Avalanche Hire Dave Hakstol as Assistant Coach

The Avalanche made their most notable move of the offseason on Tuesday, hiring experienced coach Dave Hakstol as an assistant on Jared Bednar’s staff.

The 56-year-old will handle power play duties for the Avs, replacing the recently fired Ray Bennett.

Hakstol spent three years as the head coach of the Seattle Kraken from 2021-2024. He defeated Bednar and the Avalanche in seven games in the first round in 2023 but was let go a year later. Last season was his first in a decade without an NHL job.

Before joining the expansion Kraken, Hakstol spent two years behind the Toronto Maple Leafs bench as an assistant to both Mike Babcock and Sheldon Keefe. In Toronto, he was in charge of the team’s power play. In 2019-20, the Leafs had the sixth-best power play in the league, operating at a 23.7% success rate. The following season, Hakstol’s Leafs scored on 20% of their power plays.

Throughout his time with the Kraken, the power play was not as strong, granted he didn’t have the talent he had with Toronto or what he’ll be leading in Colorado.

Hakstol also spent four years as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers before being fired during the 2018-19 season.

I wasn’t sure if the Avs were going to land a big name for this job given how much more it might cost for an experienced coach. The terms of Hakstol’s deal were not disclosed, but I imagine it was worth more than a lesser experienced coach would’ve demanded.

Bednar’s staff has been mostly consistent in his nearly 10 years in Colorado. Especially when it comes to his assistants. I am very much intrigued by the idea that an assistant with head-coaching experience is joining his staff.

We’ve seen this before time and time again with other organizations but never with the Avs. It adds an extra element of experience and another voice to a room that has had the same leader throughout this entire era.

Colorado still needs to hire a skills coach to replace the recently departed Toby Petersen.

Read More: Avalanche’s Skills Coach Departs for Stars AHL Job