The Colorado Avalanche, a preseason Stanley Cup favourite now combating for a wild-card playoff spot as they search consistency in web, acquired goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood in a commerce with the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
The Avs acquired Blackwood and ahead Givani Smith from the Sharks in trade for goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, rookie ahead Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 fifth-round decide and a 2026 second-round decide. The Avs additionally retained $476,000 of Georgiev’s wage.
Blackwood’s arrival is the newest growth for a entrance workplace that has revamped its goalie tandem over the previous 10 days. Colorado swapped backup goaltenders with the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30, selecting up Scott Wedgewood in trade for Justus Annunen.
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Wedgewood recorded a 4-0 shutout in opposition to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. He additionally relieved Georgiev, who gave up 4 targets on eight pictures, because the Avs rallied to a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 3.
Figuring how the Avalanche would deal with their goaltending grew to become a precedence in what has grow to be a making an attempt season at occasions for the 2022 Stanley Cup champions.
What made the necessity to clear up their goaltending disaster much more important was the disconnect from their defensive metrics. Pure Stat Trick’s information reveals the Avs are within the prime 10 in fewest scoring probabilities allowed per 60 and pictures allowed per 60 whereas having the NHL’s second-lowest crew save share at 88.8%.
That save share was additional compounded as a result of the Avalanche had already used 4 totally different goalies earlier than the crew’s thirtieth recreation. Final season, the Avs wanted solely three goalies to get via an 82-game season.
Though Blackwood has a 6-9-3 file with a 3.00 goals-against common, he does have a .910 save share, which ranks twelfth amongst goalies with greater than 10 video games. He additionally got here into Monday with a 3.9 GSVA (targets saved above anticipated) that ranked twentieth.
Blackwood can also be a pending unrestricted free agent within the closing season of a two-year deal that sees him earn $2.35 million yearly, whereas Wedgewood has one other yr left on his contract.
Getting into Monday, the Avs (16-13-0) had been tied with the Edmonton Oilers on factors however held the ultimate wild-card spot within the Western Convention. The rebuilding Sharks (10-15-6) had been seven factors behind the Avs and 7 factors forward of the Chicago Blackhawks for the NHL’s worst file.
Georgiev, who averaged 39 wins in his first two seasons with the Avs, joins Vitek Vanecek as a part of the Sharks’ goaltending tandem. They’re each pending UFAs on the finish of the season for a crew that additionally has one of many NHL’s prime goalie prospects in Yaroslav Askarov within the AHL.
It now offers the Sharks seven UFAs who may doubtlessly be traded forward of the NHL commerce deadline to realize extra draft capital.
Kovalenko, the son of former NHL ahead Andrei Kovalenko, is a 25-year-old who got here to North America final season after taking part in the previous few years within the KHL in Russia. Kovalenko, who has 4 targets and eight factors in 28 video games, will likely be a pending restricted free agent on the finish of the season.
