Jared Bednar & Co. Discussion Thread

[Foppa2118]

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

I can't believe Jon Cooper didn't tell his team to skate harder. Obviously he would have won, since Bednar doesn't have any other tricks, and can't make adjustments.

Who knew all you had to do to shut down McDavid and Draisaitl enough to win, was tell your team to skate harder!

 

[AvBuff]

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.

Agreed. People act like the NHL is the NBA - where all you need is a couple of superstars on your roster and a few good role players to win multiple trophies in a row, ala Spurs/Lakers/Warriors. The Nuggets are 2 years removed from the title and have had the best player on the planet playing for them . . . and are in a dogfight to get out of the 1st round.

A year after getting drilled by Minnesota in Round 2.

The SCPs are freaking beast - the margins are thin and you need luck, health and skill to get though them. In that order. I'm not making excuses - I'll be pissed if we don't get past Dallas. But I'm not gonna climb a ledge if we don't.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

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

I want to say he's a great coach, but as you said with this core for a decade and only one appearance in the SCF or even WCF. Could every coach have done that? No. But I bet there are a fair number of coaches who could have matched if not beaten that.

My biggest beef is that I just get the feeling that he doesn't want to update his systems and tactics, but after a decade everyone knows, if you concentrate on MacK and Makar and shut those two down then you've essentially shut the Avalanche down and won the game by default.

Why is this? Why can't this be structured so someone other than the first line has a chance in hell? I don't know, I've just really soured on the guy this season. I'm not trying to claw back any credit I've given him in the past, he's earned it as well as my respect and thanks for the dignified way he's lead this team. But I do believe it's in both his and the Avs best interest to part ways soon. Bednar is young enough he could go do this again with a new club. The core has enough juice that with the right adds (2C and some continuance of a decent top 4) a new coach might be able to spark them with some new tactics, fresh eyes and line combos.

And with that last sentence, I think it truly is Bednar's refusal to work with our second line that I think is at the rub of my issues. Mitts started needing help for some reason 20 games into the season, but Jared refused to shift Mikko down, the only guy who could, and is paid to, carry a line like that. Then once Mikko got swapped for Necas we had a game where Necas and Nate just shawdowed each other the entire game and kept looking at each other like, what are you doing here man, this is my spot. It was that spiderman meme, and truly hilarious. But that's the thing... they like to play such a similar game... why the hell wouldn't you put Necas down with Nelson who is struggling to carry the puck in our system.

Meh. I just will never see eye to eye with this thinking of his and fear it's cost us wins and is fairly significant factor in our being down 3-2 in this series. Well, that and his total bumble-f*** handling of Landeskog's return. Dude was ready for Line 1 on game 1 but Bednar waited until Game 2 to give him 3rd line minutes. I actually believe it too Joe Sakic asking him what the f*** it was he was doing before he bumped Landy up where he belongs for Game 3.

I know many of our players have not played to their individual potentials, but I do believe that Bednar's roster is not necessarily putting everyone in the best position to succeed... individually as well as a team.

 

[forsbergavs32]

CMac gave Bednar a really good roster to work with and yeah some players haven’t been good, but the games with Lando’s return, putting in EJ over Malinski, Wood in over a ready Lando, and continuing to try to force Mack and Necas together when they play too similarly has been a part of hurting the team in this series.

If we end up going on against DeBoer and Stars once again Bednar needs to go. There are some good coaches available or may come available by the time the playoffs end. I love Bednar and think he’s a good coach but he’s run his course here IMO.

 

[Foppa2118]

I'm pretty sure Landy was making his own decision on when to play.

I'm sure having last change his first game back, to manage his matchups and ice time, not knowing how well he may play jumping into the playoffs, played a factor for both.

But do we really believe that if Gabe went to Bednar and said he was ready, Bednar would tell him no?

The bigger dropped ball IMO was not putting Girard on LTIR, when he would have qualified in games played and days, and opening up room for Landy to play a regular season game or two at the end of the year.

But again, maybe Gabe just didn't feel ready yet?

