Hartley agrees to 5-year extension with Latvian national team

Bob Hartley will coach Latvia for at least another half-decade.

The former NHL head coach signed a new five-year deal to remain with the Latvian Hockey Federation, the IIHF confirmed Friday.

Hartley will guide Latvia in the 2018 World Championship in Denmark, and he'll lead its qualifying efforts for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Under his leadership, Latvia narrowly missed earning a berth in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the former Soviet nation's men's squad is now ranked 12th in the world.

Hartley assumed the role in December 2016 and helped Latvia impress at the 2017 World Championship before ultimately finishing 10th.

He led the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2001 and also served behind the bench with the Atlanta Thrashers and Calgary Flames, with whom he won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year in 2015 before being fired the following spring.

Hartley is the second former NHL head coach to lead Latvia's men's national hockey team following Ted Nolan's tenure from 2011-14.