Avalanche GM Joe Sakic said his team “lost focus at times” in the Western Conference Finals. The question in everyone’s mind is “how did that happen?”
Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights outplayed the Avalanche. But the Avs did not play their best game. Even as a no-excuses team, there has to be an explanation.
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“They got the big timely goals; we did not. And that’s the difference. We may have gotten a little bit frustrated,” Sakic said. “I look back, Game 1, yeah we lost that game. Game 2, we felt we should have better results. We didn’t. Game 3, we were off to a great start — five, six, seven minutes of bad hockey costed us. But overall, Vegas played better at that time, and give them credit.”
Kroenke Sports Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke joined Sakic in the postseason press conference and agreed with his team president’s assessment of the season.
“If you’re just going to evaluate the last week of the season, obviously it was incredibly disappointing on a lot of levels. But if you’re going to evaluate the season as a whole, there’s a lot of positive,” Kroenke said.
What the Avs lacked in the WCF
Execution was the biggest issue. The compete was there, for the most part, but the follow-through was not in the conference final series.
“The style of play worked all year until one week. Our style is pretty good. We just didn’t execute the way we normally do, and for whatever reason, that’s what happened,” Sakic said. “But our style, our system — we can win in different ways. We can score, we can defend … We were successful all year against physical teams, I don’t think the physical play is the reason we lost. It was just our lack of execution in moments of the games.”
Winning the President’s Trophy was not enough for the Avs to win the Holy Grail of hockey. The team earned a franchise-high 121 points, staying committed to the end goal of winning the Cup. What happened in the Western Conference Finals that cost them?
“It’s not like we didn’t work hard, our guys competed, they worked hard. Maybe lost focus there at times in the series, and that’s what happens,” Sakic said. “We played really well against a big, strong LA team. Minnesota, we won in five, a big, strong team. We just didn’t put it together in a stretch of four games.”
We're joined by @FerPucksSake to break down the Joe Sakic end of season press conference, and what it revealed about the direction of the Avalanche heading into the offseason. Is it the right decision to run everything back?#GoAvsGo @MileHighSports t.co/ziBc89r8Dq
— Hockey Mountain High Podcast (@HockeyMTNPod) June 12, 2026
What is the Avs’ offseason plan?
It was a devastating ending to a fantastic season. Lessons were learned, but making drastic changes is not the answer, according to Sakic.
“We could panic and try and blow everything up and start all over, but this team, what they’ve done over the course of the year, was pretty remarkable.
“We do have some decisions to make. Thankfully, with Josh and Stan (Kroenke), we have all the resources we need. We’re a cap team right now, and so we are going to have to move things around a little bit,” he said.
One thing is (almost definitely) for sure: Cale Makar will have a new, long-term contract before next season begins.
“Cale is going to finish his career here. We’re already talking to his agent, so we’re confident that something’s going to get worked out at some point. He’s got another year, but this summer we expect to have him signed,” Sakic said.
Kroenke has confidence in his staff to give the Avalanche a chance at another Cup next season.
“There’s a core group of players that have been with the organization for a long time, and I think those guys are still incredibly hungry,” Kroenke said. “I know Joe and his staff are going to be back at the table looking at how they can improve the margins on the roster outside of our core group, which is leading this group, and very disappointed in the way that it ended. But it doesn’t take away from a very strong regular season and one that we could continue to build on there.”
Bednar remains with core group, few changes needed
Sakic assured the media that Jared Bednar is his coach and will remain with the team for the 2026-27 season. However, his contract expires after the season. The outcome of the upcoming season could determine his future with the team.
“He’s got the confidence from the players. We do reflect in exit meetings. It’s clear from everybody, from players, the staff, that he’s the right guy,” he said. “They respect him, they love playing for him, and that’s a big thing. And when we look at it for this group, he’s the best coach for the group, and we’re confident in that decision. He’s not just the coach, he’s the voice of the organization, and the players really believe in him. And I’m going with the players.”
The Avalanche’s unrestricted free agents are forward Joel Kiviranta and defensemen Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, Jack Ahcan and Nick Blankenburg. Jack Drury is a restricted free agent. With the salary cap at $104M (up from $95.5M in 2025-26), some players wanting to stay in Colorado may need to take a pay cut.
“There’s always changes, but we have the core guys here. We have a nucleus. We’re a deep team. We feel we’re strong in all the positions,” Sakic said. “Obviously, we have some UFAs that we’re going to try and sign to keep the group together, but it’s a great group. They care about each other. They want to win. They’re very competitive. They’re disappointed, but their expectations are to try and come back and try and compete and win a Stanley Cup.”
The Avs will use the WCF loss as motivation on their quest for the Cup next season. And they will be high on the list of contenders. They had a phenomenal regular season, but need to improve the power play and solve their poor postseason execution.
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