Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and given some sage advise on his 28th birthday.
The advice given to his new goalie was to “just stop the puck,” according to Avs general manager Chris MacFarland. “That’s what we’re looking for from him.”
It seems easy enough, yet the Avalanche traded another goalie on Monday due to their failure to consistently stop shots this season. In exchange for Blackwood, the Avs traded netminders with San Jose, sending Alexandar Georgiev, who was having trouble, to the Sharks.
Along with San Jose’s 2027 fifth-round pick, the Avalanche also received forward Givani Smith as part of the transaction. Nikolai Kovalenko, a forward, and two draft picks—a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick—were given to the Sharks.
14% of Georgiev’s contract, or about $476,000, will remain with Colorado. He was in the final season of a three-year, $10.2 million contract.
MacFarland stated, “We paid a steep price,” during a Zoom conversation. “In the end, I didn’t want to wait and find ourselves in a situation where we needed to take action. We simply thought that this made a lot of sense at the moment.
Colorado’s goaltender position was upended on November 30 when Scott Wedgewood was traded to Nashville for backup Justus Annunen.
On Monday, the Avalanche, who have given up 3.55 goals per game this season, made a more spectacular switch in goal. The season started slowly for the 28-year-old Georgiev, who even saw some time on the bench. His record is 8-7, his save percentage is.874, and his goals-against average is 3.38.
“We felt we needed an upgrade a few weeks ago and started kicking the tires,” MacFarland stated. However, making goalkeeper swaps is difficult. Since teams in this league don’t trade starting goaltenders frequently, people assume it’s as simple as picking up the phone and making an offer. Therefore, it was difficult for us to close these two deals.”
On July 7, 2022, Colorado acquired Georgiev from the New York Rangers. A season ago, he ended with a league-high 38 victories and was selected to the NHL All-Star Game. He ended up wearing an Avalanche sweater and losing 86-41-11.
This season, Blackwood also got off to a rough start, going 0-2-2. However, in his last 14 games, he has a 2.72 goals-against average and a.916 save %. In a 3-1 loss to Anaheim on October 22, Blackwood celebrated his 200th career game by stopping 37 of 39 shots.
“We believe there’s some untapped, still potential in him as he’s growing as a goaltender,” MacFarland stated. “We think he’s stylistically going to fit really well with how we play.”
Blackwood was ill, according to MacFarland, and will not be traveling to Pittsburgh to play for the Avalanche on Tuesday. He’ll go to Denver instead.
“I spoke with him for a short while, and he’s just as thrilled as we are,” MacFarland stated. “He knows the opportunity in front of him.”
Blackwood was first acquired by the Sharks in 2023 for a sixth-round pick from New Jersey. The Sharks were able to acquire future assets in the draft and a highly sought-after prospect in Kovalenko by dealing Blackwood to the Avalanche.
Kovalenko, who is a rookie this season, has four goals and four assists in 28 games. Right now, he is ninth among first-year players in terms of goals. During the fourth game of Colorado’s first-round playoff series the previous season, Kovalenko, 25, made his NHL debut. He made his NHL debut during the playoffs, making him the sixth player in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to do so.
“You must give in order to get. Regarding Kovalenko’s inclusion in the deal, MacFarland stated, “The goalie market is a bear.” The price of doing business was that… We were forced to accept him as part of the agreement. We send him our best wishes.
This season, Smith has appeared in six San Jose games. Detroit first selected the 26-year-old in the second round of the 2016 draft.
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Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.