Jared Bednar is sticking around for a while.

Earlier this week, the Colorado Avalanche announced that their head coach has signed a three-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season, kicking in once Bednar’s current deal expires after the 2023-24 campaign.

Bednar, who led the Avalanche to the 2022 Stanley Cup, is the winningest coach in franchise history with a 281-190-52 (.587) record in 523 regular-season games behind the bench. Hired on Aug. 25, 2016, Bednar is in his seventh season as head coach and is the third-longest tenured coach in the NHL behind Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper (March 25, 2013) and Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan (Dec. 12, 2015).

“Being able to lead this team over the last seven years has been a privilege,” said Bednar. “I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to continue building on what we’ve accomplished so far. Colorado has become home to me and my family, and I can’t thank our ownership enough, Stan and Josh Kroenke, as well as (president of hockey operations) Joe Sakic and (GM) Chris MacFarland, my coaching staff and all of our players for their hard work and dedication. I look forward to continuing this process with them.”

Both Sakic and MacFarland are elated with Bednar’s extension.

“On behalf of the Kroenke family and the entire organization, we are thrilled to announce a long-term commitment to our head coach,” said Sakic. “Jared has done a tremendous job behind the bench and certainly deserves this extension and to continue as the leader of our team.”

“Jared has obviously proven himself to be one of the top coaches in our business,” added MacFarland. “His strength as a communicator, his relationship with the players, the way he prepares each and every day is a huge reason our team has been so successful. He is an exceptional leader and we couldn’t be more excited to have him continue as our head coach.”

The Avalanche are currently in second place in the Central Division with a 41-22-6 record (88 points), just one point behind the Dallas Stars (89). Colorado, which has played one fewer game than Dallas, has the best points percentage in the division at .638. The Avalanche have a current six-game winning streak, the longest active streak in NHL and tied for the longest win streak of the season for Colorado. The Avs are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games and a league-best 21-5-3 in their last 29 contests.

Bednar, 51, has guided Colorado to five straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the first Avalanche coach to ever do that. In addition to the 2022 Stanley Cup, Bednar’s squad has won two consecutive division titles and has had the Western Conference’s best regular-season record in each of those two years.

Bednar became the franchise’s all-time winningest coach with his 266th victory on Jan. 24, 2023 against the Washington Capitals. He surpassed former Nordiques bench boss Michel Bergeron, who had 265 wins. Bednar reached the milestone in his 500th regular-season game behind an NHL bench. After posting a 107-116-27 (.482) mark in his first 250 games, he went 159-69-22 (.680) in his next 250 contests.

The 2022-23 campaign marks Bednar’s 21st season of coaching professional hockey, 13 of which have been as a head coach. He posted a .603 winning percentage as a minor league head coach (251-158-23-19), winning championships at both the AHL and ECHL levels.

Photo/Colorado Avalanche

— Colorado Avalanche Staff

(March 22, 2023)