Speculation: Bednar's future

[Avs_19]

Ugh...that'd be a mistake.

I still do not believe he's the guy to take the Avs anywhere.

I don't know if he's THE guy but I do think he's a good coach. I'd like to see the results if the Avs really can have the kind of offseason we're all hopeful for with some more legit talent being added. Some may disagree but I'm also of the belief this team would be comfortably in the playoffs right now if Varly/Grubauer didn't completely crap the bed for a month.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I don't know if he's THE guy but I do think he's a good coach. I'd like to see the results if the Avs really can have the kind of offseason we're all hopeful for with some more legit talent being added. Some may disagree but I'm also of the belief this team would be comfortably in the playoffs right now if Varly/Grubauer didn't completely crap the bed for a month.

If this team could olay competent hockey in overtime we’d also have a playoff spot locked up. That’s also a Bednar issue that has to be fixed.

 

[tucker3434]

Prior to the season, I thought we were talented and deep enough to be a bubble team. Now, here at the end of the season, we’re a bubble team. Can’t really fault Bednar for that. After our first line, the talent level drops off a cliff. It just isn’t a team that should challenge for the division right now. Hopefully, next year with Makar, Sens pick, and another addition or two, they’ll start to resolve those issues and be a team that can be held to a higher standard.

 

[Mac2Rants]

I don't mind Bednar some of the stuff he does is questionable but b4 i'd say he needs to go I want to see what he does with a real 2nd line and a good bottom 6 and an improved D-core then you can really judge him and what calls he will make.

 

[RockLobster]

I don't know if he's THE guy but I do think he's a good coach. I'd like to see the results if the Avs really can have the kind of offseason we're all hopeful for with some more legit talent being added. Some may disagree but I'm also of the belief this team would be comfortably in the playoffs right now if Varly/Grubauer didn't completely crap the bed for a month.

While their performance is not questioned during the month of December, I'd say that Bednar also showed that he's not a good coach during that period as well. He's riding the coattails of a good/great 1st line.

 

[5280]

While their performance is not questioned during the month of December, I'd say that Bednar also showed that he's not a good coach during that period as well. He's riding the coattails of a good/great 1st line.

Didn’t he put together that line in the first place?

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I dunno... Bednar is about to finish his 3rd year as head coach... That's already a pretty lengthy term for a coach in the NHL on one team. And considering in his 3 years so far we have a 31st place finish where we were the worst team in the last 20+ years, and then 2 ok years but not amazing years either...


If we make playoffs its hard to fire him considering that, but if we miss it should be a pretty easy decision to move on. I dont think he's a bad coach and I think he probably would find an NHL job as an assistant and first in line to replace the head coach somewhere else very soon if we did fire him.


We're generally a positive possession team and a positive team when it comes to dangerous chances as well. Like most teams we go as our goaltending goes really and if that is struggling the team is gonna struggle. Part of that also has to do with us right now not having a strong enough lineup to win games when the goaltending isn't good.



Unless its Coach Q who comes here I think Bednar is probably as good as anyone else potentailly available as of right now.

 

[klozge]

It still depends on the alternative imo but I think it's time for a change.

 

[5280]

He deserves another year in my book. Although I’ve always been high on him.

 

[forsbergavs32]

I don't particularly care for him that much due to his questionable lineup decisions and inability to make adjustments (especially with OT and the PP). But if the Avs manage to back into the playoffs I doubt he's going anywhere.

 

[Raucherhusten]

I'm a bit suprised that people here still try to blame Bednar for our awful OT record. OTs these days are more like a waiting game, man against man, whoever blinks first (makes a mistakes) loses kind of funzies. And most of the time it was US making that mistake. And it felt like every time we made that "first" mistake it ended up in our own net.

As a coach you have to trust your star players NOT to make that kind of mistakes. But they did, again and again and again. Not sure what Bednar should have done. You can't bench guys like Mac or Rants. You just can't.

What you can do is blaming him for the special teams or some strange roster decisions (Greer anyone?!?). But for our OT record not so much.

 

[RockLobster]

Didn’t he put together that line in the first place?

Yeah, and you point is what? That he should stick around despite his overall below-average record as an NHL Head Coach just because he put that line together?

I mean the guy has the same issue that had people frothing to get Roy out of here and that had to do with adjustments when opposing teams/coaches figure him out...only he has the opposite problem with that issue: Bednar is too slow to make adjustments whereas Roy was trying every f***ing thing under the sun when his teams weren't performing (and to be clear that's not good either when you're not providing stability).

We saw what happens when that line gets shut down, and yeah the roster has holes but he still showed that he's just not a good head coach. I think he'd be a good Asst. Coach somewhere, but if the goal is to win the Cup, then the Avs need to be doing whatever the can to attain that goal.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Bednar is fine. The team has been playing decent hockey for 2 years despite missing a proper 2nd line. Logically one would expected the results to improve once the team gets stronger.

I don't trust our organizations ability to hire coaches, the alternative could be worse than Bednar.

 

[The Abusement Park]

My biggest issue with Bednar is that this team is so so so streaky. I mean last year we were ok most the year and then go on a huge streak to get into the playoff picture. Then near the end of the season we start slumping and lose our playoff spot. Then go on a streak to end the season and make the playoffs.

Then this year we start the year off on fire and while we were due to regress from the start then we torpedo ourselves for 2 months. Like I get teams will go on streaks throughout the year but this team is always just so all over the place. I don’t get it.

 

[CalderKing21]

I am far more concerned with the Avs being able to upgrade the defense and fine a legitimate 2nd line than I am about Bednar being the right guy for the future.

 

[5280]

Yeah, and you point is what? That he should stick around despite his overall below-average record as an NHL Head Coach just because he put that line together?

