Does Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke aspire for Colorado to be to the NHL of the ’20s what the Atlanta Braves were to the baseball of the ’90s? America’s Bridesmaids?
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Denver. “Results are — they come as they come,” Jared Bednar said before his Avs took on Calgary at Ball Arena on Monday night.
“And whether they’re good or bad, other people make decisions based on what they’re seeing and hearing. But I can always walk out of here every day with my head held high if I know I’m doing my best. And that’s how I kind of approach it.” Life comes at you fast. Bednar’s contract comes up at the end of next season. This year has been fantastic — so far. No coach wants to be a lame duck. If you’re Avs owner Stan Kroenke, it won’t be long before all parties are staring at two expensive forks on a long and winding road.that short of a first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the best team in the league, “all signs” point to Bednar landing an extension fromWin a playoff round? One? That’s it? That sounds like an awfully low bar for a team on pace to rack up at least 120 points during the regular season. Especially one that features Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, Val Nichushkin and Nicolas Roy, all at the same time, a legitimately scary roster that goes four lines and two goaltenders deep. Bednar has taken the Avs to eight straight postseasons. He’s failed to get past the second round in seven of them.And we know that the Battle For Lord Stanley’s Cup can be an untamed, unpredictable sort of beast. But in Avs franchise history, it’s the only beast that matters. Or, at least, it’s the only beast that’s supposed to. Or does KSE aspire for the Avs to be to the NHL of the ’20s what the Atlanta Braves were to the baseball of the ’90s? The Braves notched 14 playoff berths from 1991-2005 and came away with one World Series title to show for it. If the Cowboys were America’s Team, Atlanta was America’s Bridesmaid. “For sure, it’s a volatile league ,” Avs sparkplug Logan O’Connor told me Monday after morning skate. “I think Bedsy, his work ethic and his preparation is something there is zero complacency in what he does day-to-day, I think. “How he operates, the meetings he runs, the message he delivers, what he expects from players, having good relationships with players — I think he creates a clear picture of how he wants us to play. If the Avs extend Bednar after, say, another second-round playoff exit, we’ll know exactly the expectations the Kroenkes have for him, too. Bedsy’s current three-year extension runs through the end of the 2026-27 season. Which means that clock’s already ticking. It doesn’t sound as if KSE wants to leave him dangling, the way CSU did with former football coach Jay Norvell last fall. An awkward summer internally and externally in FoCo went south quickly,And we get it. On one hand, why rock the boat? The Avs have 12 seasons of 100 points or more in their Denver history — and Bednar has been in charge for five of those. Colorado had already piled up 106 points before Monday night’s Flames tussle and started the week on pace for 121 points on the season. That would shatter the old single-season record, also held by Bednar, of 119 — set by the Cup champs of ’21-22. On the other hand, the other bullies in the West aren’t exactly standing pat. Dallas canned Pete DeBoer last June after three straight losses in the conference finals and a 149-68-29 record during the regular season. On Sunday, Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy at the tail end of his fourth season after a 178-99-43 record, two division titles, and a Stanley Cup title in 2023.“Yeah, well, different ownership, different management beliefs, I guess, in some situations,” Bednar said. “So, I’m very grateful to still be here and trying to accomplish the same goals we’ve had when I first came. So, I don’t know. “I work with great people that I like. Ultimately, I’m trying to come to the rink every day with a positive attitude and do the absolute best job I can do to help our team win, right? Being respectful of the players, developing those relationships that so when I go to a player with something that they know, I don’t have to yell and scream at them to get a message across, that they understand what I’m saying, how important it is. And I’m certainly willing to hear them out on things too … “I don’t think that you can ask a player to do anything else but to just give his absolute best and get dialed into what he’s doing. And I don’t know — that’s what I expect from myself on a daily basis leading this team. And then I don’t worry about anything else.” O’Connor harasses opponents the way a biting terrier harasses trouser legs. Since ’18-19, the winger has served valiantly as a bottom-6 high motor, a plugger who refuses to downshift during big moments. The DU alum was arguably Colorado’s second-best contributor after MacKinnon during that soul-crushing playoff series against Dallas last spring. Through thick, thin, and parades, he’s an unabashed Bednar guy. “It’s on us to go out there and execute expectations,” O’Connor said of his coach. “But I think he just has the utmost respect from us players. And it’s no surprise that he’s had as great of a run as he has, given the volatility in the market. And we all love playing for him.” The Avs can prove it next month. Because if Colorado goes out in the second round again, Avs fans are going to look and vent as if they woke up on the wrong side of the Bedsy.Denver’s $1 billion road overhaul would cut space for cars, boost public transit. Critics say it will make traffic worse. Denver's $1 billion road overhaul would cut space for cars, boost public transit. Critics say it will make traffic worse.Asking Eric: Friends only want to socialize outside, not at homeDenver is planning major road remodeling projects. Here's where some of them are happening.1 killed in downtown Denver shooting
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