The Avalanche have struggled between the pipes this season, there’s no doubt about that. The Justus Annunen for Scott Wedgewood trade was to shore up the Avs’ backup position. But the loss of confidence in goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was the kicker to make another move.
“It’s something that we certainly went into the season believing in both guys …,” Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland said. “Stats are stats. We obviously were aware of our early season goaltending struggles, that certainly was a part of it. When one guy is maybe going through a tough time you need the other guy to pick up the slack. It’s tough when both guys are struggling and they both did at certain times.”
The Avs acquired goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks for Georgiev on Monday. Forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 fifth-round draft pick and a 2026 second-round pick were also part of the deal and the Avs got forward Givani Smith and a fifth-round draft pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Sharks.
Why Avs GM Traded for Wedgewood
MacFarland said the team brought in Wedgewood for his experience and personality but did not have both deals going at the same time.
“We were not going into it going we got to make two deals. We felt we needed an upgrade a few weeks ago and started kicking tires. It’s not easy to make goaltending trades … to make these two deals was a challenge,” MacFarland said.
What Blackwood Brings to Avs
Colorado’s GM said several factors went into the decision to make the move including analytics, cap space and statistics. He said that the team needed an upgrade and it believed Blackwood was the answer.
Let’s compare numbers. Georgiev was 8-7-0 in 17 games started but pulled in two matchups. His goals-against average was 3.38 and his save percentage was .874. Blackwood also started 17 games and posted a 6-9-3 record with a 3.00 GAA and .911 SV%.
The difference behind the numbers is the caliber of the teams. The Sharks do not have three elite players and top talent like the Avs. Blackwood’s GAA and SV% are better than Georgiev’s despite the differentiation in their records.
“We’re excited about Mackenzie. We certainly believe he’s a solid starter in this league. We’ve got things that we feel back that up. We’re excited to add him.
“We just feel he’s gotten better and better every year. He’s young, he’s been outstanding in San Jose this year … we believe there is some untapped still potential in him as he’s growing as a goaltender … he’s a big body, he’s athletic, he’s stylistically going to fit really well with how we play,” MacFarland said.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Thunder Bay, Ontario native turned 28 years old today but will not join the team in Pittsburgh for the last game of the road trip. MacFarland said he was “under the weather” and would come directly to Denver to get settled.