If there is any silver lining for the Colorado Avalanche following a disappointing end to their season, it’s the strength of the message coming from inside the room: this group still wants another run at it.
A season that concluded with a Presidents’ Trophy, 121 points, and a Western Conference Final sweep that left more questions than answers nonetheless produced a clear organizational throughline — belief in Jared Bednar remains intact. That confidence isn’t limited to the front office, either, with Joe Sakic, the club’s president of hockey operations, standing firmly behind his head coach.
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That stance comes with context that extends beyond public opinion. While segments of the fan base and portions of the media called for a coaching change in the wake of the playoff exit, Sakic ultimately leaned on the group that carries the most weight inside the building: the players. In a locker room built around a championship core and still viewed internally as being within its contention window, that voice carries significant influence. Moving against it would risk introducing the kind of internal fracture that can derail even the most talented roster.
But perhaps the strongest endorsement came from within the dressing room itself.
Superstar defenseman Cale Makar, who appeared in just two games during the series while managing a shoulder injury, was among the most vocal in support of Bednar. As outside observers questioned whether a decade behind the bench had dulled the coach’s message, Makar offered a firm rebuttal in the immediate aftermath of the Avalanche’s sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.
“Coaches are coaches. He means so much to this team and he’s allowed us to play our games,” Makar said via The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. “He deserves a lot of credit for getting us to this point. He’s not playing the game, he’s not out on the ice. He’s giving us everything he possibly can, information-wise, to go out there and be the best we can be.”
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For Makar, the relationship with the coaching staff extends beyond tactical decisions or in-game adjustments. It is rooted in accountability — a shared responsibility that carries through both success and failure, particularly in a postseason where injuries limited his own ability to contribute.
“You feel like you let people down, and he’s one of those guys,” Makar added. “You feel like he works so hard, the whole coaching staff, everybody, you just feel like you let them down a little bit.”
That sentiment reflects what Sakic ultimately gathered from within the locker room: a group that still favors continuity despite a playoff finish that fell short of expectations.
That context carries weight in Colorado.
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Bednar has now spent a decade behind the Avalanche bench, guiding the franchise through multiple division titles, a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, and sustained regular-season success that has kept Colorado among the league’s elite. However, the postseason trajectory since that title — first-round exits, a second-round loss, and now a sweep in the Western Conference Final — has naturally prompted external questions about whether the message has begun to lose its edge.
Internally, however, the conclusion remains unchanged — at least for now.
The Avalanche enter the offseason with the sting of an abrupt playoff exit, but also with recent organizational history serving as a reminder of how quickly trajectories can shift. The last time Colorado captured the Presidents’ Trophy, in 2021, they were eliminated in six games by the Vegas Golden Knights despite taking a 2–0 series lead. The following season, they responded by winning the Stanley Cup.
Whether this group can replicate that response will ultimately define how this core is judged when the stakes rise again.
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One change from last year’s roster is already confirmed. Ross Colton will not return after being traded to the Nashville Predators alongside goaltender Isak Posch in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a third-round selection in 2027 — the latter originally owned by Colorado.
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