The winningest coach in Colorado Avalanche franchise history has a new contract.
Jared Bednar and the Avs agreed to a four-year contract extension through the 2030-31 season, the club announced Wednesday morning ahead of the season opener against the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena. Bednar was entering the final year of his current deal.
“I’m ecstatic,” Bednar said after the club’s morning skate. “I love my job. I love working with these guys, whether it’s our players, our management team. Everybody is all in, trying to pull the rope in the same direction and trying to win.
“It’s the relationship that I’ve built with the players, the partnership that we’re in. I’m really enjoying coming to the rink as much as I was when I first got here. I’m really looking forward to staying as the coach.”
Bednar, 54, has coached Colorado to the most regular-season wins (445) and games (782) in franchise history, as well as the most postseason wins (60) and games (101). He is about to begin his 11th season in charge, which is six more than anyone since the club moved to Denver.
The Avs rose from the worst team in the NHL in Bednar’s first season in 2017-18, when he took over weeks before training camp after Patrick Roy’s abrupt resignation, to win the Stanley Cup in 2022. It was the third championship in franchise history.
“It feels good. We love (Bednar),” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. He’s a great coach, a great human and the right coach for this team. We know he’s as hungry as we are. That’s a big part of it. I’m happy for him.”
Bednar is the only coach to win the Kelly Cup as ECHL champion, Calder Cup as AHL champion and the Stanley Cup. Colorado has reached the postseason for nine consecutive seasons, the second-longest streak in franchise history, behind only the 11 straight from 1995-2006.
The Avs looked like a burgeoning dynasty when it won in 2022, but Colorado has struggled to return to the NHL’s mountaintop. The Avs had a historic start to this past season, going 31-2-7 in the first 40 games en route to the most points in franchise history (121) to claim the Presidents’ Trophy for the second time in Bednar’s tenure.
After steamrolling through the first half of the tournament to reach the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2022, the Vegas Golden Knights swept the Avs out of the playoffs in stunning fashion.
Bednar is currently 10th in NHL history in most coaching wins with a single franchise. He can pass Joel Quenneville’s 452 with Chicago, Mike Babcock’s 458 with Detroit and Glen Sather’s 464 with Edmonton this season to move into seventh, and has an outside chance of catching Toe Blake, who won 500 games with Montreal, for sixth.
“I think (this group) likes him a lot. They obviously have a lot of respect for him,” said NHL veteran Jaden Schwartz, who signed with the club in July and will play his first game for Bednar against the Kings. “I’m still learning about him, but he’s very detailed. He puts in a lot of hours, getting this team prepared and he’s a good communicator.
“I’m honestly happy to be a part of it.”
