David Carle won’t be walking through that door, Bruins fans. The University of Denver men’s hockey coach signed a multiyear contract extension with the school on Monday.
“I am honored to have the university’s support for our hockey program over the last seven years and into the future,” Carle said in a statement released by the school. “Without their support and the support of our fans, alumni, and donors, nothing that we have accomplished would have been possible.”
Carle’s name seems to come up every offseason with regard to NHL openings, and for good reason. He has amassed a 179-74-7 record in seven seasons with the Pioneers, winning two national championships and making four Frozen Four appearances in six tournaments. The 35-year-old also led Team USA to consecutive gold medals at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
The Chicago Blackhawks were reportedly interested and were aggressive in their pursuit of Carle before he withdrew his name from consideration, according to Elliotte Friedman.
The Bruins did not appear to be a good fit for Carle, particularly given that he was an assistant under former Bruins coach Jim Montgomery with Denver before ascending to head coach after Montgomery left in 2018 to coach the Dallas Stars. The two remain close.
Carle spoke about that connection at the Frozen Four last month, which was held in St. Louis, where Montgomery was on the verge of leading the Blues to the playoffs.
“Happy for him and his family,” said Carle. “His wife is from here. A lot of connections here for him. Big fan. We still keep in close contact.
“I learned a lot from him, from preparation, tactics, trying to connect the group, make sure everybody feels valued, team-first attitude. You know, a lot of different things from him that I think make him so successful wherever he’s been as well.”
Carle appears to be content in the college ranks, using the occasional dalliance with an NHL squad to gain more security, as appears to be the case with Monday’s announcement of the extension.
At the NCAA regional in Manchester, N.H. in March, he renewed his pitch for the regionals to be held on campus.
“We’re the only hockey league in the world that doesn’t reward home ice for having a great regular season,” said Carle. “We’re one of, I believe, two or three NCAA sports that doesn’t use some component of home ice in its championship format.
“We continue to hear logistics as a problem, TV is a problem. They figure it out for softball, baseball, women’s basketball. I just think we are in a place where we should where we should be able to figure that out.”
When he presented that argument to the Globe in December 2023, it was with the caveat that he intended to be around the college game for awhile. The news of his extension reinforces that notion.