Ray Bennett Lands Another Assistant Coaching Gig in Eastern Conference
It’s been a year since the Colorado Avalanche made their first notable coaching staff change in nearly a decade. After […] The post Ray Bennett Lands Another Assistant Coaching Gig in Eastern Conference appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.
USA TODAY Sports USA TODAY Sports It’s been a year since the Colorado Avalanche made their first notable coaching staff change in nearly a decade. After eight seasons as an assistant on head coach Jared Bednar’s staff, the Avs fired Ray Bennett, who was mainly in charge of the power play. Colorado replaced him with Dave Hakstol, while Bennett went on to land the same job on Patrick Roy’s staff with the New York Islanders.
Roy was let go in April, and Bennett followed suit on Thursday morning. But shortly after the announcement that he wouldn’t be returning to Long Island, the Washington Capitals hired Bennett to join coach Spencer Carbery behind the bench. He replaced Kirk Muller, who decided to move on from the Capitals at the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season.
Bennett has long been stable as an assistant coach. The one-year stint with the Islanders was the first time in his career that he didn’t hold a position for several years. Before his eight seasons in Colorado (2017-18 to 2024-25), Bennett was an assistant coach for the St.
Louis Blues for 10 years, from 2007-08 to 2016-17. Before that, he served in the same position for the Los Angeles Kings from 1999-00 to 2006-07. The Capitals will be his fifth NHL team since the turn of the century.