Jared Bednar & Co. Discussion Thread

[Grigowski]

CMAC should also be fired if we lose. Preferably before the players leave the ice.

The last 2 TDL he went all in. No one could have predicted that Nuke f***s his team over again and the rest falters like a wet dog. Or Middlestadt becoming mentally fragile after signing a nice contract.

This year, he assembled arguably the best team we have since 2022. Beside Colton everonye healthy. And the players still dont get their shit together on a nightly basis and we are facing elimination in Round 1. Again against Dallas. Even worse, against Dallas without their own No 1 D and Top-Winger.......

This is all on the players and coaches.

If you want to fire CMAC and clean house, thats ok. Maybe it happens, allthough thats not AVS-Like.

But if this season goes south this week, the blame should be on the players and coaches at first and foremost.

CMAC gave them the best chance for another cup and sold allmost all assets. We have the best goalie tandem since Kuemper-Franky, we have a solid D with the best D on the planet, we have depth and we have offensive power with one of the best forwards in this game.

Its not the talent. The problems are elswhere.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Actually on second thought, I’d fire CMac just for not re-signing Naz. If we had Kadri right now we’d beat Dallas

Exactly, just like we beat them in 2019-20 with Kadri

 

[Ararana]

If Jon Cooper really is on the way out in Tampa, I'd be down for a Cooper/Bednar swap.

 

[Spilot23]

CMac has done everything he could to assemble the best roster we've had since 2022. Avs are mostly healthy. We can't even beat/lead against the Stars that are missing their #1D and best goalscorer.

Could you imagine HFAvs if Makar was injured and we had to run a similar defense corps of this?
Harley - Lyubushkin
Lindell - Ceci
Bichsel - Petrovic

If we lose this series I think it's time to move on. To me losing with the squad we have versus theirs. There is no excuse anymore.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

CMac has done everything he could to assemble the best roster we've had since 2022. Avs are mostly healthy. We can't even beat/lead against the Stars that are missing their #1D and best goalscorer.

Could you imagine HFAvs if Makar was injured and we had to run a similar defense corps of this?
Harley - Lyubushkin
Lindell - Ceci
Bichsel - Petrovic

If we lose this series I think it's time to move on. To me losing with the squad we have versus theirs. There is no excuse anymore.

Toews - Manson
Lindgren - Malinski
Girard - EJ

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Toews - Manson
Lindgren - Malinski
Girard - EJ

And yet this is still better than what Dallas is currently icing

 

[AnimalMother73]

I'd be inclined to at least considering a new GM. Half or more of his moves this year were attempts to remedy prior trades that didn't work. The team has undergone tremendous change during the season, more so than any other that I can recall and its likely a contributing factor to their (inadequate) playoff performance. Its hard to build cohesion no matter how much talent is there given all the changes that occurred.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think a new GM is in order. Failed three years in a row to replace what was lost with Kadri. And gave up a TON of assets in the process.

 

[shadow1]

I'd be inclined to at least considering a new GM. Half or more of his moves this year were attempts to remedy prior trades that didn't work. The team has undergone tremendous change during the season, more so than any other that I can recall and its likely a contributing factor to their (inadequate) playoff performance. Its hard to build cohesion no matter how much talent is there given all the changes that occurred.

The article here drives that point home. No team in the last 21 years has had the amount of in-season turnover (10+ new players) as Colorado.

And going back 45 years, only Pittsburgh ('91) won the Cup. 9/12 teams lost in the first round. It will be 10/13 if the Avs lose tomorrow.

 

[Pokecheque]

All due respect, I'll take my thoughts on the GM to the GM thread, this is about Bednar and his assistants.

At the very least, regardless of results, I think the Avs will be reshuffling the coaching staff in some way. Power play has simply been way, way too inconsistent, and the PK has never, ever been good enough except when Darren Helm not only played on it, but essentially coached it and mentored other forwards on how it's done (LOC went from a horrid PK forward to one of the team's best after Helm showed up). I wouldn't mind seeing some other people bring in new ideas, things feel a little stale.

Still not pushing for a HC change, that will likely happen if the Avs are done in the first round. But I'll tell y'all who are bitching and moaning for a change right now--be careful what you wish for. The Broncos dumped Vance Joseph only to replace him with Vic Fangio, only to replace him with Nathaniel Hackett. Change for change's sake doesn't always lead to good things.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

All due respect, I'll take my thoughts on the GM to the GM thread, this is about Bednar and his assistants.

At the very least, regardless of results, I think the Avs will be reshuffling the coaching staff in some way. Power play has simply been way, way too inconsistent, and the PK has never, ever been good enough except when Darren Helm not only played on it, but essentially coached it and mentored other forwards on how it's done (LOC went from a horrid PK forward to one of the team's best after Helm showed up). I wouldn't mind seeing some other people bring in new ideas, things feel a little stale.

Still not pushing for a HC change, that will likely happen if the Avs are done in the first round. But I'll tell y'all who are bitching and moaning for a change right now--be careful what you wish for. The Broncos dumped Vance Joseph only to replace him with Vic Fangio, only to replace him with Nathaniel Hackett. Change for change's sake doesn't always lead to good things.

