Longtime Arizona State men's hockey coach Greg Powers, who was placed on administrative leave after one of his players collapsed during a workout, has left the program, the university announced Thursday.
ASU has hired Colorado Avalanche assistant Dave Hakstol to replace Powers.
In a statement provided by the university on his behalf, Powers said he had "mutually agreed to leave" his position. He was placed on paid leave late last month after defenseman Matthew Mayich, 21, collapsed during an early morning outdoor workout on Aug. 20.
Mayich has been in the hospital since the workout and is unlikely to recover, according to his family's attorney, Rob Carey, who said Mayich suffered exertional heat stroke that reduced the flow of oxygen to his brain.
In his statement, Powers said he continues "to hope for strength and healing for Matthew and his family."
Powers was put on leave after seven hockey players submitted an anonymous letter to the school on Sept. 28 calling for the coaches to be removed pending an independent investigation. The players wrote that they feared retaliation from the coaching staff, all of whom were on the field when Mayich collapsed and continued to decide playing time, roster spots and scholarships.
The players said that after an ambulance took Mayich to the hospital, Powers told them they were "working closer to making the Frozen Four because of the workout and Matthew having pushed himself to the maximum. He told them the next day that Mayich would recover, according to the players.
"From what we could tell, at no point did Coach Powers seem to appreciate the severity of the situation," the players wrote.
In an internal review of Mayich's collapse, the university found that the hockey team's coaching staff did not submit a training plan for the workout to be reviewed beforehand and that the Green Beret who led the workout did not have a contract with the school.
A former state supreme court justice is leading an ongoing school-commissioned review of Mayich's collapse. The Arizona State Police Department is also investigating the incident and will submit a report to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for independent review when completed.
Arizona State told ESPN that Powers's assistants, Alex Hicks and Mike Corbett, are on administrative leave and no longer with the team. The team's athletic trainer, Amanda Doyle, was reassigned to a different team last week.
Hakstol, who spent 11 seasons as head coach at the University of North Dakota before leading both the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken to the NHL playoffs, will join the Sun Devils for their games Friday and Saturday at UMass Lowell, the school said.
He also has hired Matt Greene, who played for him at North Dakota and has been on the Los Angeles Kings coaching staff, to be an assistant. Assistant coach Jimmy Mullin, who joined the ASU staff in May, will stay on.
Powers played for Arizona State in the 1990s and had been the head coach since 2010, going 165-183-25 with the Sun Devils and taking them to the NCAA tournament during the 2018-19 season. He signed a five-year contract extension last year, when the university endowed the men's hockey head coach position in his name.