Dave Hakstol’s run behind the Colorado Avalanche bench is ending sooner than expected. He will coach his final game for Colorado on Wednesday night at Ball Arena against the Dallas Stars, then is expected to be named the interim head coach at Arizona State University, according to Brad Elliott Schlossman.
Colorado’s replacement is already lined up. Brett McLean, who played for the Avalanche from 2005-07, is set to join Jared Bednar’s staff before the team returns to action Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Schlossman reported McLean’s arrival as well, confirming what had been circulating since Monday.
McLean, 48, spent last season on Adam Foote’s staff with the Vancouver Canucks. His job there centered on the power play, and Vancouver finished 14th in the NHL at 21.8% despite ending up last in the league standings. The Canucks dismissed Foote and his staff in May.
Before that stop, McLean spent eight seasons in the Minnesota Wild organization. He worked three years as an assistant coach with the NHL team, another three as an assistant with their AHL affiliate, and then two more seasons as the AHL head coach from 2023-25.
Hakstol’s departure closes out his second season as an Avalanche assistant. Colorado hired him in the summer of 2025 to replace Ray Bennett and handle the power play, but the results have been uneven. The Avalanche were 27th in the NHL on the man advantage last season, and this year’s opening-night 4-for-5 burst hasn’t hidden the shaky start since.
His next stop comes as Arizona State tries to steady its program during an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding 21-year-old defenseman Matthew Mayich’s collapse during an outdoor workout on Aug. 20. Head coach Greg Powers was placed on paid administrative leave on Sept. 30, two days before the Sun Devils opened their season, and assistant coach Mike Corbett has been running the team in the interim.
Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said the program wanted an experienced coach with a strong grasp of college hockey and the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Hakstol fits that description.
Before his NHL career, he spent 11 seasons as North Dakota’s head coach, going 289-143-43 and reaching seven Frozen Four appearances. He later coached the Philadelphia Flyers for parts of four seasons and took the Seattle Kraken to their first playoff appearance in 2023.
In Other News...
Avalanche Suddenly Face A Bigger Problem Than Their Scoring Can Hide
The Avalanches early-season scoring has been good enough to keep most nights from feeling too heavy, but the cracks underneath are getting harder to ignore. Special teams have been the clearest issue so far, with an ineffective power play and a penalty kill sitting 15th in the league, leaving Colorado searching for cleaner structure in the moments that so often decide tight games.
The problem showed up again in the loss to Dallas, when a turnover by Cale Makar led to a shorthanded goal against, a sequence that summed up how costly the margin has become. Now there is another wrinkle to watch, with assistant coach Dave Hakstol leaving for Arizona State University and Brett McLean stepping in as his replacement, a change that could bring adjustments to how the Avalanche handle those pressure points. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Just Lost A Key Coach Behind Their Biggest Problem
The Avalanche are set to lose one of their assistant coaches as Dave Hakstol moves on to take over as Arizona States interim head coach, a change that comes after his time in Denver included helping behind the bench in a key role. The shift also carries a personal angle, with Hakstols move tied in part to his son being involved with the Sun Devils club team.
Colorado is expected to fill the opening with Brett MacLean, a former Avalanche player who has also spent time as an assistant with the Vancouver Canucks. It is another behind-the-scenes adjustment for a team that will now look to keep its coaching structure steady as one of its important bench voices heads to the college game. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Still Have One Costly Problem Against Central Division Contenders
After taking the first half of the back-to-back in Dallas, the Avalanche came home to Ball Arena and found the Stars had a quick answer. Colorado pushed the game to a shootout in a 3-2 loss, with Gabe Landeskog and Brock Nelson providing the goals in regulation and Nazem Kadri scoring for Colorado in the extra session.
It was another reminder that the Central Division still presents a different kind of test for the Avalanche, even early in the season. Colorado sits at 4-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 against division opponents, but Dallas answered with a shorthanded goal, an even-strength goal and a stronger shootout finish, leaving the Avalanche with one more night to sort out a problem that keeps showing up when the games get tight. [Read more 🡒]