The Colorado Avalanche hired Dave Hakstol as an assistant coach Tuesday to fill out Jared Bednar’s staff.
Hakstol has had two stints as an NHL head coach — first with the Philadelphia Flyers and most recently with the Seattle Kraken. His Kraken squad knocked the defending champion Avalanche out of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs in a first-round upset.
“Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience behind the bench and will be a great fit on Jared’s staff,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a team statement. “He has an extensive coaching background with a lot of success and will be a valuable addition to our team.”
Before three years with the Flyers, three with the Kraken and a two year-run as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hakstol rose to fame in the coaching world at his alma mater, North Dakota. Hakstol was the head coach for 11 years and reached the Frozen Four seven times.
He was a Jack Adams Award finalist in 2023, helping the Kraken to the only playoff appearance in Seatte’s four-year history. That team defeated the Avs in seven games and then pushed the Dallas Stars to a seventh game before losing in the second round.
Hakstol replaces longtime Avs assistant Ray Bennett, who was fired after Colorado’s seven-game series loss to Dallas to end last season. Bennett, who coached the forwards and the power play, took the fall when the Avs faltered with the extra man against the Stars. They scored three times in 22 power-play opportunities.
Toronto’s power play finished tied for fifth and 16th in Hakstol’s two seasons as an assistant with the Maple Leafs. Seattle’s power play also improved in Hakstol’s second and third seasons, though never finished higher than 17th in the league.
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Hakstol has also coached on a pair of Team Canada staffs at the world championships, in 2017 (with Nathan MacKinnon on the team) and in 2019 (with Mackenzie Blackwood on the roster).
“I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Avalanche,” Hakstol said in a team statement. “This is a proud organization with a lot of talented players and a tremendous coaching staff led by Jared Bednar. I look forward to being a part of this special group and can’t wait to get to work and help the team in any way that I can. My family and I are also very much looking forward to being a part of this community and wonderful state of Colorado.”
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