Avalanche Ink Head Coach Jared Bednar to Three-Year Contract Extension
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has signed a three-year contract extension, the team announced via social media Tuesday evening.
Bednar, hired by the franchise prior to the 2016-17 season, wasn’t slated to hit the open market until his current deal expired after the 2023-24 campaign. His new deal will now keep him in Denver through 2026-27.
The 51-year-old coached the Avalanche to a fifth straight playoff appearance last season, becoming the first head coach in franchise history to do so, and capped off the year with their third Stanley Cup title. The team also secured its second consecutive division crown.
“On behalf of the Kroenke family and the entire organization we are thrilled to announce a long-term commitment to our head coach,” Avalanche President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic said in a press release. “Jared has done a tremendous job behind the bench and certainly deserves this extension and to continue as the leader of our team.”
Bednar became the franchise’s all-time winningest coach with his 266th victory on Jan. 24th, 2023, surpassing former Nordiques bench boss Michel Bergeron. In his seventh season with the Avalanche, he currently owns a 281-190-52 record across 523 career games.
The Yorkton, Sask., native is the third-longest tenured coach in the NHL behind Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper (hired in 2013) and Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan (hired in 2015).
“Jared has obviously proven himself to be one of the top coaches in our business,” said Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland.
“His strength as a communicator, his relationship with the players, the way he prepares each and every day is a huge reason our team has been so successful. He is an exceptional leader and we couldn’t be more excited to have him continue as our head coach.”
Before joining Colorado, Bednar was a coach for the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL for seven seasons, five as an assistant and two as their head coach. He led South Carolina to a Kelly Cup championship in 2009.
Then it was off to the AHL, where he split time between the Abbotsford Heat (2009-10), Peoria Rivermen (2010-12), Springfield Falcons (2012-15) and Lake Erie Monsters (2015-16). His head coaching expertise translated into a 2016 Calder Cup championship for the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, who went 15-2 in the playoffs.
Bednar is the only head coach to win championships at the ECHL, AHL and NHL levels.
“Being able to lead this team over the last seven years has been a privilege,” said Bednar. “I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to continue building on what we’ve accomplished so far. Colorado has become home to me and my family, and I can’t thank our ownership enough, Stan and Josh Kroenke, as well as Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland, my coaching staff and all of our players for their hard work and dedication. I look forward to continuing this process with them.”
This season, however, things haven’t come easy for the reigning Stanley Cup champions, as they’ve been riddled with injuries and have been without captain Gabriel Landeskog all year. The team is also currently without Artturi Lehkonen (broken thumb), Erik Johnson (broken ankle), Darren Helm (lower body) and Evan Rodrigues (concussion).
Despite the Avalanche’s injury woes, Bednar’s team enters Wednesday’s slate third in the Central Division at 41-22-6 with 88 points, two back of the division-leading Dallas Stars.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: The AHL. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.