Despite another early playoff exit for the Colorado Avalanche, head coach Jared Bednar`s position appears secure.
General Manager Chris MacFarland offered a strong endorsement for Bednar on Tuesday, stating with certainty during a season-ending press conference, “100 per cent confident Jared`s our head coach.”
However, this particular first-round elimination by Dallas was especially hard to accept for both MacFarland and team president Joe Sakic, a Hall of Famer. Their disappointment stemmed not only from former Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen scoring a hat trick in Game 7 to knock them out, but primarily because the front office genuinely believed they had assembled a team capable of winning another Stanley Cup, much like their 2022 championship squad.
“This one stings. I’m not going to lie to you,” Sakic admitted. “We knew we had the team to do it. We feel like this year’s team was on that [2022] level. So that’s why this one’s going to sting. It’s going to sting a little longer than other years.”
He added, “We’ll regroup. Great players here, great character. They want to win and we’re going to find a way next year to be in the situation again and try and compete for the Cup.”
One staffing change made following the loss to Dallas was the departure of assistant coach Ray Bennett, who oversaw the power play. The Avalanche struggled on the man advantage against the Stars, converting only 3 of 22 opportunities.
Sakic commented on the series outcome: “They [Dallas] did everything they needed to be dangerous and scored in key moments of the game. We just didn’t have it at the right time. So at the end of the day, when you look at it all, that was the difference.”
Under Bednar, the winningest coach in franchise history, the Avalanche have reached the postseason for eight consecutive years. Yet, their only advancement beyond the second round during this period was when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Reflecting on playoff series, Sakic shared, “I went through it as a player as well. Sometimes things just aren’t going to go your way.” Regarding the recent series, he noted, “We just missed on some opportunities and we didn’t capitalize. But we’ll get back at this again next year.”
Sakic confirmed his involvement in the trade that sent Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on January 24th, a deal that brought Martin Necas and Jack Drury to Colorado. Carolina subsequently traded Rantanen to Dallas on March 7th at the trade deadline.
Rantanen proved to be a significant challenge for the Avalanche in the series, recording five goals and seven assists. Having recently signed an eight-year, $96 million contract, he is set to be a formidable divisional opponent for years to come.
Addressing the Rantanen trade and the team`s makeup, Sakic stated, “What’s done is done. That happened. We move forward.” He continued, “We were very confident with the group we have here. Listen, we had a really good team here. … It was a lot deeper, a lot stronger than it was to start the year or Christmas time. We didn’t get it done.”
Despite squandering several third-period leads during the series, Colorado was agonizingly close to advancing, just 6 minutes and 14 seconds away from victory before Rantanen scored the equalizer.
“Everybody’s frustrated,” Sakic said, summarizing the team`s emotions. “Everybody’s disappointed, just because we felt we were this close to moving on.”
Attention now turns to upcoming roster decisions. Forwards Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, Jimmy Vesey, and Brock Nelson, along with defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson, are all slated to become unrestricted free agents.
MacFarland indicated he is open to keeping the core group intact, particularly with key players like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews anchoring the team, and the successful return of captain Gabriel Landeskog.
Landeskog made his return to the lineup in Game 3, marking his first NHL game in nearly three years. He had been sidelined by a chronic right knee injury since helping the Avalanche win the 2022 championship. Showing no signs of rust, Landeskog contributed one goal and three assists over the five playoff games he participated in.
Sakic praised Landeskog`s comeback, saying, “Listen, nobody knew if he would be able to come back, not even himself. To come back the way he did, it was pretty inspiring.”
