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Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Jim Parsons | Last updated 11/11/24
The Colorado Avalanche are reportedly considering a trade for San Jose Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (h/t to The Hockey News ). Blackwood, coming off an outstanding performance in which he made a career-high 44 saves in a 1-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils, has quickly become a potential trade target. And, with the Avalanche placing Kaapo Kahkonen on waivers Monday, they might be in need.
Despite the Sharks’ struggles, Blackwood has managed to shine this season in the nine games he’s played. He’s got a 3,1 goals against average and a .910 save percentage on a team that is working its way through a rebuild. He earned his 11th career shutout and set a franchise record for most saves in a shutout game.
Friedman revealed that Colorado has looked into acquiring Blackwood before and might be interested again due to the Avalanche’s goaltending issues. “So I don’t think he’s going to be on Team Canada, but remember when I said earlier in the year if I was Colorado, that’s a guy I would be looking at, and I think they’ve looked at him before,” Friedman said.
Starter Alexandar Georgiev has struggled to find his form, with only two wins in eight games and an underwhelming save percentage of .851. The team also has Justus Annunen, but he’s got all of 26 games on his NHL resume. Granted, in a small sample size, he’s not been bad.
Could Blackwood Trade Be Avalanche Backup Plan?
With the NHL Trade Deadline approaching on March 9th and Blackwood set to become a pending UFA with a $2.35 million cap hit, he could be a valuable acquisition for a team like Colorado. One thing worth noting — as we realized in a recent article about Cody Ceci trade back to Edmonton — is that the Sharks have already retained salary on the maximum allowable contracts. Anyone taking Blackwood in trade would need to either go through a third party who retains on behalf of San Jose, or that team is taking on Blackwood’s full cap hit.
This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.
