The Colorado Avalanche continue to have power play problems. Following the news that assistant coach Dave Hakstol, who runs the team’s current power play, is leaving for Arizona State, Colorado has a chance to reset its biggest weakness.
Colorado has back-to-back games against the Dallas Stars today and Wednesday. While Hakstol is expected to join ASU “as soon as Friday,” I wonder if head coach Jared Bednar will have somebody else running the power play unit or if Bednar is okay with Hakstol continuing that role until he exits.
You know the saying, “there’s no better time than the present”? That is the case in this situation. While there is still much of the season that has to be played, the final standings could come down to the wire. Every game counts. I don’t like the idea of the Avalanche continuing its power play performance the way it is—not in back-to-back games vs Dallas.
Colorado has four power play goals on the season and a 22.2% conversion rate, which is good for 12th. That placement isn’t bad but the overall percentage is, when you consider that the Utah Mammoth has a conversion rate of 40% and 10 goals to go along with that.
One of the issues is that the season is so long and teams will eventually start to have fluctuating numbers across the board. It’s unlikely that Utah will continue its high power play performance throughout the entire season. For instance, The Oilers finished the 2025-26 season with a conversion rate of 30.6%.
If the Avalanche officially switch power play systems, their positive outlook will likely resume. As of right now, it is the one thing that is holding them back and that is not going to cut it later down the road, in particular the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If I were Bednar, I would look at the Mammoth’s power play success, or even the Minnesota Wild’s. Both teams are atop the power play standings, with multiple players having more than one power play goal. Something is obviously working for those teams. Colorado should take advantage of scouting its division opponents to help improve on their biggest weakness.
The Avalanche’s power play is just way too predictable. It’s just an all-too-familiar situation going on and I hope that the departure of Hakstol is the key to unlocking a superior special teams unit. If nothing changes once Hakstol departs Colorado, it might be time to be concerned about this team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google