As the Colorado Avalanche head into the Olympic break high on 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, easing the sting of their 7-7-2 record since the calendar flipped to 2026, the primary concern at this juncture is the fact that Avalanche currently own the NHL’s dead last ranked power play at with a 15.1% conversion rate. There is also the fact that the Avalanche are first in shorthanded goals against with nine, leading to a net of around 10%. Not pretty.
At this point the calls are getting louder to replace assistant coach Dave Hakstol over the break. One of his duties is to oversee the power play and while a change in that area sounds like an easy solution, it’s not that simple.
Ray Bennett was employed for eight years in a similar role on the Avalanche bench before a change to the coaching staff was made. As we’ve discussed before the power play has had its issues during the entire Jared Bednar era. It’s generally been a top ten unit but it also has been a tangible reason for multiple playoff defeats. This isn’t just a new issue cropping up this year. The reality is it’s going to take another playoff disappointment before any thought is given to making significant changes in personnel.
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For now, when the Avalanche are putting up gaudy analytics and are first place in league the standings by five points, that’s not the time to start firing staff. It is possible that Hakstol is a detriment to the power play but it’s also plausible that he’s helped this team elevate their 5-on-5 play to the top of the league with a 56.09% expected goals share.
As an aside, we also need to address the elephant in the room, there is still no replacement for Mikko Rantanen on the right side on the man advantage. He was the left-shot sniper on this unit at the right circle for ten years and was probably masking underlying issues. The organization isn’t likely going to spend the resources to find a direct replacement now.
The idea that one person is responsible for a collective group of people in a collaborative process is also faulty. There’s nothing wrong with asking for Hakstol to be held accountable but everyone else with their hand in the power play needs to be as well. Bednar is still in total control of all aspects of the team and the players are the ones participating on the ice. Everyone is involved in the power play process as clearly explained in the video below. It’s a stretch to think it falls on one person and that an assistant coach is given the ultimate authority over such an important aspect to the success of a team.
It’s too bad that a more forward thinking hire with some creative ideas and a track record for power play excellence wasn’t hired but that’s also not the magic solution. It’s really unfathomable to believe that all parties involved don’t understand the fundamental difference between a bad power play and a good one. Nathan MacKinnon famously remarked that fans don’t know what a good power play looks like. It’s pretty easy to start with the Edmonton Oilers’ top ranked unit and go from there. It doesn’t take a multi-million dollar hire to figure out that shooting closer to the net leads to more production.
If the staff and players aren’t watching the success and how the top power plays in the league are running it then there’s no hope. Are they just incapable of going to the front of the net and shooting from there? Is it up to the players to break out of their structure and improvise? Will that help Makar find the back of the net? Does someone need to tell him to stop hugging the blueline especially when the opposition knows he’s on an island back there and ripe for turnovers leading to shorthanded opportunities?
The time isn’t for scapegoats, it’s the time for solutions. There are enough tools and talent available to come up with something to drag the power play out of embarrassment. It may not ever become a top unit, or even a top ten once again without a left-shot sniper like Rantanen, but the man advantage can be a lot better even right now.
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But we also have to admit there’s a lot of stubborn thinking from all parties involved. It’s not just about a matter of execution, there has to be a willingness to try a few new things. There might be a glimmer of hope as we briefly saw a second defenseman in Brent Burns on the top unit in the Sharks game. If he begins to take over as quarterback and free up the most talented defenseman in the world (hint: Cale Makar) to shoot from all over the offensive zone, particularly in the area that’s lacking on the right side or perhaps even at the net front, then there might be some forward progress.