Colorado’s power play is getting a new voice, and for the Avalanche that’s no small thing.
Dave Hakstol has stepped away from the bench for another opportunity, leaving Colorado to hand the man advantage to Brett McLean. Hakstol’s departure comes as the Arizona State Sun Devils search for a new head coach after placing Greg Powers on administrative leave. For Colorado, the change arrives at a time when the power play already needed a jolt.
Hakstol brought a deep college pedigree to the Avalanche, including a run at the University of North Dakota where he won four national championships over 15 seasons in Grand Forks. But his season directing Colorado’s power play drew mixed reactions, especially with the unit finishing at 17%, four percent below the league average.
The issue hasn’t gone away this season. Colorado has managed just one power-play goal on its last 15 chances and sits at 20%, which puts the club in the bottom ten in the league. The talent is there, but the pieces haven’t consistently fit on the man advantage.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar made clear there were no hard feelings about Hakstol’s exit.
“Hakstol was a pro. ASU reached out to Joe (Sakic) about wanting to interview Dave, and the opportunity could be there for him.
Joe granted permission; I was all for it,” Bednar said. “Hack was awesome coaching here; it was a pleasure to coach with him, and he’s a great person, great coach, and we are all excited for him.”
Colorado didn’t take long to settle on McLean. Bednar said the search moved fast, with he, Andrew Cogliano and Joe Sakic making calls to see who was available and who could handle the job.
” I went to work on it, (Andrew) Cogliano, Joe, phoning people and seeing who’s out there, who might be available and who can do the job,” Bednar said. “We quickly landed on Brett, and his experience and his success at that job are a big part of it, and we got there pretty quickly.”
McLean arrives with the kind of background that makes sense for this assignment. He spent last season as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks, and their power play finished at 21.8%, 14th in the league.
Before that, he coached in the Minnesota Wild system for eight seasons beginning in 2017. He also knows Colorado from the other side of the rink, having played for the Avalanche for two seasons from 2005 to 2007.
Bednar pointed to that mix of personality and experience as part of what stood out.
“He’s got great personality, a great demeanor to him, he’s got great experience running good power plays, Vancouver was a good power play and Minnesota before that,” Bednar said.
There’s also a bigger tactical question waiting underneath the personnel change. Colorado’s power play leans on a 1-3-1 setup, with Nathan MacKinnon working the left flank and hunting one-timers. Bednar said he’s open to McLean making it his own.
“I told Brett I’m open to doing whatever you want, and so Joe and I both have opinions on our power play, as do our players, as does Brett, and he’ll get more as he starts, and he’ll have Cart Blanch to do whatever he wants,” Bednar said.
The Avalanche are still producing at a high level overall, leading the league with 32 goals. But most of that damage has come at even strength, not with the extra man. They’ve scored only four power-play goals so far, which is why this hire matters.
Colorado now moves forward with its third assistant coach in four seasons, and the focus is simple: can McLean get the power play to finally snap into place, or will the problems linger?
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