Chambers: Jared Bednar is on his own hot seat. Avalanche coach feels internal pressure

Avalanche manager Jared Bednar wants to bash similar Jon Cooper.

Bednar wants to spell from the proverbial unit cooker to a aggregate Stanley Cup champion.

In 2018-19, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the President’s Trophy arsenic the NHL’s regular-season champion earlier getting swept successful the archetypal circular of the playoffs. Cooper, a sixth-year caput manager astatine the time, was retained portion galore wanted him fired.

Cooper past led Tampa Bay to back-to-back championships.

“I’ve talked to Jon Cooper astatine length,” said Bednar, who is opening his sixth play with the Avs.

In different words, Bednar has picked Cooper’s encephalon astir however to get a championship-caliber squad implicit the hump. He’s tried to recognize what helium could person done amended to bushed San Jose successful Game 7 successful 2019, bushed Dallas successful Game 7 successful 2020 and debar an 0-4 meltdown successful June to suffer to Vegas successful six games.

Colorado, the 2021 President’s Trophy winner, has failed to get retired of the 2nd circular of the playoffs for 3 consecutive years. And if it happens again — oregon the squad falls isolated successful the regular play — Bednar realizes helium volition apt suffer his job.

“No one’s going to enactment much unit connected maine than I do, due to the fact that I spot however committed our guys are, however atrocious they privation it,” helium said from grooming camp.

The Avalanche is again the odds-on favourite to triumph the Stanley Cup, followed by Tampa Bay, Vegas, Boston and Toronto. The unit is so connected Bednar and his unit to get the talented and playoff-experienced roster playing its champion erstwhile it counts the most.

“I felt it the archetypal clip we mislaid successful the 2nd round,” Bednar said of pressure. “I’m a realist. I similar to look astatine things arsenic objectively arsenic I can. We did a heck of a occupation getting into the second-round Game 7 that twelvemonth we mislaid to San Jose. Two years agone we mislaid to Dallas — I loved our team. I deliberation we ran into immoderate wounded issues successful that 2nd circular that truly wounded america — 2 goalies, Landy, EJ, guys we trust heavy on, and we lost.”

And what happened this past June?

“There’s perfectly nary excuses,” Bednar said. “I wasn’t making excuses aft the clip we mislaid to San Jose. I wasn’t making them aft Dallas. It conscionable is what it is. One of my friends said, ‘That’s conscionable the hockey gods, seeing however atrocious you privation it.’ And I judge that. Nothing comes easy.”

If you tin larn from it and program accordingly. Bednar volition bash just. Based connected the circumstances, he’s the close idiosyncratic to bring the Stanley Cup backmost to Colorado.

“I’m excited astir this play arsenic I’ve been for each the others, conscionable due to the fact that you cognize we’re dug successful present arsenic a group. We’ve got our halfway group,” Bednar said. “There’s an excitement with each caller season, particularly erstwhile you person a squad that you consciousness tin contend and we’ve felt that mode for a mates of years now.

“We’ve been improving successful the regular season. We got to get implicit the hump successful the playoffs. But it’s the information for myself, for the group. It’s making america hungrier, making america much resilient. Like thing successful life, erstwhile you commencement it, you similar to decorativeness it. My extremity present is to effort to bring the Cup backmost to Colorado and support trying to bash immoderate we tin bash to marque that happen. I’m excited to inactive beryllium present and I’m arrogant to beryllium portion of this squad and arrogant of what we’ve accomplished to this point. We surely person much to accomplish.”

For Avalanche guardant Tyson Jost, immoderate of Bednar’s video sessions during grooming campy person ignited fires beneath him and his teammates. The clips astir what went incorrect against Vegas are depressing but compelling.

“I don’t deliberation you ever truly get implicit it,” Jost said of blowing a 2-0 bid pb and losing the last 4 games. “It decidedly inactive stings erstwhile you’re watching video and doing meetings and worldly similar that, and clips from those games travel up and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It (stinks) for sure.

“It’s thing that sticks with you passim the full summertime and it decidedly fuels you erstwhile you’re training.”