A week after Patrick Roy’s surprise resignation as coach, the Avalanche is tightening its focus on a pool of candidates that includes Lake Erie Monsters head coach Jared Bednar.
Other coaches the Avs appear to have interest in looking at, but aren’t necessarily limited to, include Washington Capitals assistant Lane Lambert, New York Rangers associate head coach Scott Arniel and American Hockey League coach Travis Green of the Utica Comets.
NHL rules require the Avalanche to receive permission to talk to those four, plus any other coaches under contract, for the upcoming season. Bednar recently signed a two-year extension with the Columbus organization, according to Blue Jackets assistant GM Bill Zito, but AHL coaching contracts usually have out clauses to accept NHL head coaching jobs.