Pittsburgh Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL or NHLPA
Avalanche Fire Key Staff Member After Losing 7th Straight Game 7
Photo credit: Edit from denversports.com
The Colorado Avalanche have decided to keep their head coach, Jared Bednar, but fire their assistant coach, Ray Bennett, after another Game 7 loss.
The Colorado Avalanche still have the bitter memory of a crushing Game 7 loss to the Dallas Stars in which a two-goal third-period lead was squandered and an early playoff elimination was suffered.
Following the disappointment, the organization parted ways with assistant coach Ray Bennett but retained head coach Jared Bednar.
General manager Chris MacFarland made the announcement along with Joe Sakic on Tuesday. The eight-year Avalanche veteran handled the power play and the forwards.
Despite a solid resume, as Colorado was fifth in the NHL in power play percentage since MacFarland was hired in 2017, the unit bogged down against Dallas, scoring just three of 22 opportunities (13.6%).
Bennett, a veteran assistant since 1996 who has made stints with Los Angeles and St. Louis in the past, was the casualty of a power play that didn't work in crunch time.
Bednar is 0-4 in Game 7s and only advanced past the first round once
Bednar remains in charge despite being lambasted for having a poor playoff resume. In nine seasons, he has advanced to the second round only during the 2022 Stanley Cup run, and has an 0-4 mark in Game 7s.
Now that the coaching decisions are done for the moment, the front office comes under scrutiny. MacFarland and Sakic must add to the lineup to maximize the top competitive years of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
With the future of captain Gabriel Landeskog uncertain due to age and injury, the championship window for Colorado may begin to close.
| POLL | ||
MAI 6 | 126 ANSWERS Avalanche Fire Key Staff Member After Losing 7th Straight Game 7 Was this the right move to fire Ray Bennett? | ||
| Yes | 68 | 54 % |
| No | 58 | 46 % |
| List of polls | ||