Jared Bednar Becomes the Winningest Head Coach

Jared Bednar became the winningest head coach in Colorado Avalanche history. With the 5-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 24, Bednar secured his 194th regular-season win as Avalanche head coach.

"It's an honor to be coaching this team. I'm grateful. I'm thankful to be here, especially after the first year," Bednar said of the accomplishment. "For me, it's satisfying, but it's not the reason I came, you know, it's not to move up a list. I enjoyed coaching the team and when our team plays well and we get rewarded for our hard work, we're all chipping in trying to accomplish the ultimate goal, and that's to win the Stanley Cup."
To achieve this accolade, Bednar pasted Bob Hartley on the list of most coaching wins in Avalanche history. Bob Hartley, with 193 regular-season wins, was the Avalanche head coach from 1998-2003 earning a President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup, both during the 2000-2001 season.
"There's a lot of work that goes into it every year," Bednar said. "I'm proud of my staff and we've got a good staff here. It's really hard work and we got a great group of leadership and great group of guys in the room and I'm just one piece of that. I'm certainly happy to be doing it and grateful to be doing it here and with the Avalanche."
A tradition in the locker room this season is for the players to pass a game puck across different stand out players of the game. The night to secure the most wins in Avalanche history, Captain Gabriel Landeskog gave Bednar a game puck for the achievement.

In order to earn most coaching wins in franchise history, Bednar would need to surpass Michel Bergeron on that list. Michel Bergeron was the head coach of the Quebec Nordiques from 1980-1987, leading the team to a postseason appearance is all seven of those seasons. Bergeron ended his time as Nordiques head coach with 265 franchise wins.
Bednar joined the Avalanche as head coach ahead of the 2016-2017 season. Prior to joining the Avalanche Bednar was the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets' American League Hockey affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. He coached the Monsters into the 2016 Calder Cup Championship that season. Bednar also had stints with the former AHL Springfield Falcons from 2014-2015 and AHL's Peoria Rivermen from 2010-2012.
Since coming on with the Avalanche, Bednar has led the team to four straight playoff appearances since 2017-2018, entering the second round in three of those appearances, along with earning the West Division title and the President's Trophy for the 2020-2021 season. This was the franchise's third President's Trophy, the first since the 2000-2001 season, and the 12th franchise division title.
Although his first season with the team was forgettable, finishing last place in the league with 48 points, the bounce back and the trust given to Bednar has only been beneficial since.
Bednar now sits at a 195-155-40 career record during his six seasons with the Avalanche.
Jared Bednar signed a two-year extension as head coach through the 2023-2024 season.