Avalanche on Pace to Break Bruins Record Under Jared Bednar

The Colorado Avalanche aren't just winning games. They're winning at a historic pace. If the current trajectory holds, Jared Bednar's squad is on track to finish with 138 points, which would obliterate the Boston Bruins' record-setting 2022-23 campaign.

It's the kind of regular season dominance that demands attention, and it's putting Bednar squarely in the conversation for the Jack Adams Award.

On The Sheet with Jeff Marek, the hosts discussed what this kind of season would mean for Bednar's legacy and whether breaking the all-time points record would be enough to earn him coach of the year honors.

A No-Brainer for the Jack Adams

When Marek posed the question about Bednar's Jack Adams candidacy, analyst Jason Gregor didn't hesitate with his answer.

"That's a no-brainer. How could you not be? It'd be improving his team by 30 points," Gregor said. He pushed back on the typical narrative that coaches who drag struggling teams into the playoffs deserve more recognition than those who elevate already good teams to historic heights.

"I know the argument, oh look, we took this bad team and got to the playoffs. Well, in some cases, they improved by 10 points. If you take a good team and improve by 30 points, that's unreal coaching."

It's a fair point. Taking a talented roster and squeezing an additional 30 points out of them requires a different kind of coaching skill. The systems have to be perfect, the buy-in has to be complete, and the attention to detail has to be relentless. Bednar has delivered on all fronts this season.

A Cautionary Tale

Despite the historic pace, Gregor offered a word of caution for Avalanche fans getting too caught up in the regular season numbers. Recent history hasn't been kind to teams that dominated the first six months only to flame out when the playoffs started.

"If I'm the Avs, do I want to win 60 games? Boston Bruins did it, lost in the first round. Tampa Bay Lightning 2019, they did it, lost in the first round. I don't know if it's a great thing if you look at recent history to be that dominant in the regular season."

It's a sobering reminder that the NHL operates as two completely different leagues. What happens from October to April matters for seeding and home ice advantage, but once the playoffs begin, everything resets.

"It all starts again at zero. And what you did for the previous six months, as crazy as it sounds, ultimately means nothing other than deciding if you get home ice advantage or not."

Walking a Fine Line

The Avalanche aren't going to stop trying to win. That's not how championship cultures operate. But somewhere in the back of their minds, they have to know that the ultimate goal isn't a points record. It's raising the Stanley Cup in June.

Colorado has the talent, the coaching, and the depth to make a serious run. The question is whether they can translate regular-season brilliance into playoff success, something the recent record-setting teams failed to do.

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