Kroenke Sports & Entertainment Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke and Colorado Avalanche President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Joe Sakic addressed the media on Thursday and answered a multitude of questions about the future of the team.
One of the main takeaways from the media availability is that everyone on the roster will be healthy and ready to go for training camp in the fall.
“Everybody’s going to be 100%,” Sakic said. “So that’s a positive going into the summer. There’s nobody that’s gonna miss any time to start the season.”
Sakic also confirmed that the entire coaching staff, led by Head Coach Jared Bednar, will return for the 2026-27 season.
“He’s got the utmost confidence from the players,” Sakic said about Bednar. “We do exit meetings. It’s clear from everybody, from players [and] staff that he’s the right guy. They respect him. They love playing for him, and that’s a big thing. And when we look at it for this group, he’s the best coach. He’s the best coach for the group, and we’re confident in that decision. He’s not just the coach. He’s the voice of the organization, and like I said, the players really believe in him. And I’m going with the players.”
With the departure of now-former General Manager Chris MacFarland to the Nashville Predators, Sakic will take the role of GM for the Avs. Kroenke said Sakic returning to his role was the best for the organization.
“'When a situation like C-Mac’s evolves, and you start to have a little bit of discussion there, you just look at Joe, and you say, ‘One, I know you’ve done this before, so I feel good in a certain transition period,'” Kroenke said. “But you also say, how deep is our bench? We always try to have deep benches, not only on the ice, but off the ice as well. So, I want to sing the praise...for K-Mac (Avalanche Assistant GM Kevin McDonald) and Cogs (Avalanche Special Assistant to the GM Andrew Cogliano) coming up as well. To know you have really strong people around the organization I think is always key. But Joe, I don’t say I twisted his arm, but I just felt very comfortable knowing that that could be a default position for us.”
In terms of the group on the ice, Sakic said a big takeaway from exit meetings was the team’s hunger to return and try and bring another Stanley Cup to Colorado.
“It’s a great group,” Sakic said. “They care about each other. They want to win. They’re very competitive. They’re disappointed. But, their expectations are to try and come back and try and compete and win a Stanley Cup.”
