Even before training camp gets underway, fans of hockey, whether a Colorado Avalanche fan or not, get to cook up some sorts of hot takes. In the case of the Avalanche, one popular YouTube/Instagram personality gave six of his own, including the firing of head coach Jared Bednar.
Mike Bartner (mbonhockey on Instagram) predicts that Bednar would be fired either during or after the 2025-26 season, specifically sometime before June 1st.
Though Bartner doesn’t give an explanation as to his reasoning other than the fact that they’re hot takes, I’m sure that fans can connect the dots as to the direction the team would have to be headed if Bednar’s job were to be on the line.
Some likely believe that anything short of a Stanley Cup Final appearance will be a massive disappointment for Bednar’s Avalanche. That does make sense, especially given the fact that we are expecting Gabriel Landeskog back on a consistent basis. If that ends up coming to fruition, I don’t see the team having a bad season. In fact, if Landeskog were to play most of the year, it would put talk of Bednar’s firing to rest. Of course, a lot can change in the postseason, but having Landeskog on the ice would be a huge boost.
I think that the Winnipeg Jets might be the Avalanche’s biggest threat in the postseason. Dallas has its own issues, including the fact that they will have a new head coach. Will Jake Oettinger be able to rebound from the disastrous 2024-25 postseason, which saw former head coach Pete DeBoer bench his starter? If so, that could be a problem for Colorado.
The one thing anyone should really focus on is the Avalanche’s own destiny. They can’t control what their opponents do outside of head-to-head games. They need to come out strong and play good—no, great—hockey on a consistent basis. That’s the best way to end up with a successful season.
Colorado dealt with a plethora of injuries last season and ended up finishing in third place in the Central Division. However, they were just four points from tying for second place with the Stars. I would like to believe that the Stars take a step back, which would put the Avalanche firmly in second place.
Ideally, the Avs would improve on their record away from Ball Arena in 2025-26. They finished 23-17-1, compared to 23-12-3 at home. Though that might not seem like a big difference, it all boils down to the overall points accumulated. You get two points for every regulation victory, but an additional point if you win in overtime. Heading into overtime and losing to competitors in your own division is a terrible recipe.
If the Avalanche were somehow to miss the postseason in 2025-26, a lot would have to be going wrong. Barring some sort of catastrophic injury to Nathan MacKinnon specifically, Colorado should be competitors through the whole year. It’s a bit surprising, but I have extreme confidence in Mackenzie Blackwood as the starter going forward. He really took the goaltender position by the horns and has turned it into the best goaltending this team has seen since the 2021-22 Stanley Cup season.
I also liked Scott Wedgewood in net, and would feel comfortable with either player at any point in the upcoming year. It’s bound to be an exciting season and I believe that Avalanche fans should be thrilled with the potential the team has. It would be a shock to me if Bednar was fired, but I suppose anything is possible.