The University of Denver Department of Athletics announced today that hockey head coach David Carle, pursued heavily by NHL teams with head coach openings, signed a multi-year contract extension. As DU is a private institution, the exact terms and length of the agreement are and will not be released to the public. His current deal, which runs through the 2026-27 season, was signed after he guided the program to its ninth championship in 2022.
“I am honored to have the University’s support for our hockey program over the last seven years and into the future,” said Carle via the release. “Without their support and the support of our fans, alumni and donors, nothing that we have accomplished would have been possible. The resources we have established have had a direct impact on the daily lives of current and future Pioneer hockey student-athletes, and we continue to raise the bar for success with these commitments.
“I am grateful for Chancellor Jeremy Haefner, Chairman John Miller as well as the entire Board of Trustees and Vice Chancellor of Athletics Josh Berlo for their continued support of and investment in Denver hockey to ensure we maintain our position as the best college program in the country. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with our student-athletes, coaches, administration, alumni, supporters and fans over the coming seasons. Denver is home for me and my family.”
Perhaps bigger than the extension itself, DU also announced that Carle is “committing to a multi-year major gift pledge to support current and new initiatives within the hockey program. Carle will be the first Denver Athletics head coach to join the department’s Gold Standard Society. His gift will directly support the Murray Armstrong Hockey Student-Athlete Enhancement Fund and the Athletics Excellence Fund.”
It’s no secret that Carle, 179-74-17 with a .694 winning percentage in his seven seasons leading the Pioneers, is already among the best coaches in college hockey and has earned every penny of this extension. And the NHL has taken notice as the Chicago Blackhawks reportedly “made an aggressive pursuit” before Carle withdrew from consideration for that job a week and a half ago. Carle was also linked to the opening in Anaheim after the Ducks parted ways with former Colorado Eagles head coach Greg Cronin.
Carle, for his part, has had the same answer when asked about the NHL over the past few years, perhaps best highlighted by his answer when The Athletic’s Joe Smith asked the obvious question last month: “If there’s a life-changing opportunity, then I’d have to listen to that. And if it’s accompanied with the opportunity to win, then that becomes more enticing. But to just take any job, that’s not happening.”
He has also regularly expressed his general disagreement with how the NHL commits, or rather doesn’t commit to its head coaches, as he eloquently outlined during his interview with Spittin’ Chiclets a year ago.
We haven’t even finished a single first-round playoff series and the NHL has already underscored a million times over the very reason why David Carle is so damn hesitant to make the jump. I know NHL head coaches are basically hired to be fired but holy smokes.
— LetsGoDU (@LetsGoDU) April 29, 2025
At this point, though, as long as Carle keeps the Pioneers at the top of the college hockey world, this is going to be an annual exercise, and DU fans should just plan to get used to living through the NHL rumors every spring, regardless of this extension. He’s among the best up-and-coming coaches in the sport and, at some point, you’d just have to assume that an NHL team is going to eventually offer him that “life-changing opportunity.”
Regardless, it’s amazing to think about DU’s return on George Gwozdecky’s investment in 2008 when he honored Carle’s scholarship after his playing career was ended by his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosis. Little did he or anyone at all know at the time, Gwoz’s generosity 17 years ago, after already leading Denver back to prominence in 2004 & 2005, played a massive role in vaulting the Pioneers back to the top of the sport.
Top photo of Carle celebrating the program’s 9th national title in Boston courtesy of Jim Rosvold
Wow!!!!
Freaking Awesome – well done by DU!
And coach is giving back!
I feel lucky to be a DU Hockey Fan !!!
What an unbelievable young man. My hero!
This was a deal Josh Berlo needed to make, given Carle’s excellence, the NHL overtures and the poor basketball coaching situation, and kudos for making it.
That said, I am pretty sure that Carle will be an NHL head coach someday, but on his terms. NHL teams may tire for a while beating on a closed door, but if he keeps winning at the NCAA level, he can still make the jump when he’s ready to make it.
Honestly, it’s only going to get harder for DU to maintain DU’s hockey excellence in the era of NIL, new arenas, the portal, more TV money for football schools and the new advent of major junior as a college hockey feeder (and destination).
Great move by David – we are so fortunate to have him. I would expect one reason for the extension was to assure recruits that he would likely continue to be a part of the program. Many players would select other options if they thought the head coaching position was unstable.
Dunker commends Nick on the well written summation of the long saga in such a succinct manner. You covered a lot of ground. The “Gwoz investment “ was icing on the cake. Decency can still exist in college athletics.
I hope new basketball coach Bergy reads this article and reconsiders his treatment of the kids who signed LOI’s.
Fantastic news! With so many NHL coaching vacancies right now, I’ve been sitting on pins and needles regarding Carle’s plans.
He seems to be in a really good spot, with a lot of leverage. Assuming he keeps winning, he should have even more leverage down the road, and he should be able to pick and choose whatever NHL opportunity is best. For now, let’s just savor the fact that he’ll be at DU for a little longer, and hopefully he can bring home a few more national championships.