The wounds are still raw for fans of the Minnesota Wild after their team was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche last week. But it didn’t stop Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar from appearing to take a shot at his division rival.
When speaking to reporters ahead of the Western Conference Finals matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights, Bednar spoke about the different styles between the Wild, the Los Angeles Kings and their next opponent. While he gave all three teams props for how they play the game, he also noted that the series against Vegas will be tougher than the series against the Wild was.
“The game is more free flowing against Minnesota,” Bednar said. “You’re trading chances at times, but you’re taking what they give you and you’re trying to shut them down as well. So we gave up way more against Minnesota than we gave up against L.A., partly because of their roster and the way they play. And…we did exactly what we needed to do to win the series. We ended up winning it 4-1.
“Your opposition dictates somewhat what the game is going to go like. There’s only two of you on the ice, and like, you can’t be naive enough to think that it’s just about us. We’re gonna get into a series here, and it’s gonna show really quickly what the games are gonna look like and we have to be ready to play on both the defensive and offensive sides of things, but it’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna be harder than it was last series. I’ll guarantee you that.”
Jared Bednar may have given the Wild motivation heading into the offseason
Judging by the reaction from Wild fans, you would have thought Bednar said Minnesota isn’t “The State of Hockey.” But a deeper look at Bednar’s comments may have suggested he was just telling the truth.
The Wild were without two key players in the series against Colorado as Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin did not play due to broken bones in their feet. Minnesota also gave up plenty of scoring opportunities as John Hynes played goalie roulette early in the series between Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson and kept throwing Jake Middleton on the ice despite underwhelming results.
Compare the Wild to where Vegas is now and it validates Bednar’s stance. The Golden Knights do not have many injuries right now outside of captain winger Mark Stone and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon and are riding the wave after John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach late in the season.
Vegas also has several players who have experience with deep run into the playoffs, most notably winning the Stanley Cup during the 2022-23 season and have stars with deep track records including Jack Eichel and Stone. With Mitch Marner leading the NHL with 18 points during the playoffs, it’s also a team that may have more firepower than the Wild had in the last series, giving Bednar some credence in those comments.
If anything, these comments shouldn’t be taken as a slight as much as they should be motivation for the summer. The Wild had a dream season and may have had an even deeper run if it weren’t for their injuries and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s lopsided playoff format. But they also had flaws that the Avalanche were able to expose .
After a series filled with poor decisions and disappearing stars, it's something the Wild should take to heart and perhaps be ready for the Avalanche the next time they cross paths.
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