Flyers
Could Carle Be a Successor for John Tortorella, Flyers?

The most consistent carousel in the NHL pertains to two pieces that will never stop spinning: goalie tandems and head coaches. Currently, the Philadelphia Flyers are dealing with the first issue, but the latter will eventually come into play after current head coach John Tortorella decides to step away from the bench.
This is probably the last head coaching job in the NHL for Tortorella, who has been rumored to make the jump to the front office for over a year now. When the time comes, the 66 year-old will likely stay with the organization and the Flyers will begin searching for their next head coach to lead them to the playoffs following the end of this rebuild.
Enter David Carle. Since being hired in 2018, Carle has led the University of Denver Pioneers to five NCAA tournaments, three appearances in the Frozen Four, and most importantly two national championships in 2022 and 2024. Carle has a .690 winning percentage entering this season, which is the best in club history. On Nov. 25, 2024 the 35-year-old head coach surpassed his predecessor Jim Montgomery for sole possession of fourth place in all time wins at the university with 125.
One counter to looking for a college coach like Carle is that not many coaches who have come from the NCAA have been rather unsuccessful or lasted long in the league. The most recent and notable college coaches to make the jump were Dave Hakstol and David Quinn.
Quite some time before arriving in Philadelphia, Hakstol was one of the most well-known and respected coaches in all of NCAA hockey. He began his coaching career back in 2004 and was with the University of North Dakota until 2014. During his established tenure, Hakstol led North Dakota to 10 NCAA appearances, six Frozen Four appearances, and an appearance in the national championship game in his first year, ironically losing to Denver. The veteran college coach had a 158-91-27 record over his impressive career with North Dakota before the NHL finally came knocking on the door with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Hakstol coached the Flyers from 2015 to 2019, before being fired with a record of 134-101-42 for a total of 277 games and a point percentage of .560. Hakstol had made it to the playoffs twice, including his first year with the team, however never won a playoff series. He took the year off before surprisingly being selected as the first-ever head coach for the most recent NHL expansion team, the Seattle Kraken. In Seattle, he didn’t have much better luck, despite having an impressive second season with a record of 46-28-8 and reaching Game 7 of the second round in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Quinn, on the other hand had almost no success in the NHL as a head coach. He started his journey with the New York Rangers from 2018 to 2021 and had a total record of 96-87-25 in 208 games with a point percentage of .522 before being let go. He did lead New York to the play-in round during the shortened 2019-20 season due to Covid-19, however was defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Similar to Hakstol, Quinn had major success in the NCAA, winning the Beanpot title, New England Coach of the Year, Hockey East Coach of the Year, and the Spencer Penrose Award Runner-Up all in 2015. He led the Terriers to two Hockey East Tournament titles in 2015 and 2018, and four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 2015 to 2018.
After three seasons with the Rangers, Quinn was hired by the San Jose Sharks, where he did not find much luck either. In only two seasons with the Sharks, Quinn went 41-98-9 missing the playoffs both years. He is currently an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The question now is, even if Carle wants to come to the NHL and Philadelphia, will he have success? From several reports, including Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts, Carle “will leave not only for financial security but somewhere he believes he has a legitimate shot to win.” According to Friedman, the St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils entertained the idea and reached out to the Denver head coach. It’s safe to say they won’t be making a head coach change anytime soon with Montgomery being hired by St. Louis after being let go by the Boston Bruins earlier this year, and Sheldon Keefe in the first year of his contract with New Jersey.
The other team heavily mentioned was the Chicago Blackhawks. They are in a tough situation with the current state of their franchise, but have several pieces including Connor Bedard, Artyom Levshunov, and Oliver Moore. By the time they are ready to be a competitive team aiming for a chance at the Stanley Cup, it might be too late to go after a coach like Carle. Chicago is an attractive market for a coach like Carle who can certainly make a living for the right price.
The price is only going to go up considering Carle’s impressive resume, especially given the fact that he led Team USA to another gold medal at World Juniors in 2025. Speaking of World Juniors, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that Carle will not be returning as US head coach in 2026. Could this be an early sign that Carle is ready to make the jump to the NHL?
As Friedman noted on 32 Thoughts, “you can sell David Carle to NHL veterans because he was a player. His brother, Matt, was a player. There’s a lot. All you have to do is look at your television screens or watch the games. Watch the games and you can tell that this guy is an NHL coach. Somebody is going to take a run at him and he has enough power.”
Tortorella isn’t getting any younger, and patience may be running thin with how the veteran head coach has handled certain players on Philadelphia. Despite this being a rebuild, and inching closer to the playoffs, one has to wonder if Carle would consider a move to South Philadelphia, where his brother, Matt Carle, spent four years in Orange and Black.
If Carle does not believe Philadelphia is the answer when he potentially arrives to the NHL, then who would be the best fit? Tortorella’s contract ends at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, so time is ticking for the Flyers on what their coaching situation looks like.
Carle clearly works extremely well with younger players, and has the attention of current players. Friedman continued on his podcast about Carle’s success by stating “the one thing that Carle could do is he could say, ‘Look, I could coach at Denver for eleventy billion years. I’ve got a young family. I’ve got a great situation. I can comfortably live for a long time. If I’m coming out of here, somebody’s going to have to make it worth my while.’ I just don’t understand how after this, somebody isn’t going to make it worth his while, because you could say that’s juniors, coaching NHL players is going to be a bit different. The NHL players watch this tournament. They know who can coach. They know who can’t coach. They’re going to look at this guy and they’re going to say this guy can coach.”
Carle is a winner everywhere he goes, and without a doubt he will succeed again at the NHL level. It all depends on who gives him a check with the most stability.