GRAND FORKS — Dave Hakstol is back in the NHL.
The Colorado Avalanche have hired the former UND captain and head coach as their new assistant under Jared Bednar.
“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. “He has an extensive coaching background with a lot of success and will be a valuable addition to our team.”
Hakstol was last in the NHL with the expansion Seattle Kraken from 2021-24.
In Seattle’s second season, Hakstol’s Kraken stunned the Avalanche in a seven-game series in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Kraken were a game away from reaching the Western Conference Finals and Hakstol was one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.
The following year, the Kraken missed the playoffs and fired Hakstol just as his contract extension was set to begin.
Last season, with Dan Bylsma as head coach, Seattle took a step back, had five fewer points and missed the playoffs again. Seattle fired Bylsma at the end of the season.
Hakstol took last season off and spent it watching NHL and NCAA games from the press box.
He attended several UND games.
“I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Avalanche,” Hakstol said. “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.”
The Avalanche have reached the playoffs in eight straight seasons and won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
They are loaded with stars, including 2024 MVP Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who has twice won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.
Hakstol also will be reunited with former UND standout Brock Nelson, who signed with Colorado as a free agent. Hakstol recruited Nelson to UND and coached him for two seasons from 2010-12.
Hakstol was UND’s head coach for 11 seasons from 2004-15, taking the program to the Frozen Four seven times.
In 2015, Hakstol became the first coach to go straight from college hockey to the NHL in 30 years when the Philadelphia Flyers named him head coach.
He was with the Flyers for three-and-a-half seasons, taking them to the playoffs twice.
From 2019-21, Hakstol served as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.