Colorado Avalanche President Joe Sakic Backs Coach Jared Bednar, Eyes Makar Extension

Colorado Avalanche president of hockey operations Joe Sakic is standing by coach Jared Bednar, despite a disappointing playoff exit. Sakic believes the team's core group of players, including Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and captain Gabriel Landeskog, will lead the team to success next season. The Avalanche won the Presidents' Trophy with a franchise-record 121 points in the regular season, but were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. Sakic downplayed the team's fast-paced style, which has been criticized for not translating to the playoffs. He emphasized the importance of giving the players an opportunity to try and do it again. One of the first orders of business for Sakic this offseason will be signing Makar to an extension. The conversations have already started, and Sakic is confident that something will get worked out at some point. Makar turned in a 20-goal season for a third consecutive year. The Avalanche were hit by injuries in the playoffs, most notably to Makar, who missed two games against the Golden Knights. Sakic is confident that everyone will be at training camp and 100% next season. Nobody will miss any time. The team's goal is to build on their regular season success and make a deeper playoff run next year.