The Avalanche moved fast to fill the coaching opening left by Dave Hakstol, and they didn’t have to look far for a familiar face. Colorado announced Friday that Brett McLean has been hired as an assistant coach, stepping into the role after Hakstol left for the head coaching job at Arizona State University earlier in the day.
McLean is coming back to the Central Division after a stretch that’s taken him through both the AHL and NHL. Once his playing career ended in the 2016-17 season, he jumped right into coaching with the Iowa Wild as an assistant and stayed there until the 2020-21 campaign, when Minnesota promoted him to its NHL staff.
He spent three seasons with the Wild before returning to Iowa as head coach, where the results were 54-74-10-6. Last season, he worked as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks.
This is also a reunion with Colorado. McLean spent two seasons with the Avalanche in the mid-2000s, putting up 24 goals and 75 points in 160 games while averaging 12:54 of ice time per night.
With Hakstol gone, McLean will presumably take over the power-play responsibilities. Colorado has gone 5-for-25 on the man advantage so far this season under Hakstol.
There was more Central Division injury news elsewhere, with Dallas hoping to get Wyatt Johnston back in the lineup on Saturday, according to Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News. Johnston missed the Stars’ recent games against the Avalanche because of an illness, and Dallas split those matchups. He still hasn’t scored this season, but he has chipped in four assists in five games, including three against the Buffalo Sabres on October 8.
The Stars also may be dealing with another issue up front. In last night’s win over Colorado, Dallas said Oskar Back left with an upper-body injury. Back had appeared in all seven of Dallas’ games this season, and the team has not said whether he’ll be available Saturday.
In Other News...
Stars Survived A Wild Avalanche Battle Colorado Won't Soon Forget
Cale Makar was back in the Avalanche lineup after missing the previous game for the birth of his twin boys, and Colorado got the kind of high-drama return game that reminded everyone how thin the margin can be against Dallas. The Stars came away with a 3-2 shootout win in a matchup that had plenty going on for Colorado, including notable nights from Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson and Nazem Kadri.
The game took on even more frustration for the Avalanche when two potential goals were taken off the board, one on an offside review and another for a kicking motion. Dallas survived all of that, then finished the job in the shootout to leave Colorado with a loss it will not forget anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Dallas Stars Prospects Are Already Raising An Uncomfortable Early Question
The Texas Stars have had a choppy opening to the AHL season, with a shootout win and a shootout loss followed by back-to-back defeats against Hershey. The results have been uneven enough on their own, but the bigger concern for Dallas is the early offensive shape of the roster, which has produced just eight regulation goals in four games. Mike Sgarbossa has led the way in points, and a few newcomers have given the lineup some life, including goaltender Brandon Halverson and defenseman Jack Anderson.
Emil Hemming was always going to be watched closely, and so far the early returns have been quiet. The top prospect is still looking for his first point of the season, and the blank slate has now stretched into a longer scoreless run at the pro level. For a farm team trying to find consistency, that leaves one of the organizations most important young forwards stuck in the middle of an uncomfortable early question about when the production is going to arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Stay In The Avalanche Race After Another Tight Battle
The Avalanche and Stars have already given the Central Division an early-season feel of a race that could go a long way. In a pair of tight games, the clubs split the set, with Colorado picking up three of a possible four points against Dallas and showing why it is once again one of the teams the Stars have to track closely over the long haul.
Jaden Schwartz has been part of the early push for Colorado, while Brock Nelson has also helped steady the Avalanche as they keep building through the opening stretch. Colorado now gets a more favorable run of games ahead, and if it takes advantage, the Stars may have to chase a little harder just to keep pace. [Read more 🡒]