Report: DU head coach David Carle ‘politely declined’ NHL interview

University of Denver hockey head coach David Carle has had a ton of success with the Pioneers.

Since becoming the man in charge behind the bench in 2018, Carle has led DU to three national titles. They won a memorable one last month in Las Vegas — the 11th in program history.

And with Carle seemingly have nothing left to prove at the college level, the speculation about him moving to the NHL has been rampant.

Carle turned down a chance to make the leap last year and reportedly another one this hiring cycle.

According to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, one of the best out there, David Carle has “politely declined” a formal interview with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sources said David Carle and the #Leafs brass had a pleasant conversation early in their process where he politely declined an invitation to interview for their head coaching vacancy.

From here, feels like Carle is a man on a mission to fix #cawlidgehockey.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 31, 2026

This comes after some rumors earlier in the day linked Carle with the Maple Leafs, but those have been shot down by Seravalli.

And why would he want to go to Toronto of all places? The pressure is always absurdly high and the team continuously comes up short. It seems smart for Carle to decline.

That’s not to say he’ll never go to the NHL, but the fit would likely have to be perfect for Carle to leave the Pioneers. As Seravalli mentiones, he loves college hockey.

Many locally one day wonder about the Avalanche and Carle, especially with the future of Avs head coach Jared Bednar still unclear. Colorado was shockingly swept by the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

Regardless, David Carle is not heading to Toronto and staying at DU. We’ll see how much longer that continues to be the case.

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