SEATTLE — His résumé was displayed in the corner of the room, and though not awe-inspiring, it was adequate.

A Stanley Cup championship as an assistant with the Capitals. A 61-46-20 record in his season and a half as coach of the Islanders, where his firing two seasons ago came despite being four games above .500.

New Kraken coach Lane Lambert is hardly NHL royalty, but as one Pete Carroll can tell you — legendary status can still be achieved after a failed stint or two.

But fans of Seattle’s top hockey club aren’t thinking about that. They just want to know if it can return to the playoffs.

The postseason has been elusive for the Kraken over the past two years — and it’s not because of a tough break here or bad call there. After stunning the NHL in Year 2 of their existence — when they ousted the defending Stanley Cup-champion Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs — the Kraken haven’t been within 17 points of getting back to that 16-team tournament.

The disappointment in each of the past two seasons has led to the firing of the coach. So why should anyone believe Lambert’s hiring is going to make a significant change?

This isn’t a shot at Lambert, whose head-coaching career is too unproven to form any significant opinions. The Islanders performed a little better after he was let go, but not much — and they missed the playoffs that season.

But what can Lambert do with this Kraken team whose personnel seems to lack the star power to make a real dent? Will Year 5 yield satisfactory results?

“I don’t feel the pressure of that. I have an expectation on myself and my role, my job, my abilities,” Lambert said in response to a question about getting back to the playoffs. “I alluded to it a little bit earlier, when you start Day 1, it’s a process. It’s a journey. If you do the right things through that journey and do the right things every day, look to get better every day, and stick with the process, then the results will take care of themselves. You can’t get too far ahead of yourselves.”

This is the smart answer from the coach who had his introductory news conference Monday. No bold predictions. No “playoffs or bust.” No ammo for critics to use against him should the Kraken fall short again.

The bigger responsibility lies with the man who was sitting next to Lambert on Monday — Kraken general manager Jason Botterill. Botterill is who was tasked with rebuilding this team after his predecessor, Ron Francis, came up short in his four years as the lead personnel executive.

It’s Botterill who has to find a way to inject some scoring into a team that finished 16th in goals per game last season. It’s Botterill who has to strengthen a defense that finished 24th in the NHL in goals allowed last season.

The word “balance” came up more than a couple of times during Monday’s news conference. But next season isn’t about “balancing” mediocre and inadequate — it’s about bolstering every aspect of the roster.

Of course, a change in coaching certainly can make a big difference. This year’s Oilers are a prime example. Edmonton was 3-9-1 when Jay Woodcroft was fired as coach in November 2023. Now it is in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Kraken have a host of draft picks they can try to leverage to acquire new talent. Perhaps once free agency is over, this team will, in fact, look like one that can make a run that matches the magic of the spring of 2023.

But what about this team as is? What does Lambert see that can convince fans that the shortcomings of the past two seasons won’t be repeated?

“I think first of all we’ve got great young talent, we’ve got our veteran players, which we’ve already alluded to, but the detail, the structure — everybody being on the same page is going to be huge,” Lambert said. “We have a back-to-back record that wasn’t good last year. That’s going to change because of the structure and the detail, and from that standpoint, I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Interesting. Tough to think that Lambert is going to unveil too many strategic details at a news conference. He is, however, confident that the Kraken — who went 0-12 last season in the second games of back-to-back sets — can improve significantly when playing consecutive contests. We’ll see.

Monday’s news conference wasn’t a firework-fueled event that will get the whole town talking. It was a measured introduction that appropriately managed expectations.

Lambert might be able to make the current Kraken players better. But it’s on the front office to get the Kraken better players.

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