Jared Bednar has carved out a truly unique place in hockey history, standing as the only head coach to capture championships across all three major North American professional leagues.

He first lifted the Kelly Cup with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, followed by a Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016. Bednar then completed the rare trifecta by guiding the Colorado Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022—cementing a résumé that stands alone in the sport.

That alone makes a strong case for eventual Hockey Hall of Fame consideration. But if he leads the Avalanche to another Stanley Cup this season, the conversation shifts quickly from “should he get in?” to “how is he not already a lock?”

Let’s step back for a moment and look at what Colorado has done this year.

The Avalanche are closing in on one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. If they finish strong with two more wins, they’ll end up at 55-16-11—just shy of the 2020–21 team that went 56-19-7 before falling in the second round.

A huge part of that success comes down to something Bednar never wavered on: a true goaltending tandem.

There’s no clear-cut starter. No “1A, 1B” label that really sticks. Just two goalies sharing the job—and it’s worked better than anyone expected.

Scott Wedgewood has been outstanding. The 33-year-old sits at 30-6-6 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average, along with a career-high three shutouts. Even in a split role, he still finds himself tied for fifth in wins league-wide.

To put that in perspective, Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals has just one more win—despite starting 14 more games. That tells you everything about how efficient both Wedgewood and Colorado have been.

On the other side, Mackenzie Blackwood has had his ups and downs, but every time he’s been tested, he’s bounced back. Together, the two have steadied the net and helped drive Colorado to its fourth Presidents’ Trophy.

What really stands out, though, is what hasn’t become an issue: ego.

In today’s NHL, that’s rare.

Look back at the early 1990s Chicago Blackhawks, who had two future Hall of Fame goalies in Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek. It didn’t last. Belfour was the starter, Hasek the backup—but Hasek wasn’t built to stay in that role. He wanted the crease, and eventually, he got it elsewhere.

The result was two separate Hall of Fame careers—but no lasting partnership.

This Avalanche situation feels different.

Wedgewood and Blackwood go way back, all the way to their time together with the New Jersey Devils. They ended up back in the same room in Colorado after separate moves—Blackwood from San Jose and Wedgewood from Nashville.

Before that, Colorado’s goaltending picture was a mess. Led by Alexandar Georgiev, the numbers were near the bottom of the league, and something clearly had to change.

General manager Chris MacFarland believed there was more there than people realized. At the time, that idea got plenty of pushback. Now, it looks a whole lot smarter.

Wedgewood settled in immediately and elevated his game. Blackwood found his rhythm again. And most importantly, neither guy ever made it about himself.

That’s really the theme here: no ego, just results.

Leadership usually gets linked to Gabriel Landeskog, and fairly so. But in Colorado, it runs deeper than one voice.

Bednar has lived through it all here. The 2016–17 season ended with just 48 points—one of the lowest totals in modern NHL history. Most organizations would have torn it down. Colorado didn’t.

Bednar stayed. Landeskog stayed. Erik Johnson stayed. Matt Duchene moved on, but that was his choice. And through it all, then-GM Joe Sakic stayed patient.

That patience eventually led to a Stanley Cup in 2022—and a group that’s been chasing another one ever since.

Why has it worked?

Because there’s been a real buy-in. No selfishness. No noise. Just a group that actually believes in what they’re building.

This year has tested that again. Injuries hit early—Blackwood missed time, Samuel Girard went down, and Logan O'Connor was out long-term.

And still, before the season even began, Bednar said something that raised eyebrows: this was the best team he’d had since the 2022 Cup group.

People questioned it. Some even thought he and MacFarland should’ve been on the hot seat after last year’s loss to Dallas—including this writer.

That didn’t age well.

Because Colorado responded. Nathan MacKinnon has been scoring at a ridiculous pace, while Martin Necas has fit in almost seamlessly, putting up a 38-goal, 61-assist season and pushing toward a 100-point year.

Nothing about it feels accidental. It feels built. Layer by layer. Piece by piece.

Even the power play—once buried at the bottom of the league—never got ripped apart. It just kept getting worked on. And since the Olympic break, it’s looked like a completely different unit.

That’s the identity here. Not panic. Not overreaction. Just patience and belief in the process.

As Logan O'Connor often says, it’s about the work. The habits. The details. Doing the job every single day.

Now the Avalanche head into the postseason with the Presidents’ Trophy in hand. Some will bring up the curse. But a curse only exists if you let it.

Very few expected them to be here in October. Yet here they are.

It hasn’t been perfect.

Landeskog fought through broken ribs. Cale Makar accidentally added to the “friendly fire” file. Necas has taken heavy hits. Wedgewood has been run into more than a few times. And even Bednar took a puck to the face that sent him to the hospital.

But none of it has broken them.

If anything, it’s hardened them.

And when Bednar is back behind the bench, nothing really changes.

The goal is still the same.

Win the Stanley Cup.