Jared Bednar back with Avs, jokes he needed to be Jeter to stop puck

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar is returning to the team after missing two games.

Bednar took a puck to the face against the Vegas Golden Knights and suffered facial fractures and a corneal abrasion. He went to the hospital to get checked out and didn’t travel with the Avs to Edmonton or Calgary.

Luckily, he was back at morning skate on Thursday and will coach in Colorado’s regular season finale against the Seattle Kraken.

With a bruised face and all, Bednar took the podium and it was business as usual.

Jared Bednar will be back on the bench of the regular season finale after being hit in the face with a puck…@Avalanche pic.twitter.com/vhqr5nQ5Cx

— Patrick Graham (@pgraham34) April 16, 2026

When asked what he could’ve possibly done to stop the errant puck against Vegas, Jared Bednar said he didn’t really have a shot.

“Get your hands out of your pockets is probably the only chance you have. I would’ve had to have been Derek Jeter to not get hit with that one,” Bednar joked.

It’s great to see the head coach return and it sounds like the Avalanche will be healthy entering Round 1, Game 1 of the postseason. It’ll start on Sunday at Ball Arena, with a wild card opponent and time to be determined after the NHL slate wraps up late Thursday.

“I expect our whole roster to be options for Game 1 of the playoffs,” Jared Bednar said.

That’s good news for Nazem Kadri and Josh Manson, each of whom have been out with injuries. Cale Makar returned earlier in the week against Calgary. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas won’t face the Kraken, but that’s for rest purposes after both hit milestones against the Flames.

The game with Seattle is academic for this year’s standing as the Avalanche already won the Presidents’ Trophy. But they can set a record for most points in a season if one is secured against the Kraken.

Overall this is all good news. Jared Bednar is feeling better and the entire Colorado roster will be ready to go when the real fun of the postseason begins this weekend.

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