New Kraken GM Jason Botterill conducts ‘extensive’ process to find Seattle’s next head coach. His choice is Toronto Maple Leafs associate coach with deep roots in winning
When Seattle general manager Jason Botterill was hired a month ago, he immediately embarked on a purposeful, in-depth search for the next Kraken head coach. Botterill didn’t rush the process. He started with a lengthy list of possible coaches that he whittled down to interview and re-interview the top candidates. He stayed patient, he learned a ton, and on Thursday, he found his man in Lane Lambert. The 60-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs associate coach becomes the Kraken’s third head coach in franchise history, and along with it, reunites with players Chandler Stephenson, Andre Burakovsky and Philipp Grubauer as members of the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.
“After conducting an extensive search, we’re thrilled to announce Lane as our new head coach,” said Botterill. “We cast a wide net for suitable candidates. What impressed us throughout the interview process was Lane’s strategy and vision for this team. He was an integral part of the Capitals winning the Cup and the Islanders advancing to two straight Eastern Conference finals. We have full confidence in Lane to lead this team behind the bench.”
This will be Lambert’s second time as an NHL head coach. He took over behind the New Islanders bench for the 2022-23 season, guiding a team that missed the playoffs the previous spring to a 42-31-9 record and a .567 winning percentage, good for the top wild-card spot in the highly competitive Eastern Conference. The Isles lost a tight six-game first-round series to Carolina in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2023-24, NYI was off to a 19-15-11 (.544) mark when he was replaced by Patrick Roy midseason. His overall record with the Islanders was 61-46-20 with an overall win percentage of .559.
Lambert’s most recent role in Toronto manifested as 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube rebuilt his coaching staff when hired by the Maple Leafs last summer. It’s important to note Lambert was hired by Berube as an associate coach and carried more responsibility than typical assistant coaches, overseeing a Toronto defensive effort improved from 21st in goals-against to eighth as the Leafs won the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history, totaling 108 standings points.
“I’m so excited to become the head coach of the Seattle Kraken,” said Lambert. “When it came time to writing a new chapter, I couldn’t think of a better fit. Seattle is an incredible sports town, and I’ve been impressed by the energy of the fans every time I’ve been there as a visiting coach. This team has a talented group of young players poised to take the next step and a core group of veterans with great leadership qualities. I’d like to thank Samantha Holloway, Ron Francis and Jason Botterill for this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”
Successful NHL Connection with Trotz, Lamoriello
Lambert has worked as an NHL coach since 2011, including 11 seasons as the top assistant with head coach Barry Trotz, first in Nashville, then Washington (for a historic Cup run with Stephenson, Burakovsky, Grubauer, Alex Ovechkin and company) and next the Islanders, reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs eight times and always winning at least one series each spring. Lambert served as Trotz’ associate coach with more responsibility during the four years together on Long Island and replaced Trotz when the Islanders finished out the 2022 playoffs. Even with being ousted, Trotz was publicly emphatically happy for his long-time coaching partner, telling Lambert directly he was “thrilled” about the move.
“Lane’s got a really tremendous understanding of the game,” said Trotz to the Detroit Free Press in 2020 when the Red Wings were looking for a new coach. “He’s passionate. He’ll listen. I think he’s a demanding teacher, and he is all in on winning. There’s no agenda. You talk about the ultimate team player — that’s Lane.”
Trotz’ observations of the new Kraken coach’s four seasons as head man with Nashville American Hockey League affiliate Milwaukee, where he coached Nashville’s 2020 Norris trophy winner Roman Josi and all-time goaltending great Pekka Rinne among others, sealed the deal of promoting Lambert to become his top NHL assistant. “I saw how our young players improved, saw how detailed and prepared they were coming up. He really has a good understanding of all facets of the game, and he speaks from the heart.”
During the 2021-22 season, Trotz took an 11-day leave to attend to his mother’s funeral and related family matters. The Islanders won two of three games with associate coach Lambert in charge. Lou Lamoriello, the legendary Cup-winning NHL general manager then running the Isles, took it upon himself to sit in on coaching staff meetings during Trotz’ absence.
