After losing the first four games of the season in which the Avalanche allowed 25 goals against, resulting in a 0-4 start, the Avs have rebounded with two straight wins.
Despite those two wins, Avs goaltender Alexandar Georgiev allowed 3 goals on just 19 shots against, finishing the game with a .825 save percentage. In the 4-1 victory against the winless San Jose Sharks this past Sunday, backup Justus Annunen got the start and turned out a stellar performance stopping 25 of 26 shots against.
However, in lieu of Georgievs’ win against Anaheim and Annunens’ impressive start against San Jose, there is some speculation Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland is working the phones to try and improve the goaltending for his club.
Related: Goaltending Could Pose A Problem For The Avalanche This Season
Two teams that he could be dialing up are Western Conference counterparts in the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks.
On Sportsnets’ Elliotte Friedmans’ latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman spoke about the possibility of the Avalanche having interest in Sharks’ goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.
Friedman on the Avs/Blackwood (32TP): “I’ve had some people tell me that they think there’s going to be some teams looking at Mackenzie Blackwood from San Jose…I think they’ve (Colorado) looked into Blackwood before, he’s been on their radar”
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) October 19, 2024
Blackwood, 27, arrived in San Jose in June of 2023 after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils for a 6th round pick. The Sharks were hoping the often-injured Blackwood could regain the promise he showed with New Jersey after coming onto the scene with a strong 2019-2020 season, posting an impressive .915 save percentage in his first real season in the NHL.
The Sharks gave Blackwood a good opportunity to do just that; with Blackwood starting 44 games for the Sharks in 23-24. While he didn’t get much help, Blackwood finished the season with a sub .900 save percentage of .899 and only winning 10 games.
With the Sharks now having Yaroslav Askarov in their system, who has yet to allow a goal against in two games playing in the AHL, coupled with Vitek Vanecek as the Sharks starter, Blackwood could become available and wouldn’t cost much for the Avalanche to acquire.
The other potential option and more expensive option for the Avalanche is Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson.
On Monday while on TSN radio in Montreal, The Fourth Periods’ Dave Pagnotta speculated on Gibson being an option for Avs GM Chris MacFarland.
“Maybe Colorado comes into play because the Ducks have flexibility and can retain on a salary,” Pagnotta said.
Pagnotta went on to speak about the speculation over the last few years about Gibson moving on from Anaheim.
“Yeah, I mean, Gibson’s itching like he’s been itching for the last couple of years. He didn’t want things kind of getting out there,” Pagnotta said. “I think it was three years ago when things really started to make headlines in terms of him telling the Ducks that he’s willing to explore other opportunities and a change of scenery that makes sense. He wants to give it a go, but to be on a potential cup contender.
Gibson, 31, has not played a game this season for Anaheim after undergoing emergency appendectomy surgery on September 26th, with the approximate recovery being 3-6 weeks.
Unlike Blackwood, the acquisition of Gibson could be a real needle mover for the Avalanche.
While his numbers have been down over the last 5 years with the Ducks having gone through a major rebuild, the Pittsburgh, PA native was amongst the top goaltenders in the NHL from 2015-2019.
The hope would be playing on a better team in Colorado, Gibson would once again be able to regain that form playing behind a contender. The wrinkle in acquiring Gibson is his cap hit. Gibson carries a $6.4M AAV for the next three seasons, the Avalanche currently have $6.055M of cap space available with captain Gabriel Landeskog still on LTIR, but if/when he returns they would have to clear space to activate him with John Gibson on the roster.
Related: While There Is Still No Time Table For His Return, Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog Continues To Make Strides In His Quest To Return To Play
In the meantime, the Avalanche have another option in house to look to in goal.
After claiming Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets more than week ago, the 28-year-old Finnish goaltender finally arrived in Colorado.
“Obviously took a while to get all the work, work permits and visa done and, yeah, frustrating for sure,” Kahkonen said after optional practice on Saturday. “Obviously, it’s just watching the games and not being able to be here with the guys and getting to know them, but really, really excited to be here now and to get finally going.”
Kahkonen, who played a total of 37 games in the 23-24 season between the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks, will be vying for playing time with Georgiev and Annunen as the Avalanche continue to explore more long-term solutions to the teams problem in goal.
