The single best thing about Colorado Avalanche that happened this season

As the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche were expected to remain at top form during the 2022-23 season. Despite the expectations, the team only barely made it into the 2022-23 postseason. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the first round by the Seattle Kraken.

It is still possible and perhaps likely that they face an uphill battle in 2023-24 with the absence of Gabriel Landeskog, which is expected to be for the entire upcoming season. This past year, the Avalanche were shorthanded in terms of player injuries quite often, with not only Landeskog being out the entire year, but other key players missing multiple games.

Even Cale Makar, the team’s star defenseman, missed 22 games, but he still put up 17 goals and 49 assists.

So, what exactly was the best thing to happen to the Avalanche this year?

In my opinion, it was the move that will keep head coach Jared Bednar around longer: signing him to a three-year extension. The Avalanche made that call in late March and then the team found its way into the playoffs, sneaking in during one of the last few games of the regular season.

Doubt crept into the minds of some Avalanche fans, although from my analysis on social media, many others were aware that this team has been in this situation before and were able to find their way into the postseason.

Bednar was able to keep the Colorado Avalanche focused as best he could. They knew never to give up. In fact, the fact that they had to fight to make it into the postseason just brought out the best in them late in the year. It was a good thing for the Avalanche. While we would have loved to see them easily make it, a good reality check is not a bad thing once in a while.

Bednar continues to amaze Colorado Avalanche fans. While it wasn’t exactly the year we had expected of the Avalanche in 2022-23, 2023-24 is a new season but with the same typical expectations: be Stanley Cup Champions once again.