Und hockey with dave hakstol biography

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs were busy on Saturday, naming former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol as an assistant on Mike Babcock’s staff and signing two depth players ahead of free agency.

Babcock Adds to Coaching Staff

Hakstol spent 3 1/2 seasons behind the Flyers’ bench, compiling a 134-101-42 record to go along with two six-game defeats in the first round of the playoffs.

The 50-year-old from Warburg, Alta., was fired on Dec.

17 after Philadelphia started the 2019-20 campaign 12-15-4.

Hakstol joins Paul McFarland, who spent the last two seasons with the Florida Panthers, as Babcock’s assistants after D.J. Smith was hired as head coach of the Ottawa Senators and Jim Hiller joined the New York Islanders. 

Prior to joining the Flyers, Hakstol spent 11 seasons as head coach at the University of North Dakota, where he went 289-143-43, won four Western Collegiate Hockey Association titles and made seven Frozen Four appearances.

My kids are getting older. A lot of the time, she is a single mom at home while we are on the road. A native of Warburg, Alberta, Hakstol was the head coach for Sioux City Musketeers for four seasons. When you have four kids and you are trying to play later in your life, it is not just about me. The discipline they showed this year in not complaining, being in and out of school, being online … Their friends were able to have play dates, but because of the protocols we were under, my kids saw nobody all year.

Finally, last week I went on a public whine suggesting that general manager Kyle Dubas should make the tough but correct business decision to trade Rielly rather than carrying him and his expiring contract as an internal rental.

In my mind, Rielly is not only a solid hockey player, but he’s a solid citizen.

He later became the first head coach of the NHL’s newest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken, in 2021. It is a family decision at this point. I wish him good luck in his new position.

In 2015, Hakstol accepted the head coach job with the Philadelphia Flyers, becoming just the fourth coach to jump straight into a head NHL job from the NCAA.

It is difficult to deal with the emotions. So, today, if you’re a fan of Rielly like I am, there’s a rumor of good news. He wrapped up by saying, “Credit to my wife, my kids, and the teachers for the stuff they did this year to keep the kids engaged and happy.”

Finally, Spezza summarized by saying that he was “really thankful that they are allowing me to play again.

One is the rumor that defenseman Morgan Rielly and the Maple Leafs are expected to work out a contract extension this offseason.

The second is offering some commentary from a long media interview with Jason Spezza after he re-signed with the team. Does everyone have input?”

I’ll share Spezza’s response and then comment about it.

Spezza said about his children, “This year was probably a longer one than normal just because they have needs.

“Entering the highest level of the profession, I wanted to absorb as much information as possible from the people and resources surrounding me while confidently following my own instincts and experiences in making decisions,” Hakstol said. 

Dave Hakstol, ’96

Now, three decades into coaching, Hakstol has taken some time to focus on family while planning and preparing for his next step.

Receiving the Sioux Award for Distinguished Achievement & Leadership brings it all full circle for him, as many of his favorite memories trace back to UND.

“We talked about the UND culture a lot, but more importantly, we lived it.

His recent long media interview after he re-signed with the team is worth reading, and you can do it by clicking the link provided just above.

Related: The French Connection

Although many things stood out from the interview including his admission that he would have signed for less than the NHL’s league minimum if he could have as a way to give the team more money to bring in better players, I want to focus on his comments when he answered the question: “What does the conversation look like with your family when you talk about coming back?

Kapanen’s three-year deal carries an annual average value of $3.2 million, while Johnsson’s deal is worth $3.4 million annually over four years.

But with free agency set to open Monday, fellow RFA and star forward Mitch Marner remains unsigned.

The Canadian Press