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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterDec 9, 2024, 04:40 PM ET
- Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
The Colorado Avalanche, a preseason Stanley Cup favorite now fighting for a wild-card spot as they seek consistency in net, acquired goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
The Avs received Blackwood and forward Givani Smith from the Sharks in exchange for goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, rookie forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick. The Avs also retained $476,000 of Georgiev’s salary.
Blackwood’s arrival is the latest development for a front office that has revamped its goalie tandem over the last 10 days. Colorado swapped backup goaltenders with the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30, picking up Scott Wedgewood in exchange for Justus Annunen.
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Wedgewood recorded a 4-0 shutout against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. He also relieved Georgiev, who gave up four goals on eight shots, as the Avs rallied to a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 3.
Figuring how the Avalanche would address their goaltending became a priority in what has become a trying season at times for the 2022 Stanley Cup champions.
What made the need to solve their goaltending crisis even more vital was the disconnect from their defensive metrics. Natural Stat Trick’s data shows that the Avs are in the top 10 in fewest scoring chances allowed per 60 and shots allowed per 60 while having the NHL’s second-lowest team save percentage at 88.8%.
Having the second-worst team save percentage in the NHL was further compounded by the fact that the Avalanche had already used four different goalies before the team’s 30th game. Last season, the Avs only needed three goalies to get through an entire 82-game season.
Although Blackwood has a 6-9-3 record with a 3.00 goals-against average, he does have a .910 save percentage, which ranks 12th among goalies with more than 10 games. He also came into Monday with a 3.9 GSVA (goals saved above expected) that was good enough for 20th.
Blackwood is also a pending unrestricted free agent in the final season of a two-year deal that sees him earn $2.35 million annually, while Wedgewood has another year left on his contract.
Entering Monday’s games, the Avs (16-13-0) were tied with the Edmonton Oilers on points but held the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The rebuilding Sharks (10-15-6) were seven points behind the Avs and seven points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks for the NHL’s worst record.
Georgiev, who averaged 39 wins in his first two seasons with the Avs, now joins Vitek Vanecek as part of the Sharks’ goaltending tandem. They’re both pending UFAs at the end of the campaign for a team that also has one of the NHL’s top goalie prospects in Yaroslav Askarov waiting in the AHL.
It now gives the Sharks seven UFAs that could potentially be traded ahead of the NHL trade deadline to attain more draft capital.
Kovalenko, the son of former NHL forward Andrei Kovalenko, is a 25-year-old who came to North America last season after playing the last few years in the KHL in Russia. Kovalenko, who has four goals and eight points in 28 games, will be a pending restricted free agent at the end of the year.