He has been pretty open about how at a certain point, it was just a matter of having confidence in his knee holding up. Hence the methodical process of coming back, building his confidence, and reacclimating to the NHL playoffs step by step. Practice, hard stops and starts, contact, Eagles game at slower speeds, warmups Game 2 to feel the atmosphere he hasn't felt in three years, etc.

He's played well right off the bat, but maybe he needed that process to play well?

 

[expatriatedtexan]

CMac gave Bednar a really good roster to work with and yeah some players haven’t been good, but the games with Lando’s return, putting in EJ over Malinski, Wood in over a ready Lando, and continuing to try to force Mack and Necas together when they play too similarly has been a part of hurting the team in this series.

If we end up going on against DeBoer and Stars once again Bednar needs to go. There are some good coaches available or may come available by the time the playoffs end. I love Bednar and think he’s a good coach but he’s run his course here IMO.

Yeah, it just absolutely sucks when we get to this point with a guy I absolutely love and at times would've tried my best to run through a brick wall for him myself.

He's usually so reserved, almost to the point of being curt with his answers at times. But to see him let loose and speak at the parade and then start choking up while talking.... man that made an explosion of snot run down my face. I'm talking like, where the heck did these tears come from? Out of nowhere his speach just hit me in the feels. What with the shit going on in my life at the time and then the Avs giving me a gift I never thought I'd see again... another Championship, it all was just such a perfect moment.

I do not want to be upset with Bedsy at all and this feeling kinda sucks.

 

[forsbergavs32]

Yeah, it just absolutely sucks when we get to this point with a guy I absolutely love and at times would've tried my best to run through a brick wall for him myself.

He's usually so reserved, almost to the point of being curt with his answers at times. But to see him let loose and speak at the parade and then start choking up while talking.... man that made an explosion of snot run down my face. I'm talking like, where the heck did these tears come from? Out of nowhere his speach just hit me in the feels. What with the shit going on in my life at the time and then the Avs giving me a gift I never thought I'd see again... another Championship, it all was just such a perfect moment.

I do not want to be upset with Bedsy at all and this feeling kinda sucks.

It sucks. He’s a great dude and a good coach. But unless your name is Scotty Bowman you eventually have a time where it’s time for a new voice.

 

[cinchronicity]

While Brisbois made a statement that Cooper will be around next year, where there is smoke, there is always a chance of fire. Mike Sullivan is already gone. So it is conceivable that Bednar will be the longest tenured coach in the NHL That alone screams, "It's Time!", especially when considering the lack of impressive playoffs other than the cup winning year. Just a few points, then I will never comment on Bednar again.

1) Everyone needs to stop this nonsense about winning at every level. The ECHL has virtually nothing to do with the NHL aside from white ice and black rubber discs. In the ECHL - and AHL - a team can get away with one incredibly stacked line, and still win most of the time. That is simply not true in the NHL. Its like saying that a guy was a good go-cart driver, and a good dirt track sprint car driver, so he has to have success in NASCAR. Or the golfer who won in Juniors, and won in college, thus he is assurred of a PGA championship. The rough is different. The tees are different, the greens are a whole different stimp level. So why do we assume an ECHL championship is the same as an NHL championship?

2) This is not 1956. Every team in the league has a video department. There are dozens of cameras on the road and at home. After 10 years of the identical system, the rest of the league has a mountain of digital content with which to defeat Bednar, since the league knows his system virtually as good as he knows the system. This translates to everything - clearing pucks, PK, PP, faceoffs. So when Team A has a potential of 7 games in a row with the same team, and no other teams to prepare for, it is pretty easy to beat Bednar in the playoffs, because the team constantly falls into the same traps.

Bednar is not a bad coach. He surely is not a bad person. But after 10 years with only a single WCF, the writing ought to be on the wall. In the mean time, a coach like Mike Sullivan is/was available this week, though that might not be the case today. Bednar might be successful with a young team, but that does not change the fact that the rest of the league now has a massive library of video on 'the system.' It might just be that his stubborn refusal to adjust could cost him a HOF coaching career.

