Goaltending rumors? Already? That’s the way it goes when your goaltenders have surrendered a combined 21 goals through four games.
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On one hand, the idea is floating out there that the Avalanche don’t need to make a change — that they just need Alexandar Georgiev to be better. That was what Frankie Corrado said on TSN on Thursday. On the other hand, Sportsnet’s NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman believes Colorado’s front office has to be looking at other options. Even if they’re only four games into the season.
“There’s no way the Avalanche aren’t looking at this and saying ‘what we can do? How do we fix this and do we have to go elsewhere?,” Friedman said of the Avs’ goalie troubles on the 32 Thoughts podcast. “It doesn’t mean they will. But they have to be looking at it.”
Friedman linked two names to Colorado, albeit it sounded more like speculation than anything else. Granted, the longtime Insider has never been one to throw things out into the hockey world unless they had some semblance of truth to them. Even if just at a surface level. The first name is MacKenzie Blackwood — once the future of the New Jersey Devils’ crease and a Team Canada Olympic hopeful. Now, Blackwood is in San Jose where he’s had to face an incredible amount of high-danger opportunities over the past two seasons.
The second name he mentioned was John Gibson. Anaheim’s veteran goalie has lost his starter’s job to young Lukas Dostal. Gibson won’t even be in the lineup on Friday when the Avs host Anaheim as he is recovering from an appendectomy.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Blackwood is the kind of guy they’re at least saying ‘Okay, if we do decide to go this route, could he solve our problem?’ I find it impossible to believe they’re not at least looking at it, whether or not they actually do it,” Friedman said. “But the other guy I wonder about is Gibson. The thing about Gibson is, he has to stay healthy. Someone asked me if Gibson would be the perfect tonic for what the Avalanche need. And in theory, the answer is yes because he’s a good goalie and could make a difference. But he’s gotta stay healthy. That’s always been the case with him.”
The two goalies offer the Avs completely different kinds of commitment. For Blackwood, the pending unrestricted free agent is in the final year of a contract paying him just $2.35 million per season. It would be the type of move that gives the Avs flexibility heading into the offseason where they were already expecting Georgiev’s contract to expire. But Gibson is in a different boat. He has multiple years remaining on a deal paying him $6.4 million. Putting aside the recent contracts NHL goalies have signed, Gibson is one of the higher-paid netminders in the league.
“The contract you can work out. If you think the player is good enough, you’ll find a way to make the contract work,” Friedman said. “He’s only got two years left, people aren’t going to be too afraid of that term if he could play. I just think that the health thing — he’s gotta prove that he can play.
“I just find it hard to believe that the Avalanche aren’t looking at the goalie situation. [head coach Jared] Bednar is saying all the right things publicly. That’s his job. Talk up the team, don’t let the boat take on water, don’t give anyone any indication that you’re giving up on your guy. But it’s the front office’s job to sit here and say ‘What are our other options?’ When I looked at the goaltenders that could be available, or would even make sense, Blackwood was a name that jumped out to me.”
It’s hard to gauge what the Avs decide to do with the goaltending. Last season, the same conversations began pretty early in the year. But because Georgiev was coming off of a good 2022-23 season, he wasn’t really the name being thrown out there. It was more of a situation where Colorado needed to bring in someone to help him and take on the load of a backup goalie. Pavel Francouz was injured before the season began, Ivan Prosvetov wasn’t working for them, and before the calendar flipped to 2024, Justus Annunen wasn’t doing enough to even be given an opportunity.
They didn’t end up making any goalie moves and instead elevated Annunen. He was fine in a backup role to close out the year, albeit he didn’t quite face the strongest of opponents on most nights.
The reality is, Colorado does have a goalie problem. Whether or not Georgiev is part of the solution, their current setup with him as the starter and Annunen as backup isn’t working. If you’re wondering why Bednar has hesitated to start Annunen through five games, look no further than his relief appearance in a winnable game against Columbus. The goalie came in with the Avs trailing 3-1 early in the second period. Before he even faced a shot, Colorado scored twice and tied the game at 3-3. But then he let in a goal on his first shot and two on the first five he faced and let the game slip away against a weaker opponent. All the momentum was instantly gone.
So it’s not just a matter of Georgiev needing to be replaced. It’s that Bednar again doesn’t have two goalies he can trust. He barely has one.
Is Blackwood the answer? Or Gibson? I’m not sure. But I do believe Kaapo Kahkonen will be given every opportunity to at least be the backup this year when he eventually arrives in Denver. And if Georgiev is still struggling by mid-to-late November, then perhaps moving him in a deal for either of the two aforementioned options would be a safe bet. Again, something has to change — even if it means Georgiev splits duties with a different goalie who is capable of taking over starter duties as needed.
