Without knowing what the roster looks like, I actually wouldn't expect a Hakstol team to tank in the standings. He loves low-event hockey and I would expect close games because of that (he was seemingly more critical of high scoring wins than low scoring losses, really odd). Now if you are expecting an exciting team like Vegas, you will probably be disappointed. His defensive and NZ systems were fine when he was a head coach and weren't worth much criticism. His OZ "scheme" however, of low-to-high, low percentage point shots, that's a separate issue. Philly also consistently had one of the worst PKs in the league when he was there. They flirted with historically poor GA rates from time-to-time.
Systems are one thing. Player deployment is another and that is probably the most important role of the bench boss. That was easily the most frustrating part of him as a head coach. Every coach has their type, but this man loved his no skill, veteran, heavy types like no one else. Guys like Andrew MacDonald who got waived, sent to the AHL, only to get recalled and played 20 minutes a night. Brandon Manning, who would get scratched to fit a guy like Sanheim in the lineup, only to return playing a top 4 role. Chris Vandevelde, who somehow didn't get healthy scratched until his very last game as a Flyer, playing late in games in high leveraged situations. Jori Lehtera. We're talking about guys out of the league once he was no longing coaching in Philly that he would just lean on in critical situations. My favorite Hakstol quirk was when he would bench Shayne Gostisbehere with 5 minutes to go in games (on the dot) that they were either leading or tied. No one played for the loser point quite like Dave. Now you may say today that Shayne Gostisbehere isn't very good and should have been benched late (you would be wrong), but at that time, Gostisbehere was clearly the best and most talented defenseman on that roster. And he often bailed out the team in OT to get the additional point (if they survived the literal collapse in the defensive zone in the dying seconds of regulation).
I think every fanbase thinks their coach hates playing young players and sometimes we do get carried away, but this guy was on another planet. With the exception of Ivan Provorov, who has this magic aura about him, and Robert Hagg (see above about no skill & heavy types) he just would not give any young player the benefit of the doubt. He seemed to base his decisions very much on reputation. He didn't have much time for the highly skilled, creative players, often benching players immediately after goals against or mistakes. Benching players for entire periods (Aube-Kubel once sat out an entire second, not third, period). He also didn't seem to understand the concept of PDO, which I'm not sure is unique to just him, but it played a part in odd usages. No one road an early season PDO heater quite like Hakstol. Oh and there was also the goalie usage. In college you only play one goalie and I think he kinda thought that would fly in the NHL also. Now that may not be a problem with Seattle not having a farm system or established pipe line of NHL-ready prospects, but if you are hoping he's the coach to lead you to the promised land, I wish you luck.
It's possible he's a changed man who got humbled by his first firing, but he was about as stubborn a head coach as I can remember, so I would not count on it.
