Avalanche’s End-of-Season Media Availability: What Sakic & Kronke Had To Say

The Colorado Avalanche just finished their end-of-season media availability with General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic and KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kronke. They spoke for just over 20 minutes with the media and answered questions about this past season and what’s coming next. Here is what they had to say.

Opening the press conference, the first question he asked was about Jared Bednar and the coaching staff. He confirmed that Bednar and the entire staff will remain with the team, as they are under contract, so that no changes will be made.

Advertisement

Sakic says Bednar “shouldn’t be worried” about being in the last year of his deal. Though he follows up, saying there isn’t an extension and that getting to one isn’t a priority right now.

Sakic follows up on the comment about Bednar and his importance to the team:

“He has the confidence of the players, it’s clear from players and staff that he’s the right guy, they love playing for him. He’s not just the coach; he’s the voice of the organization, players really like him, and I’m going with the players.”  

The other major talking point raised near the end of the conference was the addition of Dave Hakstol and his role with the power play. It was a topic of conversation throughout the season, given how limited the production was, especially considering the amount of talent on both units and the failure to make any changes to the deployment to see if that could help spark a fire and increase its production.

Avalanche Swept Because They Couldn’t Handle The Truth Of Their Own Game The Avalanche didn’t just lose to the Golden Knights — they were stripped of every flaw they had been hiding all season.

Advertisement

Sakic made it clear that he shares everyone else’s frustration with the power play, but they made a change at the end of last season, and he feels it improved when the team re-acquired Kadri. He also emphasized that the team appreciates Dave Hakstol’s work.

The good news is that Sakic did comment on the lack of production. While many might have wanted Hakstol gone and a change implemented, the only way is up from last season. At the same time, it’s not great that the team finished with a power-play percentage of 17.1% on the season, the sixth-lowest in the NHL.

I agree with Sakic that, with the addition of Kadri, the power play did look better after the trade deadline and in the playoffs, but it’s not an excuse that it should have taken that long to improve.

Sakic touched on the season overall and noted that, while many might see it as a disappointment, the team played well and set records across the board, yet still failed to win a Stanley Cup. Though he talked about how it was “overall an incredibly fun year,” and while he and the team are disappointed in how it ended, there shouldn’t be any panic about making massive changes, and he says this roster has a “2-to-3-year window”.

Advertisement

Though he knows that this team is going to do everything to get better, as he reiterates, “We’re going to look at all options to get better.”

With key free agents like Brett Kulak and Jack Drury, keeping these players will be important to the team, but exploring trades will be necessary given how tight they are on cap space.

Avalanche Could Leverage Minnesota Wild Deal to Lock Up Jack Drury Could the Colorado Avalanche look at what the Minnesota Wild gave to Michael McCarron and use that as an offer to pending restricted free agent Jack Drury?

Both Sakic and Kroenke have made it clear that judging an incredible season by the last week is an extreme approach. While everyone is expecting this team to win a Stanley Cup, he credited the Vegas Golden Knights for playing really well against the Avalanche. He didn’t want to bring up any excuses, but he did reiterate how the injuries to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon drastically altered Colorado’s chances at beating Vegas.

Advertisement

The biggest point about the roster was Cale Makar and his eligibility for a contract extension this summer. Sakic confidently talked about how important Makar is to the team and that “Cale is going to finish his career here.” He hopes to have an extension signed this summer and has already begun discussions with his agent.

Cale Makar Extension Not If, But How Long As McDavid-Style Deal Could Be In Play Cale Makar’s next contract in Colorado is no longer a matter of if it gets done, but how long the Avalanche will lock in their franchise cornerstone—and whether a McDavid-style short-term deal becomes the blueprint for preserving their Stanley Cup window.

Heading into next season, Sakic expected everyone to be at training camp at “100%”. This is welcoming, though, without concern, as they didn’t list any specific injuries the team was dealing with, especially those involving Makar and MacKinnon and how banged up they were.

Advertisement

While this might not have been what many wanted or expected to hear this afternoon, it’s a clear, concise point from Sakic and Kronke that the team will continue to operate as it did last season. No major or drastic changes, but they do expect greatness from one another and know that the fans and media do too. It will be interesting to see what moves they pull in this free agency to make this team any better than it was last season.

Colorado’s Bednar Debate Looks Small Compared To What’s Brewing In Edmonton As Colorado Avalanche fans continue debating Jared Bednar’s future, the Edmonton Oilers are reportedly considering a coaching candidate whose controversial past has the NHL Players’ Association calling for another investigation.