Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared his reaction after his team was swept out of the postseason by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite being the Stanley Cup favorite heading into the postseason, the Avs were shockingly eliminated in the NHL Western Conference Finals in a four-game sweep by Vegas. It’s a swift and sudden end to the Avs’ season, and one that very few saw coming after the team won the Presidents’ Trophy during the regular season, and after having cruised through the first two rounds of the postseason.
Jared Bednar Reacts to Vegas Sweeping Colorado
Speaking to the media following their 2-1 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 4, Bednar shared his honest reaction to the Avs being swept out of the postseason.
“Losing sucks, and losing four straight is worse. Losing, the further you go (in the playoffs), the worse it gets, for me, because you start training camp, you’ve got lofty goals, you put together a team that you think can accomplish those goals. You go through the regular season, which was an incredible regular season, and the belief and the hope that you can accomplish those goals grows. You win a round, and it keeps building. You win another round, and it keeps building. The further you go, the closer you get to accomplishing that, and then losing, it kind of wipes it all away in an instant,” Bendar said.
“It’s hard to deal with. I’ve got a lot of respect for our guys and the season we’ve had. It’s not easy to win in this league. It’s not easy to win in this league, it’s not easy through the regular season and the playoffs. It can become more and more difficult as you move on. But the closer you get, the more hope you have that you can accomplish it. And when you don’t, it’s hard to deal with. It takes time.
“But I’ll say this: from day one, our guys gave us everything they got, and they played hard. I’ll look at this, and we’ll see how it goes, but we ran into a buzzsaw Vegas. I think they deserve the credit. It’s not a knock on our guys and how hard they played, but they’re a well-oiled machine right now, peaking at the right time. I look at their series, and man-to-man, they’re playing at the top of their game, and it’s a very, very good team that we lost to, and we’ll have to regroup, reassess, and reflect on our series, and go from there.”
What’s Next for Jared Bednar?
As for Bednar himself, there are certainly going to be calls for him to lose his job after the Avs were swept in just four games.
On paper, this Colorado team should have gone to the Stanley Cup Finals. So the fact that they were eliminated from the Western Conference Finals after four straight games is a tough look on everyone involved, including Bednar, and fans took to social media following the game to suggest a coaching change, which is natural given how poorly the season ended for Colorado.
That being said, Bendar won the Stanley Cup in Colorado four years ago, and he’s proven himself to be one of the best coaches in hockey. So while these wounds of losing are fresh, Colorado management is likely to take its time making any decision.
In the end, look for Bednar to stay in Colorado, as his previous Stanley Cup win should buy him some extra time. But if the team struggles out of the gate next season, then perhaps they could consider a coaching change.
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