The Colorado Avalanche (Twitter link) have signed head coach Jared Bednar to a three-year contract extension. Bednar is in his seventh season as the team’s bench boss, and helped get them to a Stanley Cup championship last season. He has helped players like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen grow from skilled youngsters to superstar talents in that time.
Chris Johnston of TSN added that the contract will keep him with the team through the 2026-27 season, meaning he was already signed through next season.
Financial terms of coaching contracts are rarely given in detail, but TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Bednar will earn just shy of $5MM during the three-year contract extension.
Bednar has helped guide the team from the literal bottom to the top of the NHL world. His arrival with the Avalanche was just before the 2016-17 season began as previous head coach Patrick Roy gave up his position on the eve of training camp. The Avalanche had an abysmal 22-56-4 record in Bednar’s first season, but stuck by him and the team has not missed the postseason since.
After a few promising seasons ended in playoff heartbreak, the Avalanche finally won a championship last season following an incredible regular season that saw them go 56-19-7.
Bednar has done impressive work once again this season. The Avalanche nursed a bit of a Stanley Cup hangover early in the season but despite long-term injuries to key players like Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, they are just one point back of the Central Division lead.
After his tough first season in Colorado, the Avalanche have been one of the best teams in the league for the past six years. With Bednar behind the bench, they promise to be among the NHL’s elite for the next four seasons.
Congrats, Coach! Well-earned. The man looks like he could still strap ’em on and man the blueline.
@Ken – I think Coach Bednar’s link (for this article) should be this one: link to eliteprospects.com
Well deserved!