Hey....that's my line.

 

[the_fan]

Exactly, just like we beat them in 2019-20 with Kadri

We had like million injuries that year including both goalies

 

[Foppa2118]

The article here drives that point home. No team in the last 21 years has had the amount of in-season turnover (10+ new players) as Colorado.

And going back 45 years, only Pittsburgh ('91) won the Cup. 9/12 teams lost in the first round. It will be 10/13 if the Avs lose tomorrow.

This is an underrated potential issue. You don't see this much turnover in season for a few reasons. One it's hard to do, but it also messes with team chemistry, which is very risky for a contender.

They made a lot of changes this year. BIG identity changing changes too losing Mikko. Bringing in a new 1RW. Bringing in a new 2C, 3C, and 4C. A new defenseman. Two new goalies.

When you face adversity in the playoffs, having a tight knit group is one of the best ways to solve it. I'm not sure they've had a chance to feel like brothers yet. They may just feel like teammates.

They haven't really looked like a cohesive team in a couple months. If there's ever a time to come together though, it's down 3-2 in a playoff series.

 

[wayninja]

The last 2 TDL he went all in. No one could have predicted that Nuke f***s his team over again and the rest falters like a wet dog. Or Middlestadt becoming mentally fragile after signing a nice contract.

This year, he assembled arguably the best team we have since 2022. Beside Colton everonye healthy. And the players still dont get their shit together on a nightly basis and we are facing elimination in Round 1. Again against Dallas. Even worse, against Dallas without their own No 1 D and Top-Winger.......

This is all on the players and coaches.

If you want to fire CMAC and clean house, thats ok. Maybe it happens, allthough thats not AVS-Like.

But if this season goes south this week, the blame should be on the players and coaches at first and foremost.

CMAC gave them the best chance for another cup and sold allmost all assets. We have the best goalie tandem since Kuemper-Franky, we have a solid D with the best D on the planet, we have depth and we have offensive power with one of the best forwards in this game.

Its not the talent. The problems are elswhere.

I just want to see people in as much pain as I will be in. If we can do that without firing them, I guess I'd be open to suggestions.

 

[Pokecheque]

The last 2 TDL he went all in. No one could have predicted that Nuke f***s his team over again and the rest falters like a wet dog. Or Middlestadt becoming mentally fragile after signing a nice contract.

This year, he assembled arguably the best team we have since 2022. Beside Colton everonye healthy. And the players still dont get their shit together on a nightly basis and we are facing elimination in Round 1. Again against Dallas. Even worse, against Dallas without their own No 1 D and Top-Winger.......

This is all on the players and coaches.

If you want to fire CMAC and clean house, thats ok. Maybe it happens, allthough thats not AVS-Like.

But if this season goes south this week, the blame should be on the players and coaches at first and foremost.

CMAC gave them the best chance for another cup and sold allmost all assets. We have the best goalie tandem since Kuemper-Franky, we have a solid D with the best D on the planet, we have depth and we have offensive power with one of the best forwards in this game.

Its not the talent. The problems are elswhere.

CMAC did NOT give them the best chance for another Cup. Scrambling at the deadline to exchange half the roster ignores the fact that he had a horribly inadequate roster to begin with. Blame the coaches, and I'm sure the front office will, but this is feeling more and more like that one season Pierre Lacroix lost his damn mind and overturned a huge chunk of the lineup (Gratton, Barnaby, Hordichuk, etc.) and it just felt like the Avs weren't all that cohesive in the postseason.

If this had been the roster to START 2024-2025, that's one thing, but that's not the case. I'm not saying it has to be complete come October, but just think of how inadequate the lineup was. By the time November reared it's ugly head, the Avs had no starting goalie, no backup goalie, no 2C, no 3C, a piecemeal top six, and I'm not entirely certain they had a top four that was intact at the time. So therein forces the coaches to rely on the talent that IS there, and risks burning them out. I can't say for certain that's happening now, but I'm fairly confident in saying it happened last year.

 

[Golden Foppa]

Jared Bednar has taken the Avs to the WCF once in 9 seasons. That was the year Joe Sacco could have coached the 22 Avs to the Cup. During those 9 seasons the Avs have been the Vegas favorite to win the Cup 4 times and been in the top 5 for odds to win the Cup twice more. One trip to the WCF is woeful underachievement and it's painfully obvious Bednar has no idea what to do when he gets out-coached by his Daddy Pete DeBoer or by Rick Bowness when the Avs should have walked into the SCF in the Covid bubble even with injuries. Every team has injuries just like the 2025 Dallas Stars who are beating Bednar without a top forward and best defenseman.

And how the f*** does Ray Bennett still have a job????

I understand Jared Bednar is considered a great guy but I don't care about how good of a person you are if you continually fail as a hockey coach. All the 1st and 2nd round losses are failure. They should have dumped him for Jim Montgomery mid-season when the team was pissing away points in the standings every night. Jim Montgomery isn't a guy you want to take your daughter out to dinner though and that is the most important thing for this franchise.

