NHL Trade Grades: Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Colorado wasn’t exactly blindsided by their goaltending problems this season. Alexandar Georgiev, 28, had a shaky 2023-24 season and fell apart during the playoffs. Justus Annunen, 24, was a decent enough prospect who had shown well in limited action. That’s an unstable tandem to have.

Unfortunately, the Avalanche had massive salary cap problems that forced them to spend little more than the minimum salary to fill out some roster spots. The backup goaltender was the last place the team could afford to make any real investment. The best bet was to hope Georgiev would return to his All-Star form of 2022-23.

It could not have gone worse. Georgiev looked off from opening night. The former Russian international posted a .874 save percentage in 18 games and his -9.4 goals saved above expected ranks 79th in the NHL, according to Moneypuck.com.

Mackenzie Blackwood does not have the upside that Georgiev does, but the Avalanche are hoping for something else: stability. Blackwood was a massive surprise for the rebuilding Sharks last season and has built on that, posting a .910 save percentage behind one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL. Assuming he keeps that up in Colorado, Blackwood will make the saves expected of him and won’t melt down after a bad period or game.

The price of doing business borders on cringe-worthy, though. Remember that Blackwood just two years ago was a cap dump by the New Jersey Devils. Low-end starting goaltenders rarely pull in a second-round pick, let alone a roster player.

Maybe most importantly, Blackwood is an unrestricted free agent after the season. This is, essentially a prolonged rental trade. Colorado didn’t trade this much because of a bidding war or because of Blackwood’s high-end talent. This was a desperate move to try to stop the bleeding now rather than in March, when it may be too late.