SEATTLE — We’re waiting.

More than a month after the Kraken missed the playoffs and fired their coach for a second consecutive season, Dan Bylsma’s seat has yet to be filled. Meanwhile, incoming coaches have been hired by the Kraken’s competitors. Mike Sullivan to the Rangers. Rick Tocchet to the Flyers. Joel Quenneville to the Ducks. Jeff Blashill to the Blackhawks. Adam Foote to the Canucks.

Suddenly, Seattle is one of three teams — along with the Bruins and Penguins — without a bench boss.

So, is it time to be concerned about the Kraken’s coaching search?

The outside optics are not encouraging. Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli reported that Tocchet — who won the Jack Adams NHL coach of the year award with Vancouver in 2023-24, then stepped aside this spring after a disappointing season — had “interviewed and been offered in Seattle.” But though Tocchet has previous ties to Kraken president of hockey operations Ron Francis and general manager Jason Botterill, the former Flyers winger opted to return to Philadelphia instead.

Blashill — who previously coached the Detroit Red Wings (2015-22) and most recently served as an assistant in Tampa Bay — was another rumored Kraken candidate who last week was hired by the Blackhawks.

Granted, Botterill claimed during a Q&A with season-ticket holders last Thursday that, “We have not offered the job to anybody at all yet. We feel very comfortable with our process. It’s actually a really enjoyable process.”

Less so, I assume, for frustrated Kraken fans.

Whether the Kraken have extended an official offer, it’s worth wondering — four years in — how this franchise is perceived. The Kraken have managed a single playoff appearance, amassing serviceable pieces but few potential stars. They’ve fired two consecutive coaches and promoted their general manager (Francis, to president) and assistant general manager (Botterill, to GM) despite the backslide. They’ve trusted Botterill, whose first stint as an NHL GM in Buffalo was a bust, to revitalize the roster.

They’ve excelled in building a brand, first-class facilities and a culture of community service … but have struggled to sustain on-ice success.

“It takes time to build an organization, and now it’s been four years,” Kraken owner Samantha Holloway said last month. “What we would like to be is a sustained playoff team.”

Kraken fans have been waiting in more ways than one.

I get it: building an organization isn’t easy, particularly in a league that learned from previous expansion franchise Las Vegas’ success. But four years in, it’s fair for Kraken fans to feel antsy, to want more than a .432 winning percentage and a two-year-old playoff upset of the Colorado Avalanche.

It’s fair to wonder how close the Kraken are to being a “sustained playoff team,” and if the answer reveals why rumored coaching candidates are ending up elsewhere.

Consider the competition. Alongside Seattle (35-41-6, 76 points in 2024-25), seven NHL teams were tasked with hiring a coach this offseason — Boston (33-39-10, 76 points), Chicago (25-46-11, 61 points), Philadelphia (33-39-10, 76 points), Anaheim (35-37-10, 80 points), New York (39-36-7, 85 points), Pittsburgh (34-36-12, 80 points) and Vancouver (38-30-14, 90 points). From a points perspective, Seattle bested only the Blackhawks, who can build around a 19-year-old expected star in Connor Bedard.

Do the Kraken have expected stars?

That, it seems, is up for interpretation.

Though former No. 2 overall pick Matty Beniers is just 22 years old, he has yet to approach the success of his rookie season. Though 21-year-old center Shane Wright notched an encouraging 19 goals in 2024-25, his ceiling is uncertain. Though Berkly Catton, Jani Nyman, Carson Rehkopf, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, etc., are all promising prospects, they’re not all bound to bloom.

Without question, the Kraken have strengths to sell. Like a capable core that includes Beniers, Wright, Jared McCann, Brandon Montour, Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson and Kaapo Kakko. Like the 19-year-old Catton, who notched 109 points in just 57 games for the Spokane Chiefs last season and could crack the Kraken roster sooner than later. Like an invested ownership group and the aforementioned facilities. Like a widely accessible broadcast on the Kraken Hockey Network. Like $20-plus million in projected salary-cap space and five first-round picks in the next three drafts to dangle as trade bait.

“We have a center situation here right now of [Chandler] Stephenson, Wright, Beniers down the middle, with Berkly Catton another one we have signed that we have high hopes for in the future, too,” Botterill said last month. “So I think a coach looks at this situation here and looks at the talent, looks at our facilities, looks at our dedication to winning, and I think it’s still an opportunity for a lot of success here.”

Who will earn, and accept, that opportunity? On Monday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman listed three NHL assistants — Toronto’s Lane Lambert, Washington’s Mitch Love and Pittsburgh’s David Quinn — as the franchise’s finalists. Love, of course, is no stranger to Seattle — considering he played for and coached the nearby Everett Silvertips and became the only player in franchise history to have his jersey retired.

Botterill did note in April that “it’s not as if we’re one player away right now from a Stanley Cup championship. We have to become a perennial playoff team first and then find our way.”

Still, considering the back-to-back firings of Bylsma and Dave Hakstol, the Kraken clearly believe they’re capable of being a perennial playoff team.

I’m just not sure the rest of the NHL agrees.

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