The Seattle Kraken made a serious play off the ice on Thursday, unveiling a pair of offseason hires meant to fortify both the front office and the bench. Former Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin is coming in as vice president and assistant general manager, while veteran coach Pascal Vincent joins Lane Lambert’s staff as an assistant. The timing is no accident, with the Kraken staring down the draft and free agency while trying to clean up the issues that surfaced last season.
In a team release, general manager Jason Botterill called Allvin “a great fit to help us build long-term success,” according to the Seattle Kraken. The announcement confirmed Allvin’s title as vice president and assistant general manager and formalized Vincent’s role as an assistant coach under Lambert.
Allvin's track record
Allvin, 51, spent roughly four and a half seasons running the Vancouver Canucks and became the first Swedish general manager in NHL history, according to FOX 13 Seattle. Before Vancouver, he logged 16 years in the Pittsburgh Penguins front office, starting as a European scout and working his way up to assistant general manager. He was part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams during that stretch. As the Kraken noted in their release, Allvin said he was “grateful for this opportunity” and eager to collaborate with Botterill and the rest of Seattle’s hockey operations group.
Vincent's coaching résumé
Vincent, 54, arrives from the Laval Rocket, where he won the AHL’s Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award and guided Laval to a league-best 48-19-5 record and 101 points in the 2024-25 season, according to the Laval Rocket. His NHL background includes a stint as an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets and one season as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023-24, when the team finished 27-43-12, per the Columbus Blue Jackets. Seattle targeted Vincent for his AHL success and reputation for developing young players, a profile that fits neatly with the Kraken’s effort to build a deeper pipeline.
Why the hires matter
The moves come on the heels of a front-office shake-up earlier this spring and a pledge from ownership to carry out an independent review of hockey operations, a process aimed at identifying and fixing organizational issues, according to The Spokesman-Review. With Ron Francis stepping back from day-to-day duties, Botterill is now surrounding himself with seasoned executives and coaches to stabilize scouting, player development and pro personnel decisions. The next stretch, including the draft and the early days of free agency, will be the first real stress test of whether this revamped group can turn paperwork into progress on the ice.
Allvin joins Ricky Olczyk, Alexandra Mandrycky and Ryan Jankowski in the ranks of Seattle’s vice presidents and assistant general managers, while Vincent slots into a coaching staff led by Lambert and fellow assistants Chris Taylor and Aaron Schneekloth, according to the Seattle Kraken. Kraken fans will not have to wait long for an early read on these hires. The draft board and the first wave of free agents should offer a quick glimpse of whether all this experience can actually move the needle where it counts.
