Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar Needs to Have Leeway to Recruit

If Jared Bednar is going to turn this Colorado Avalanche boat into a ship, he’ll need to recruit his own staff — he needs the go ahead to do so.

Jared Bednar will get at least one more year to try and make the Colorado Avalanche a much more competitive team. If he’s going to be successful doing so, he needs to be able to recommend hires for his support staff.

I stand by my opinion that Jared Bednar is not by any means responsible for the state of the team this past season.

There were too many variables entering the season for Jared Bednar to absorb any blame. A coach quit on the team, he was hired two weeks before training camp and had next to no knowledge about the players he was coaching.

He was lucky to have Nolan Pratt already hired as an assistant coach, but he did not have enough time to assess the other coaches behind the bench.

With all of that being said, Jared Bednar is responsible for the results of next season. And, if he’s going to put a successful team on the ice, then he needs to have the freedom to recommend people for his coaching staff.

Dave Farrish and Tim Army May be on Thin Ice

Let me be clear. Jared Bednar will not have the freedom to hire anyone he wants. One reason is because some of the help he would want is committed to coaching for other teams. Two, the entire management team has to agree upon the hiring.

However, that does not mean he can’t add in his input on who the Avs should consider. It does not mean that the Avs can’t lure a guy over to be their assistant coach.

One thing is clear, both Dave Farrish and Tim Army don’t seem to fit with the team. Honestly, I don’t know much about each of their respective duties as assistant coaches. I can’t even say that they are bad at their jobs because I am not close enough to the organization. There is 56 years of coaching experience between the two of them, but experience does not guarantee skill.

More from Mile High Sticking

It has often been cited that Dave Farrish works with the defensemen, and that Tim Army is the power play coach; and, it’s clear that the Avs have had trouble implementing sound defensive structures, and their power play hasn’t been great either.

The Colorado Avalanche had the worst power play in the league last season at 12.6 percent. They also allowed the most goals in the league by 16 more than the Dallas Stars.

Those are obviously extremely high level stats, and don’t offer the most in depth look at the team. However, it’s clear that something needs to change within this organization.

Perhaps wishing guys like Dave Farrish and Tim Army ‘happy trails’ is a good way to change up the feedback players receive.

Conclusion

Out of the two, I’d rather see Farrish go because he’s had two years to work with the defense, and the defense has been bad both years. I know the Avs don’t have the best defensemen, but the structure is also extremely porous.

At this point, Nolan Pratt should be running the defensive structure. That seems like an easy transition to me. They might not even need to hire someone else in that case. Keep Tim Army because he’s been with the team since 2011 and knows the players. Let Pratt run the defensive structure, and call it a day.

Next: Mikko Rantanen is Set for a Big Year in 2017-18

However, Bednar may still want to hire his own staff. After taking time to assess the performance of his staff, he needs to decide if he wants to keep everyone on board. At that point, he lets Sakic know he wants some changes, and steps back. All he can do is recommend who he would want beside him, and hope management can deliver.

Regardless, if the Avs want to see success from Jared Bednar they need to make sure that every coach on his staff agrees with his direction, and is working to implement it in the same fashion he does. If that’s not happening currently, then the management needs to make changes. Mostly, it’s about making sure that Bednar has the best possible opportunity to succeed next season.