The Colorado Avalanche continue their scorching hot start to 2025-26. The team is 19-1-6 over a quarter of the way through the campaign. The club has just one regulation loss in 26 games, which is already second-best all-time in the record books.
Even so, chasing down the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers, who lasted an astounding 37 games before collecting their second loss, is mostly a pipe dream. The Avalanche understand that the only way to approach such lofty marks is to take it one game at a time.
I recently wrote about the incredible goal differential the Colorado Avalanche have posted thus far. In the few games since that article, the number has only grown. The gargantuan margin now sits at 53 more goals scored than allowed. Somehow, even if Colorado kept this breakneck pace, they would fall just shy of the National Hockey League record of 216.
I bring these otherworldly stats up not to pump the brakes on this Avalanche wagon train, but only to offer perspective. There are some records that most likely won't be broken. If we're honest modern hockey is just different than it was in 1980 or 1977 when each of those long-ago marks were set. Goalie play and defensive structure has quite simply evolved over time.
I'm not here to declare we're about to re-write the history of sticks and pucks. Although with 44 points through 26 contests, I would be remiss not to point out Colorado is actually on pace to finish ahead of the 2023 Boston Bruins, who set the all-time record for points in the standings with 135.
Again, it's far too early to put this club above those 65-12-5 Bruins. However, I do think it's fair to compare them, for good and for ill.
The only way Jared Bednar gets a Jack Adams Award
If Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar is ever going to earn honors as the league's best coach, it has to be undeniable. Undeniable like Jim Montgomery's case in 2023, when he took home the trophy.
The reality of leading a great organization like the Colorado Avalanche is such that as a coach you'll never get the credit you might elsewhere. With top tier talent comes an expectation of success. I said as much last year when I wrote about Bednar's case for the award.
I promise I'm not just playing homer here, as the guy who cried Jack Adams. In 2024-25, the Avalanche were a veritable hospital wing on-ice through much of the calendar. I maintain the opinion that Colorado did very well for themselves to finish third in a stacked Central Division with 102 points last year.
Obviously, though, that's not the resume that gets end-of-the-year accolades. Typically the NHL looks for a coach with the most remarkable turnaround or otherwise surprising result. This was the scenario last year when second-year coach Spencer Carbery won the hardware at the helm for the Washington Capitals.
The Caps led the Eastern Conference with 111 points and made a leap in the standings nobody expected. Even though the Winnipeg Jets accumulated more points last year, their previous success worked against them for award voters.
Looking at the current landscape, I think it's fair to say that, while the East has competitive races right now, no one team is standing out. The Western Conference has less overall parity perhaps, but the Central Division is home to the top three teams in the Conference.
Colorado and their greatest modern nemesis, the Dallas Stars, are outpacing everyone. The surging Minnesota Wild are a ways in the rearview, but right now, they are also doing their part to keep their rivals playing hard. Ironically, it could be Stars new head coach Greg Gulutzan who emerges as an Adams favorite, in large part because he is in his rookie season behind an NHL bench.
Jared Bednar doesn't fit the typical profile of a Jack Adams honoree. He is the second-longest tenured coach, trailing only Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper. But at some point, outright dominance has to be considered. A nearly wire-to-wire reign atop the league standings would probably do it.
Are records and trophies even important in the regular season?
Of course if the Avalanche maintain this torrid pace, they will deserve every bit of praise that comes their way. It could include a second MVP for Nathan MacKinnon, or a third Norris for Cale Makar. As a fan, I want recognition for everyone.
Heck, if we're being real, general manager Chris MacFarland should be the runaway favorite for the Jim Gregory Award for GM of the Year, for his goalie trades last year. Alas, I don't think voters would be so rational or nuanced. In fact, they would probably sooner throw a fourth straight trophy at Dallas' Jim Nill. This article is already too full of guys named Jim.
What both the 2023 Bruins and the heartbreak of last summer should teach us as Avalanche fans is to not get bogged down or sidetracked chasing records or even guady little statues. What we want is another Stanley Cup. Everything else is tertiary,
The Avalanche can't be too concerned with chasing ghosts in dusty record books from seasons past. But nor should they care about any perceived 'curses' on yet another trophy, the President's Trophy.
This Colorado Avalanche team is showing signs that they are special. If they want the best shot of proving that and fulfilling their ultimate goal, they need to keep grinding. The truth is that even with a generational start to the season, their most hated rival is hot on their heels.
Colorado should want that top spot if for no other reason than the fact it means the Stars won't have it. You don't need to ask Bednar or anyone in the Avalanche organization what's most important inside that locker room. Trophies are cool. They shine, and they are heavy. But only Stanley Cups make you immortal.