 

[Sea Eagles]

Seriously guys? We need to be more behind the best coach in the NHL. Wonder how many have the levels of success coach Bednar is consistently having year on year?

He attracts players
He improves players
He creates winners and a winning culture
He sets standards
He adapts
He supports his warriors off the ice
His players would die for him

When he's wearing his shades on the top floor of that double decker bus waving at you , cup under his arm in a few months, let's revisit some of the disgraceful comments in this thread.

 

[Pokecheque]

I just don't like his penalty kill. That's all.

Oh and I liked short-coiffed Jared better, but he's rockin' the long 90s grunge hair quite well. Maybe next year he can bring back his ECHL mullet.

 

[Foppa2118]

Bedsy I think referenced after Game 6 what I've been talking about for a while. That I believe their struggles in the playoffs are mental hurdles from the players, that they've had for a while, and always need to manage.

IMO it happend in the Vegas series, even when they were the better team. Happened at times last year against the Stars, and it happened at times this year against the Stars. Even when they were playing as the better team. They either stopped playing or lost their focus and started making costly mistakes.

I think the team feeds off the energy from Nate, because he's such an intense presence. You have to take the good and the bad with anyone, especially Nate, because he's so exceptional, and sometimes he lets his emotions get to him. That's why he and Bednar emphasize staying even keel.

So sometimes they get in their own head, or when thing's aren't going well, they may grip their sticks a bit too much, or start losing their focus and making mistakes, or they get frustrated, or perhaps doubt themselves.

It's a constant battle, just like those things are constant battles for a lot of people in life. But it's mostly mental. Which means it's solvable. But you have to be mindful of it and fight to maintain the right focus.

Bedsy kind of touched on that a little bit here, talking about how there's been some years where they want it so bad, they freeze up a little bit, and they're trying really hard not to do that this year. They're trying to fight to the bitter end no matter what happens. Which is exactly how they have to think IMO.

Cued up here:

 

[Balthazar]

I liked short-coiffed Jared better

We all do.

 

[The Moops]

While Brisbois made a statement that Cooper will be around next year, where there is smoke, there is always a chance of fire. Mike Sullivan is already gone. So it is conceivable that Bednar will be the longest tenured coach in the NHL That alone screams, "It's Time!", especially when considering the lack of impressive playoffs other than the cup winning year. Just a few points, then I will never comment on Bednar again.

1) Everyone needs to stop this nonsense about winning at every level. The ECHL has virtually nothing to do with the NHL aside from white ice and black rubber discs. In the ECHL - and AHL - a team can get away with one incredibly stacked line, and still win most of the time. That is simply not true in the NHL. Its like saying that a guy was a good go-cart driver, and a good dirt track sprint car driver, so he has to have success in NASCAR. Or the golfer who won in Juniors, and won in college, thus he is assurred of a PGA championship. The rough is different. The tees are different, the greens are a whole different stimp level. So why do we assume an ECHL championship is the same as an NHL championship?

2) This is not 1956. Every team in the league has a video department. There are dozens of cameras on the road and at home. After 10 years of the identical system, the rest of the league has a mountain of digital content with which to defeat Bednar, since the league knows his system virtually as good as he knows the system. This translates to everything - clearing pucks, PK, PP, faceoffs. So when Team A has a potential of 7 games in a row with the same team, and no other teams to prepare for, it is pretty easy to beat Bednar in the playoffs, because the team constantly falls into the same traps.

Bednar is not a bad coach. He surely is not a bad person. But after 10 years with only a single WCF, the writing ought to be on the wall. In the mean time, a coach like Mike Sullivan is/was available this week, though that might not be the case today. Bednar might be successful with a young team, but that does not change the fact that the rest of the league now has a massive library of video on 'the system.' It might just be that his stubborn refusal to adjust could cost him a HOF coaching career.

Why is everyone so enamored with Sullivan? Guy had Geno and Crosby in their primes and did nothing past year 2.

