After several weeks of speculation the Toronto Maple Leafs have hired their newest assistant coach—and it’s no-one who was rumoured to have been up for the position.
Dave Hakstol, who was fired as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers 31 games into last season, was last seen as the assistant coach of Team Canada at this year’s Worlds. It was Hakstol’s second stint with Team Canada and they’ve taken home silver both times.
He joins Mike Babcock’s coaching staff with an NHL record of 134-101-42 over three and a bit seasons. His longest tenure as a coach was in the NCAA with the University of North Dakota where he spent 15 years, 11 of them as head coach.