I mean the guy has the same issue that had people frothing to get Roy out of here and that had to do with adjustments when opposing teams/coaches figure him out...only he has the opposite problem with that issue: Bednar is too slow to make adjustments whereas Roy was trying every ****ing thing under the sun when his teams weren't performing.

We saw what happens when that line gets shut down, and yeah the roster has holes but he still showed that he's just not a good head coach. I think he'd be a good Asst. Coach somewhere, but if the goal is to win the Cup, then the Avs need to be doing whatever the can to attain that goal.

Yeah, that was my point.

My point was that you are taking the best thing Bednar’s done since he got here, which is put together that line, and dismissing it as something that just happened out of the blue. If you are going to criticize Bednar for his short comings you also have to give him credit for what he’s done well here, and not use something he has done well as a wedge to criticize him.

In general I think Bednar gets way too much criticism around here. People got their hopes up when we were doing so well, and it has given them a clouded vision on certain things. When is the last time we have had back to back semi-successful seasons? It’s been over ten years thinking back on it.

He’s done this without much in the way of a second line, two goalies shitting the bed for a month and a half, and the complete inability to win in OT for some reason. The only part of that equation you can conceivably blame on Bednar is the lack of ability to win in OT, which I don’t, really. I think OT is more crap shoot pond hockey and it’s on the players to perfom rather than the coach to find some miracle coaching solution.

In my mind he still deserves one more year, not out of kindness, but because I wonder how he would do with a better team......which I think we should have next year.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

If this team could olay competent hockey in overtime we’d also have a playoff spot locked up. That’s also a Bednar issue that has to be fixed.

I think he has fixed it. He is not playing Mack, Rants and Barrie anymore to start the OT. They are way too dangerous together. The best faceoff players are now taking the faceoffs in OT. They are also way more patient with the puck coming out of the O zone when they have nothing to go for. There have been big changes in the last three OTs.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Someday those of you still left in Bednar's corner will stop settling for mediocre in the coaching department.

 

[HockeyFan100]

Someday those of you still left in Bednar's corner will stop settling for mediocre in the coaching department.

He's the best coach the Avs have had since Quennville lol. Not saying much, but that's the point - there's always someone out there that's worse.

Still fighting for a playoff spot despite having a huge talent drop off after the top line and having ECHL caliber goaltending from December to February. He's not bad like some of you make him out to be.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Someday those of you still left in Bednar's corner will stop settling for mediocre in the coaching department.

Can't speak for anybody else but in my case I want to see what he can get from this team with at least a decent 2nd line. If the team has that 2nd line next year and they are still going on those extended bad streak, I'll start souring on him. Until then he still has my vote due to the way the team has been competing in games most of the year. He has his quirks no doubt but there is nothing that says he can't learn from it either. He is slow to make changes like those he made in OT, putting the top line together, Soda as the 2C, etc but overall the team plays very well for him. Let's see next year.

 

[Bone Breaker]

even if no one becomes available in the off-season, other than Queneville, there's Vigneault, Mclellan, Boucher... even Carlyle I'd put as a better option than keeping Bednar. I'd only keep Bednar over signing with Yeo or Stevens. now that the team has crawled back some spots and got some wins (mostly thanks to Grubauer), looks like some people forgot all the Bednar shortcomings, such as his affair with Colin Wilson and his refusal to give more minutes to youngsters. Bednar had arguably a deeper team already in his hands two years ago and what we saw was an even worse result on ice. say that he never had much talent to work with is a falacy. specially since some of the talent available he benches, puts on the fourth line, let's in the AHL to rot...

 

[MarkT]

even Carlyle I'd put as a better option than keeping Bednar.

 

[klozge]

He's the best coach the Avs have had since Quennville lol. Not saying much, but that's the point - there's always someone out there that's worse.

Still fighting for a playoff spot despite having a huge talent drop off after the top line and having ECHL caliber goaltending from December to February. He's not bad like some of you make him out to be.

This is very debatable considering the quality of players Sacco and Roy had to work with. This year we won't reach 90 points despite both the division and the conference being remarkably weak. But even if he was, does this qualify him to continue to coach this team next year when the window is supposed to cautiously open?
I don't want Bednar to get fired only to get rid of him. If there isn't a better alternative (and there are better coaches out there who are out of a job right now) we should keep him. It would be sad if Sakic wasn't able to find somebody better than Bednar, though.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

The Avs could make the playoffs for the second year in a row, they even put up a good fight against the Preds despite key injuries. For this roster those are good results.

 

[MarkT]

I think what this conversation is in need of some perspective. Go look at what fans of other teams think of their coach. See what Preds fans think of Laviolette's love of Cody McLeod. See what Leafs fans think of Babcock's usage of Hainsey. Even on great, successful teams, the coach will often do things the fans don't like. In many of those cases it's because the fans are just wrong, like when they're mad a young player doesn't get minutes when in reality that player isn't good enough yet (usually defensively) to deserve more minutes. Sometimes the fans and the coach just have a different philosophy and value different things in players. And sometimes the coach actually is wrong. But the point is, I don't think Bednar does that much that's any worse than most of the rest of the coaches in the NHL. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but after the December this team had, it's a miracle that they're even sniffing the playoffs, and some of the credit for that has to go to Bednar.

Now, I'm not saying he's the best coach in the league or a genius or anything, but I've seen no evidence that he would be worse than any realistic replacement, and he has yet to have a genuine playoff calibre lineup to coach or an entire season of solid goaltending. If the lineup improves and the goaltending is solid yet the team still struggles to make the playoffs, then you talk about a coaching change. Otherwise you risk firing a good coach and replacing him with someone who might be worse.