Ron Francis steps down as pressure mounts on the Kraken

Elliotte Friedman reported Wednesday that more change is coming and that Francis is stepping down. In Seattle, that kind of move lands as a front-office jolt, not background noise.

Francis had already been moved out of the GM chair last year, when Seattle elevated him to president of hockey operations and handed roster control to Jason Botterill.

So this is bigger than a title shuffle. If Francis is now stepping away from that role too, it points to deeper dissatisfaction with where the Kraken are headed.

Seattle sits at 32-34-11 through 77 games. That is not the kind of finish ownership had in mind after another year outside the real playoff picture.

Lambert is still early in his run as head coach, but the timing matters. When the hockey operations boss changes again, the bench never stays far from the conversation.

Botterill was brought in to reshape the roster and restore the speed identity the organization felt had slipped. A move above him now suggests that reset has not settled the room upstairs.

Francis was the first GM in franchise history and the executive tied most closely to the club's original build. If he is out, ownership is making it clear the first blueprint did not hold.

That is where the pressure shifts fast. Botterill now owns the next phase even more directly, and Lambert coaches under a spotlight that just got hotter.

Seattle's 75 points put them sixth in the Pacific. The standings are one thing, but this move says the organization is judging the bigger arc, not just one bad stretch.

And that is why Friedman's report hits. This is not about tweaking around the edges on the blue line or bottom six. It looks like Seattle is reopening the whole hockey operations picture.

Francis helped launch the franchise. If he is stepping down now, the Kraken are admitting the next push needs a different voice at the top.

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