 

[Foppa2118]

1) Everyone needs to stop this nonsense about winning at every level. The ECHL has virtually nothing to do with the NHL aside from white ice and black rubber discs. In the ECHL - and AHL - a team can get away with one incredibly stacked line, and still win most of the time. That is simply not true in the NHL. Its like saying that a guy was a good go-cart driver, and a good dirt track sprint car driver, so he has to have success in NASCAR. Or the golfer who won in Juniors, and won in college, thus he is assurred of a PGA championship. The rough is different. The tees are different, the greens are a whole different stimp level. So why do we assume an ECHL championship is the same as an NHL championship?

I don't know, this still shows his coaching ability IMO.

As you say, it's still pucks on ice, so it's still hockey. You still have to manage personalities, and motivate people, and draw up x's and o's better than the other coach.

Plenty of coaches have coached at all those levels. Only one has won at all three. Doesn't make him the best ever, but IMO it certainly makes him a great coach.

It's certainly more applicable than what drivers do at different levels of racing or what golfers do.

That would be analogous to a player working his way up, and being a great player in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL. Not a coach.

Being a player/driver at the pinnacle of your sport relies a lot, if not mostly, on talent. Coaching has to do with much more than that. The best players are pretty rarely the best coaches.

You have to have both an analytical mind for the game, and an ability to relate to all kinds of different people, gain their respect, gain their trust, and get the most out of them.

I think we've seen the former proven by winning the Cup, and the latter with the growth we've seen from MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Mikko's game under Bednar. They've all gone from good, to probably the best they could be, and among the best in the league with him coaching them.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Bedsy I think referenced after Game 6 what I've been talking about for a while. That I believe their struggles in the playoffs are mental hurdles from the players, that they've had for a while, and always need to manage.

IMO it happend in the Vegas series, even when they were the better team. Happened at times last year against the Stars, and it happened at times this year against the Stars. Even when they were playing as the better team. They either stopped playing or lost their focus and started making costly mistakes.

I think the team feeds off the energy from Nate, because he's such an intense presence. You have to take the good and the bad with anyone, especially Nate, because he's so exceptional, and sometimes he lets his emotions get to him. That's why he and Bednar emphasize staying even keel.

So sometimes they get in their own head, or when thing's aren't going well, they may grip their sticks a bit too much, or start losing their focus and making mistakes, or they get frustrated, or perhaps doubt themselves.

It's a constant battle, just like those things are constant battles for a lot of people in life. But it's mostly mental. Which means it's solvable. But you have to be mindful of it and fight to maintain the right focus.

Bedsy kind of touched on that a little bit here, talking about how there's been some years where they want it so bad, they freeze up a little bit, and they're trying really hard not to do that this year. They're trying to fight to the bitter end no matter what happens. Which is exactly how they have to think IMO.

Cued up here:

This is why I hate to hate on Bedsy.

He flat out lies to everyone and everyone knows it when he does it.

But then he talks about pressure... and how it's fun. He talks about how he hopes Dallas brings the best out of his team. He talks about how the pressure and stress is a reward in and of itself... and your reward for succeeding... it to get even more pressure.

The man absolutely understands the mentality. I just wish I didn't disagree so much with him on the lineups.

 

[Foppa2118]

This is why I hate to hate on Bedsy.

He flat out lies to everyone and everyone knows it when he does it.

But then he talks about pressure... and how it's fun. He talks about how he hopes Dallas brings the best out of his team. He talks about how the pressure and stress is a reward in and of itself... and your reward for succeeding... it to get even more pressure.

The man absolutely understands the mentality. I just wish I didn't disagree so much with him on the lineups.

Yeah this "Pressure Is A Privilege" phrase has kind of become their moto this year.

We've been hearing lots of guys say it. Nate even had to find a different way to say it in his interview on TNT, because they've been saying it so often.

I forgot who it was on the team that first said it. I think it was a couple months ago, from either EJ, Gabe, or Bednar, but they referenced hearing it from someone else outside the team. Outside of hockey I think.

It's a good concept for a team to rally around, and add a fresh perceptive to the grind of the playoffs, to keep you motivated.

I like what Bedsy added though about how each round you earn the honor of adding more pressure.