Avalanche tension may be boiling over after Jared Bednar's public shot at Cale Makar
Cale Makar and Jared Bednar are suddenly carrying Colorado's entire season into Game 4 against Vegas.
That is why Bednar's quote landed so badly.
With the Avalanche down 3-0 in the Western Conference Final, the coach did not shield his star defenseman from the noise. He pushed him straight into it.
Bednar said it would be Makar's decision whether he comes back. He added that Makar is doing all the work and that he does not make that decision for him.
That is a dangerous thing to say publicly in this spot.
Because once a coach frames it that way, every fan hears the same message. If Makar is not in, then people start wondering whether he chose not to go.
That is not fair to the player.
It also puts a target on Makar at the worst possible time, with Colorado one loss from getting swept and the whole series already slipping away.
Avalanche tension boiling over after Bednar's public shot at Makar
That is the real issue here.
A coach's job in late May is not only systems and matchups. It is also protection. When a star is hurt, the coach is supposed to eat some of that pressure and keep the room from turning one player into the whole story.
Bednar did the opposite.
Makar already missed Games 1 and 2 with the undisclosed injury. He came back for Game 3, and Colorado still watched a 3-goal lead disappear.
Now Game 4 is do-or-die, and instead of calming the situation, Bednar gave everyone a line that makes Makar sound like the deciding factor in whether he plays hurt or not.
That is brutal optics.
Nobody questions Makar's level. Since 2019, he has built one of the fastest Hall of Fame tracks in the league. He scored in his NHL debut, won the Calder, drove Colorado to a Stanley Cup, grabbed the Conn Smythe, and piled up Norris-level seasons.
So this was never going to be about toughness.
It was always going to be about health and effectiveness.
That is why the quote feels off. It opens the door for people to read hesitation where there may only be pain, limitation, or a player trying to avoid hurting the team more than helping it.
And when an Avalanche season is hanging by a thread, that kind of public framing can get ugly fast.
Maybe Bednar was only being honest.
Maybe he was frustrated.
Either way, he gave the outside world exactly what a coach should usually keep inside.
Source : Coach Jared Bednar throws Cale Makar under the bus
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YESTERDAY
MAY 25, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Jankowski | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||