The Philadelphia Flyers raised some eyebrows in the hockey world when they selected former University of North Dakota hockey coach Dave Hakstol to replace Craig Berube behind their bench.
It wasn't that Hakstol did not have the track record or resume to be a contender for the job that made it so shocking (because he did have all of those things), but the fact it had been nearly 30 years since an NHL team hired an NCAA coach. It pretty much came out of nowhere.
Still, it is a significant step forward for Hakstol in his coaching career but it will not be a cheap one. According to the Grand Forks Herald, Hakstol had a clause in his contract with North Dakota that will require him to pay the school $100,000 for leaving the program before June 30, 2015.
More, from Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Herald:
According to Hakstol’s contract, he will owe the school $100,000 for leaving his contract before June 30, 2015, for an NHL head coaching job.
If he were going to a minor league team or taking an assistant coaching job in the NHL, Hakstol would have owed $50,000. If he left for another NCAA team, he would have owed $318,270, which was his base salary for the 2015-16 season.
Hakstol had three seasons left on his contract with UND. The monetary penalties for leaving before the end of the contract would have decreased each year. He was in the third year of his six-year deal.
Hakstol was hired by the Flyers on May 18.
Terms of his contract with the team were not disclosed.
During his 11 seasons at North Dakota the program finished with a 289-143-43 record and made the Frozen Four seven times.
