impressed us throughout the interview process was Lane’s strategy and vision for this team.”
Lambert becomes the third head coach in Kraken franchise history.
This will be Lambert’s second stint as an NHL head coach. He led the New York Islanders for parts of two seasons, guiding the team to a playoff berth in 2023 with a 42-31-9 record and a .567 winning percentage. The Islanders lost in six games to Carolina in the first round.
Lambert was let go midway through the 2023–24 season with a 19-15-11 record, finishing with an overall mark of 61-46-20 (.559) during his time with the Islanders.
Before his time in New York, Lambert was an assistant coach under Barry Trotz for 11 seasons across three teams—Nashville, Washington, and the Islanders.
His tenure included a Stanley Cup win in 2018 and multiple deep playoff runs.
Trotz had long advocated for Lambert to get his own team, once calling him “a demanding teacher” and “the ultimate team player.”
With Toronto, Lambert played a key role in improving the Maple Leafs’ defensive performance.
The team rose from 21st to 8th in goals-against in one season and secured the Atlantic Division title for the first time in franchise history with 108 points.
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