Denver’s David Carle is the NHL’s hottest coaching candidate. Could he be the teacher the Flyers are looking for?

ST. LOUIS — As David Carle sat at the podium in the bowels of the Enterprise Center after last Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal loss, there was one question on everyone’s mind: What’s next for the University of Denver coach?

Carle’s Pioneers had just been eliminated by Western Michigan in double overtime, ending their quest to repeat as national champions. With NHL teams circling, would the loss mark the end of a remarkable seven-year run for Carle at Denver that had yielded four trips to the Frozen Four and two national titles?

“My answer really hasn’t changed,” Carle said when asked about his future. “Without dissecting and giving you the honest answer you deserve — because that takes time — I would just reference you to previous interviews that I’ve shared the information [in] because nothing has changed."

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So what has he said in the past?

Across multiple interviews, Carle has expressed disdain for the annual NHL coaching carousel. Compared to college hockey, he doesn’t feel it allows for things to marinate. But, given all his successes at just 35 years old, coaching’s rising star will be the hottest candidate in the upcoming NHL hiring cycle.

“It would need to be a life-changing opportunity in a lot of ways,” he said in January on Daily Faceoff’s Frankly Speaking. “But, it also needs to be a team with a vision that aligns with what I see as it relates to winning.

“I think the way coaches are recycled through the NHL is obviously, personally, don’t believe it’s the best way to have success. ... A patient vision, where you’re working collectively with a group of people, players, management, coaches, all alike, I think that’s the way forward. The NHL is not really that right now.”

There is also comfort for Carle at Denver.

Although he told the Denver Post last May that he interviewed for a head coaching job in the NHL both last year (reportedly St. Louis) and two years prior, Carle said he wasn’t planning on going anywhere. He has a young family who enjoys living in Colorado and he has a plush job at the university, one he views “as a top-five job in all of North America when it comes to hockey.”

Then there is the loyalty factor. Carle, whose NHL playing hopes ended after being diagnosed with a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) ahead of the 2008 draft, had his scholarship honored by Denver. Carle began his coaching rise as a student assistant with the Pioneers and served in that role throughout his four years as an undergrad.

He then joined former Denver assistant Derek Lalonde for a season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League, before returning to Denver as an assistant under Jim Montgomery. After four seasons, Montgomery was hired as head coach of the Dallas Stars, and the Pios job was Carle’s at the age of 28.

“I saw how good he was going to be, and that’s why I was so happy when he got the job,” Montgomery recently told reporters about Carle. “Our friendship continues. What his record is and what he has done, it’s simply remarkable.”

Carle feels he owes a lot of his success to Montgomery, who is now the head coach of the Blues. Since Carle took the reins at Denver, the Alaska-born coach is 179-74-17 (.694 winning percentage). And he knows all about winning internationally, too. Carle just led USA Hockey to back-to-back World Junior golds for the first time in program history.

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Under contract through the 2026-27 season, could Carle jump ship and head to the NHL this summer? Maybe. Although he wouldn’t be against coaching professionally one day, he is seeking a team that is aligned on the same wavelength across several factors, including winning.

The big question is, could that team be the Flyers? The Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins all have interim coaches at the moment and are looking for coaches. Several other organizations could still make coaching changes, like the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. One thing is for sure, Carle will be in demand.

As far as the Flyers go, there are several connections to Carle. First, his big brother Matt played 308 games as a defenseman for the team from 2008-12, when he was a teammate of current general manager Danny Brière. Two of Carle’s recent Denver stars, Bobby Brink, and Massimo Rizzo, are also currently with the Flyers organization.

“I loved my time under him,” said Brink, who won the 2022 national championship and was a Hobey Baker finalist that season. “You see why he’s had so much success in college and in World Juniors, because his players love him and he has everyone playing within the structure. He gets everyone to buy in. Guys are willing to follow him and I think it’s why he’s been so successful.”

According to Brink, the structure that Carle has his teams play versus the one that former Flyers coach John Tortorella deployed are different.

Part of the reason is that there is an offensive freedom to Carle’s teams. That idea could mesh well with the Flyers, who went from the fourth fewest goals per game in the NHL (2.73) across the 237 games Tortorella coached to No. 1 in the seven games since Brad Shaw took over on an interim basis (4.43); they’ve also conceded the fifth-most goals per game this season (3.44).

This past season, Denver led the country in goals per game (4.00) while allowing just 2.12 against (seventh nationally).

“The last three years, Denver’s been a top team in the country in scoring, so that play style that we played there is, I would say, pretty offensive,” Rizzo said. “The entire coaching staff kind of preaches playing the puck [because] if you have the puck, the other team doesn’t.

“We definitely harp on good defensive habits, being in the correct position, and defending hard. But he kind of lets players almost play a bit and be creative and be confident when they have the puck in the O-zone.”

Both Brink and Rizzo echoed that Carle is a good communicator. They noted he is calm on the bench and, “not going to be screaming in your face or anything” when you make a mistake.

Carle is known as a teacher, which is something that Brière recently stressed he is looking for in the team’s next head coach. “One thing I can tell you is we have a young team. A coach who can teach is going to be important to start with,” Brière said on March 27.

According to Rizzo, Carle likes to use video to help emphasize and explain. And, as a coach who maintains an open door policy, all while being relatively close in age range to his players, he’s someone who can relate to today’s younger athletes. He’s also a lesson to appreciate being a professional hockey player.

» READ MORE: Flyers GM Danny Brière says decision to fire John Tortorella wasn’t down to ‘one thing’ but ‘a series of things’ since the trade deadline

“I think that’s the biggest thing, he’s a really good person,” said Rizzo, who played three seasons under Carle and won two NCAA titles. “He connects with the players throughout the entire lineup. He’s very personable where you can just go up to him and talk to him and have a conversation.”

The Flyers could do with a coach who can connect with players, and with one of the youngest teams in the NHL — sixth-youngest average age per Spotrac — Carle would fit the bill. But the Flyers might be hesitant to go the college route so soon after Dave Hakstol’s tenure ended so poorly; Hakstol joined the Orange and Black from North Dakota in 2015. Plus, sources tell The Inquirer that Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet is near the top of the team’s wish list if he were to become available.

Regardless, Carle should be in the conversation. There’s often talk of generational talents like Connor McDavid or Connor Bedard. Carle is a generational talent behind the bench.

“As a coach, he’s honest with you, he’s approachable, and I think he’s a really hard-working coach. He’s really prepared. He demands a lot from his players and expects a lot, but he’s the one who’s also showing up every day, working hard and preparing, and doing everything you can to help the team win.

“So I’ve got nothing but good things to say about DC. He is an unbelievable coach.”