Jared Bednar signs two-year extension with Colorado Avalanche
Jared Bednar was expected to finish out the calendar year as the winningest coach in Avalanche history. Now he’s got a contract that will allow him to keep adding onto that record through at least 2024.
The 49-year-old Bednar has agreed to another two-year extension through the 2023-24 season, the team announced early Friday evening. Bednar had been working toward the end of a two-year extension that had been announced in July 2019.
Bednar heads into the weekend two wins shy of tying Bob Hartley’s 193 victories for the most by any Avs bench boss. The Saskatchewan native took a 191-154-40 (.548) mark over six seasons into Friday night’s contest at Seattle.
“I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to continue to lead this team and build upon what we have accomplished so far,” Bednar said in a release. “We know we still have yet to achieve our ultimate goal but we are confident in the group we have and will continue to work hard to get there. I’d like to thank Stan and Josh Kroenke, Joe Sakic and the entire Avalanche organization for their continued faith in me. My family and I love Colorado and are thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community.”
The Avs announced the deal a few hours before they were slated to drop the puck in Seattle for the first meeting between Colorado and the expansion Kraken, the second tilt of a two-game West Coast road swing. The Avs took a 7-5-1 record into Friday’s contest after picking up a 4-2 win at Vancouver on Wednesday.
“Jared has established himself as one of the top coaches in the NHL,” Sakic, the Avs’ executive vice president and general manager, said in a release. “He is a great leader who has the complete trust of our players and staff. Under his guidance our team has continued to make great strides and improve every year. We know he is the right person to help us take that next step and compete for a Stanley Cup.”
Bednar won championships as a head coach in each of the NHL’s minor-league systems. He led the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays to the Kelly Cup in 2009 and the and AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters to the Calder Cup in 2016.
Sakic hired him to replace Patrick Roy about a month before the 2016-17 season in which the Avs finished with a franchise-low 22 wins and 48 points. They made the playoffs the following season in what was one of the biggest turnarounds in league history.
Here’s a minute of sound from Joe Sakic about extending #Avs coach Jared Bednar through 2023-24 pic.twitter.com/DyTESAPZ7x
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) November 20, 2021
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