“When put in that role, [Lambert] had no questions in his mind as far as his decision-making, no insecurities in the conversations I had with him,” Lamoriello said to The Athletic when announcing Lambert’s move to head coach. “The homework he did prior to making some of the decisions that were put upon him, whether it be a line change, mixing the lines, the systemic parts of the game … He was totally comfortable in his own skin to make decisions that had to be made.”
Reunites with Kraken Captain Eberle, Others Too
As associate coach with NYI for four seasons with Kraken captain Jordan Eberle a mainstay in the lineup, the team appeared in three straight postseasons, including consecutive Eastern Conference finals (losing 1-0 in Game 7 of the 2021 East final in which Kraken original Yanni Gourde scored a shorthanded and only goal of the game). The team’s record during the four seasons was 152-102-34.
During the final quartet of seasons in D.C. with Stephenson, Burakovsky and Grubauer (three years), Trotz, his top assistant Lambert and the Capitals posted regular-season winning percentages of .616, .732, .720 and .640 (the Cup year) and nabbing two straight Presidents’ trophies for the NHL’s best regular-season record in 2016 and 2017. That’s a lot of winning and gets more impressive considering Lambert’s four-season winning percentage as head coach of the American Hockey League Milwaukee Admirals was .617 with a 178-103-39 record.
Over the years with Trotz, Lambert has been in charge of the forwards group, power play, defensive group and penalty kill at different times. Along with AHL coaching success, Lambert spent four seasons as a Western Hockey League coach (two as an assistant with Moose Jaw, two more with Prince George), earning the opportunity in Milwaukee.
As for Kraken hockey operations staff members who have worked with Lambert at previous stops, he worked with head equipment manager and 2025 IIHF World Championship gold-medalist Jeff Camelio in Nashville plus head video coach and fellow Stanley Cup winner Tim Ohashi in D.C. Plus, as a player, Lambert was part of the 1999 International Hockey League champion Houston Aeros coached by Kraken coaching consultant and the Seattle franchise’s first hockey operations advisor Dave Tippett.
Looking for “CEO of the Locker Room”
During an exclusive interview just days before making the inarguably monumental decision about with whom he would partner in leading the Kraken to perennial playoff contender status, Botterill explained what he was looking for off-the-ice to go along with an on-ice team that plays with speed, relentless pressure and stronger in all zones, period in and period out.
“A huge part of being an NHL head coach is the relationship building,” said Botterill, who confirmed Thursday that Lambert checked every single box on his hiring must-have list. You have to communicate with all of your players. You have to communicate with your staff. The days of a coach coming in, yelling at the team and then storming off? Long gone.
“You have to have constant communication with your players. I think it’s important that it doesn’t just always come from the head coach. The coach has to delegate, and Lane is deeply familiar with that. The coach has to make sure his assistants are interacting non-stop with the skills coach and strength coach, so you are all on the same page, delivering the same message to the players. You’re looking for the head coach to be the CEO of the locker room.”
Scored 20 Goals, Roomed with Yzerman as Red Wings Rookie
As a player, Lambert was a 6-foot, 185-pound power-forward type selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round (25th overall) of the 1983 NHL Draft. The high draft pick roomed in a Detroit apartment with future Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman (picked 4th overall), in their rookie NHL season. Lambert scored 20 goals that year (Yzerman notched 39) and 115 penalty minutes. He spent six seasons in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche), and the New York Rangers. In 283 regular-season NHL games, Lambert recorded 124 points (58 goals, 66 assists) and 521 penalty minutes.
He played another decade of pro hockey after the NHL, including two seasons with the Canadian national team, plus franchises in the AHL, the top German pro league, the top Swiss league and the International Hockey League, which later merged with the AHL. Lambert and his Adirondack (NY) teammates won the AHL’s Calder Cup in 1986 with the new Kraken leader notching 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists) in 69 regular-season games and adding both a strong veteran presence and 10 points (five goals, five assists) in the victorious playoff run. In 1999, Lambert joined the IHL Houston Aeros late season to wreak havoc among opponents with his net-front presence and aggressive forechecking to help the aforementioned Tippett and teammates win the league title.
