Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said Jared Bednar and his coaching staff will return for the 2026-27 NHL season, backing continuity after a 121-point team was swept out of the Western Conference Finals.
Sakic Backs Jared Bednar After Avalanche Exit
Sakic told ESPN there were no plans to make coaching changes and called Bednar the best coach for the Avalanche. The statement settles one immediate offseason question after Colorado's dominant regular season ended with a sharp playoff turn.
The Avalanche went 55-16-11 and won the President's Trophy for the NHL's best regular-season record. They swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and eliminated the Minnesota Wild in five games before the Vegas Golden Knights swept them in the Western Conference Finals.
ESPN noted that Colorado had significant injuries to Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar during that series. The result still created speculation about Bednar's future, but Sakic said the club's style had worked all year until one difficult week.
Bednar Enters Final Contract Year
The decision also comes with a contract layer. Bednar is entering the final year of his current deal, according to ESPN, but Sakic said the coach should not be worried about that timeline.
Sakic returned to the general manager role earlier this month after Chris MacFarland left to become president and GM of the Nashville Predators. MacFarland had served as Avalanche GM since 2022 after previously working closely with Sakic in Colorado's front office.
Sakic previously became Colorado's general manager in 2014 and later moved into a president of hockey operations role when MacFarland was promoted. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022, giving the current front office a recent championship reference point for keeping the group together.
Colorado Chooses Continuity Over Panic
Sakic framed the offseason as business as usual, saying Colorado wants to make the roster strong enough to contend again. He also said the organization believes it left something unfinished after a season that was excellent for months and brutal at the end.
The Avalanche could have treated the Vegas sweep as a reason for major change. Instead, Sakic's comments point to a different read: a 121-point team with injured stars did not suddenly become a broken operation because of four playoff losses.
That does not remove pressure from Bednar. It defines it. Colorado is keeping the coach and staff because it believes the roster can chase another Stanley Cup, and the next season will test whether that trust was patience or misplaced comfort.