- Jared Bednar is entering the final year of his contract with no extension in place
- MacKinnon, Landeskog, Toews and Manson all vouched for him at Avalanche media day
- Read below for what Bednar said about his talks with Joe Sakic
Jared Bednar is opening training camp as a lame duck.
The Avalanche coach was asked Wednesday at media day whether an extension was close, and he said the talks with Joe Sakic have not gotten anywhere yet.
“We’re not there yet. So it’s just kind of business as usual.”
Pressure is not the issue, Bednar said, as long as one thing stays true. “That our players feel like I’m the right coach for this team,” he said.
Watch his full media day session, which also covered Makar’s injury and the Nichushkin trade:
His players did not leave much doubt. Nathan MacKinnon credited him with “an amazing job of coaching,” and Devon Toews said Bednar never sugarcoats anything. Josh Manson kept it to four words: “I believe in Bedsy.”
Landeskog was asked what makes Bednar work, and the captain went to consistency. “You know what you’re going to get when you see him after a tough loss, after a big win,” Landeskog said. “Bedsy’s always been the same.”
Take a look at the MacKinnon and Landeskog availability:
MacKinnon brought up Carolina, where the Hurricanes stuck with Rod Brind’Amour through years of playoff disappointment and won the Cup last season. “I’m sure there were questions around him, his coaching, and he just stuck with it,” MacKinnon said. “That’s what we have to do as well.”
He knows the clock is running. “We’re a veteran team,” MacKinnon said. “We know we don’t have 15 years here, so we’ve got to get it done soon for sure.”
Last spring is why the question exists. Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy at 55-16-11, then tore through two rounds at 8-1 before Vegas swept them out of the Western Conference Final. Dallas ended the two runs before that.
Bednar’s resume holds up anyway. The Avs are 342-146-48 since 2019-20, the best mark in the league, and only Jon Cooper has held his job longer. He has been working in a contract year since the summer, and Sakic said on Altitude Sports Radio this month that there is “no urgency” on a new deal.
Makar is the one piece of camp news that stings. Bednar said the two-time Norris winner is unlikely to be ready for day one with a lower-body injury, unrelated to the one that cost him two games in the conference final:
Camp hits the ice Thursday. Bednar will run it the same way he always has, contract or not.
