Jared Bednar’s run with the Avalanche has lasted far longer than anyone likely expected when he took the job in August 2016.
Back then, Colorado was coming off one of the roughest seasons in franchise history, a 48-point disaster that could have buried a first-time NHL coach before he ever got going. Instead, that ugly start became the first step in a long climb.
On Saturday, Bednar coached his 800th regular-season game with the Avalanche, a number that once would have sounded almost impossible.
He came to Denver after winning the 2016 Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters, and his résumé carried real weight. But the NHL version of the job came with a different level of pressure, and the Avalanche’s 22-56-4 finish in 2016-17 only sharpened the scrutiny around the organization.
Colorado stuck with him.
That decision paid off quickly. The Avalanche jumped to 43-30-9 the next season, got back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs and started their rise toward the league’s top tier. By 2022, Bednar had guided them to the third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
The coach who inherited a 48-point team had become the man steering a champion.
Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings gave the milestone a clean backdrop, but the number itself says plenty about what Bednar has meant to the organization. In a league where coaches can lose their grip fast, he has stayed in place through roster changes, injuries and the usual swings that come with trying to win at the highest level.
That kind of stability matters. Bednar has given Colorado continuity, and he has kept adjusting along the way instead of leaning too hard on what worked before.
The 800-game mark is about more than endurance. It reflects an organization willing to look past one brutal season and trust a coach’s long-term value.
Colorado could have moved on after that first year. Instead, it stayed the course and let a young core grow with a coach who was still growing himself at the NHL level.
The Avalanche will still be measured by what comes next, and Bednar knows the past only carries so much weight. Previous success won’t shield anyone from future disappointment.
In Other News...
Cale Makar Just Gave The Avalanche A New Reason To Worry
Cale Makars exit from Avalanche practice with an apparent lower-body injury was enough to send a jolt through a team already trying to manage a tricky stretch. Colorado has been dealing with roster challenges tied to other injuries and cap constraints, so even a precautionary issue with its top defenseman lands with extra weight. The coach framed the move as cautious, with more evaluation to come before the next game.
For a club built around Makars impact at both ends of the ice, any uncertainty around his status immediately changes the conversation. The Avalanche do not have much margin for error in the lineup right now, which is why even a brief scare at practice becomes a storyline worth watching closely as game time approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Mackenzie Blackwood Is Already Writing A Special Avalanche Story
Mackenzie Blackwood keeps adding to what is becoming one of the more intriguing goalie chapters in recent Avalanche history. In the 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, he picked up his seventh shutout in Colorado, tying him for sixth on the franchises all-time list and reinforcing how quickly he has settled into a prominent role in Denver. His season line, a 9-3-1 record with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage, reflects a starter who has given the Avalanche a chance to win most nights while also delivering those game-flipping blank sheets.
What makes the story feel a little different is the personal layer underneath it. Blackwood has said he takes pride in representing the Avalanche, the team he grew up supporting, and that connection gives his run here a little extra weight beyond the numbers. He has already put together multiple notable shutout streaks in an Avalanche sweater, and with his name now climbing a franchise list that includes some familiar goaltending company, this early stretch is starting to look less like a hot start and more like the beginning of something memorable. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Face A Tough Lehkonen Decision Before It Gets Harder
Artturi Lehkonen has become one of those Avalanche players whose value is easy to see and harder to keep. If Colorado decides his next contract would be too expensive to fit into the future, the front office could be forced into a difficult choice before the offseason even arrives, especially with a player who brings the kind of two-way reliability contenders tend to covet.
The market could make that decision even trickier. Chicago is reportedly looking for offensive help and might be willing to part with high draft picks for a player like Lehkonen, but there are no confirmed talks or deals between the clubs right now. Any potential move would also have to navigate Lehkonen's no-trade clause, which gives Colorado another layer to consider as it weighs whether to hold on or cash in. [Read more 🡒]