Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wants to do like Jon Cooper.
Bednar wants to go from the proverbial pressure cooker to a multiple Stanley Cup champion.
In 2018-19, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s regular-season champion before getting swept in the first round of the playoffs. Cooper, a sixth-year head coach at the time, was retained while many wanted him fired.
Cooper then led Tampa Bay to back-to-back championships.
“I’ve talked to Jon Cooper at length,” said Bednar, who is beginning his sixth season with the Avs.
In other words, Bednar has picked Cooper’s brain about how to get a championship-caliber team over the hump.