- Avs host Knights for Game 1 of the WCF on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET
- Tortorella nearly hired Bednar to his Columbus staff back in 2016
- Read below for the full backstory and pre-Game 1 video from Tortorella
Jared Bednar and John Tortorella almost worked together in Columbus a decade ago. Wednesday night they’re on opposite benches with a Stanley Cup berth on the line.
The Avalanche host the Golden Knights for Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Bednar, 54, coached the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters in 2015-16 while the 67-year-old Tortorella ran the Blue Jackets bench upstairs in his first year with Columbus. Per Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com, Tortorella thought about adding Bednar to his Columbus staff that summer before the AHL coach jumped to the Avs.
Bednar had spent 14 seasons in the minors at that point and had never coached in the NHL. Tortorella was already a Cup winner from his 2004 run with Tampa Bay.
Tortorella explained why he never made the call:
“I talked to him at the end of the year, I believe it was, because I was filling out a coaching staff. There was no sense in me talking to him, because we knew where he was going to go.”
The Avalanche hired Bednar on Aug. 25, 2016, two weeks after Patrick Roy abruptly resigned. Colorado lost 56 games that season and finished dead last. The franchise stuck with him anyway, and the payoff arrived in 2022 with the Cup.
Bednar talked about what he picked up watching Tortorella work in Columbus:
He’s also leaned on Tortorella’s assistants over the years for insight on the accountability the Vegas coach demands from his rooms.
Catch Tortorella’s full media availability in Denver on Tuesday ahead of Game 1:
Asked in the video about Bednar specifically, the Knights coach matched the praise:
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, a good man and a very good coach that’s coaching a very good team.”
Vegas hired Tortorella on March 29 after firing Bruce Cassidy with the Knights at 8-15-4 over their past 27 games. The team has gone 15-4-1 since, closing the regular season 7-0-1 and knocking out Utah and Anaheim in six games each.
Colorado swept the Kings in the first round, then handled the Wild in five. Cale Makar’s status hangs over the matchup after the Norris winner sat out Tuesday’s practice. The Avs still claimed the Presidents’ Trophy for the second time under Bednar and roll into the round at 8-1.
Both coaches want a second career Cup. Tortorella got his in 2004 with Tampa Bay. Bednar got his in 2022 with Colorado.
Game 1 drops Wednesday night in Denver.