/rant

 

[Pokecheque]

Jared Bednar has taken the Avs to the WCF once in 9 seasons. That was the year Joe Sacco could have coached the 22 Avs to the Cup. During those 9 seasons the Avs have been the Vegas favorite to win the Cup 4 times and been in the top 5 for odds to win the Cup twice more. One trip to the WCF is woeful underachievement and it's painfully obvious Bednar has no idea what to do when he gets out-coached by his Daddy Pete DeBoer or by Rick Bowness when the Avs should have walked into the SCF in the Covid bubble even with injuries. Every team has injuries just like the 2025 Dallas Stars who are beating Bednar without a top forward and best defenseman.

And how the f*** does Ray Bennett still have a job????

I understand Jared Bednar is considered a great guy but I don't care about how good of a person you are if you continually fail as a hockey coach. All the 1st and 2nd round losses are failure. They should have dumped him for Jim Montgomery mid-season when the team was pissing away points in the standings every night. Jim Montgomery isn't a guy you want to take your daughter out to dinner though and that is the most important thing for this franchise.

/rant

Nope. This is the same bullshit thinking that says *any* goalie could've backstopped the '22 Avs to the Cup. Really? Alexandar Georgiev could've led the Avs to the Cup? No. He couldn't. And what people fail to realize when they say silliness like this is that it's Bednar's system that allowed all that talent to be fully utilized in the first place.

Bennett can be frustrating, yes, but I'm pretty sure the Avs have had a top-ten power play almost every year. Say what you will about him but he doesn't suck.

If change happens, it's probably warranted. But I'm not here for any bullshit revisionist history that claims he had little or nothing to do with this team's success. Especially when it conveniently ignores the fact that the goaltending in all but one of those years (not counting this one yet) was not remotely adequate, and they didn't have an actual 2C in all but two of those seasons, and in only ONE YEAR did those two things overlap. Funny...that's the year they won it all.

 

[AvBuff]

Look, the Avs were loaded between '96-2001: Sakic, Forsberg, Roy, Foote, Hejduk, Drury et. al. No salary cap. And Pierre Lacroix went 5 years between Cups. It is insanely hard to win a Stanley Cup, even with a stacked roster. I also don't buy the "any nimrod could coach the 2022 Avs" either. The Avs had a series of nimrods between '96 and '01 and it took the legendary Bob Hartley to win #2 in 2001.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Nope. This is the same bullshit thinking that says *any* goalie could've backstopped the '22 Avs to the Cup. Really? Alexandar Georgiev could've led the Avs to the Cup? No. He couldn't. And what people fail to realize when they say silliness like this is that it's Bednar's system that allowed all that talent to be fully utilized in the first place.

Bennett can be frustrating, yes, but I'm pretty sure the Avs have had a top-ten power play almost every year. Say what you will about him but he doesn't suck.

If change happens, it's probably warranted. But I'm not here for any bullshit revisionist history that claims he had little or nothing to do with this team's success. Especially when it conveniently ignores the fact that the goaltending in all but one of those years (not counting this one yet) was not remotely adequate, and they didn't have an actual 2C in all but two of those seasons, and in only ONE YEAR did those two things overlap. Funny...that's the year they won it all.

Come on @Pokecheque...Don't you know that all he did during that '22 cup run was telling them to skate harder?

 

[Iceberg]

Bednar is a great coach, but his postseason record (only one WCF) is underwhelming... It's time for him to go.

 

[AvsWraith]

I think a lot of it is the players not executing. We really do get a lot of chances where someone fumbles the puck, or hits a post, or is on the wrong side to get the rebound, etc. Unfortunately for Bednar, the players are rarely held accountable by Ownership, it's the coach that gets the heat.

But you also can't really dispute that DeBoer has Bednar's number, for whatever reason. That alone may end his time here.

 

[Foppa2118]

Look, the Avs were loaded between '96-2001: Sakic, Forsberg, Roy, Foote, Hejduk, Drury et. al. No salary cap. And Pierre Lacroix went 5 years between Cups. It is insanely hard to win a Stanley Cup, even with a stacked roster. I also don't buy the "any nimrod could coach the 2022 Avs" either. The Avs had a series of nimrods between '96 and '01 and it took the legendary Bob Hartley to win #2 in 2001.

Ray Bourque went 22 years without winning a Stanley Cup. He made the playoffs and lost 20 times. He lost 3 times in the conference finals and 2 times in the finals.

Steve Yzerman didn't win for 10 years including 2 conference finals losses. Many were saying at the time he wasn't a good enough Captain to win. They said similar about Sakic and Landy.

Patrick Roy has a losing record in Game 7's.

It's hard to win in the playoffs. The margin for error is slim, because you can only lose 3 times each round.

 

[The Moops]

It's hard to win in the playoffs

Unless you're Dallas playing us

 

[Foppa2118]

Unless you're Dallas playing us

If we're being results oriented though, beating the Avs isn't the goal. Stars haven't won with this group, but the Avs have with theirs.

Avs have won 2 Cups since the Stars last won in 99.

 

[Iceberg]

Unless you're Dallas playing us

Unless you are DeBoer and Bednar is coaching the other team.