Avalanche trade Alexandar Georgiev for MacKenzie Blackwood
Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images
A massive change in the net is going to shake things up. The Colorado Avalanche have shaken up the crease yet again.
It was announced on Monday afternoon that the Avs had traded Alexandar Georgiev to the San Jose Sharks. Going with Georgiev to San Jose is Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 5th-round pick, and a 2026 2nd-round pick. Coming to the Avalanche are goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood, forward Fivani Smith, and a 2027 5th-round pick.
We have traded Alexandar Georgiev and Nikolai Kovalenko to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Mackenzie Blackwood and Givani Smith. pic.twitter.com/04rknVkWGX— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 9, 2024
The Avs finally had enough of Georgiev’s inconsistency this season, as fans and management were well aware of the struggles at hand. Georgiev last played in a great 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
This season, Georgiev played in 18 games with only eight wins, a 3.38 goals-against average, and a .874 save percentage, all significantly worse than his career averages. He’ll get a fresh start in the Bay Area on an expiring contract.
Alexandar Georgiev is straight up not having a good time pic.twitter.com/ZfIAt0B59v— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) November 26, 2024
Also, a piece of the trade is Kovalenko, whose ties in Colorado come to an end before it even really started. With San Jose looking to develop and grow players, this makes sense. Kovalenko had four goals and assists in 28 games this season, and was looking to be an up-and-coming player for the team this season after a phenomenal stretch in the KHL. He too will look to be a big provider in San Jose’s future.
The last time a Kovalenko was traded to the Avalanche, it ended up being a pretty sweet deal. In case you’ve forgotten, his father Andrei Kovalenko was part of the deal to bring Patrick Roy to Denver from the Montreal Canadiens.
On December, 6th 1995, Patrick Roy was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that became known as one of the most lopsided in NHL history! #GoAvsGo | @MileHighHockey | @MHH_LAB pic.twitter.com/cnO0BdE2Jb— Adrian Hernandez (@AdoHernandez27) December 6, 2024
Meanwhile, the goaltender several Avalanche fans wanted is coming to the Mile High City.
MacKenzie Blackwood is the big piece of the trade and will be a stalwart netminder. Blackwood’s career stats in 215 games is 81 wins, 11 shutouts, a 3.07 goals-against average, and a save percentage of .905. This season, he has six wins and one shutout in 19 games, with a 3.00 goals-against average and a save percentage of .905.
Spot the difference between these two saves by Mackenzie Blackwood. The difficulty level on this is definitely expert. pic.twitter.com/fp8vWs96rN— NHL (@NHL) December 8, 2024
The Canadian goaltender will be a key figure, now likely the number one goaltender in Colorado. He will be paired with also newly-acquired Scott Wedgewood who just recorded his first Avs shutout last night against the New Jersey Devils, perhaps battling it out for a 1A/1B sort of situation.
Blackwood has always struggled in the net mostly because of the team in front of him. But with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen, and others, he should shine in the blue paint.
“You show me a good team, I’ll show you a good goalie” -Scott Wedgewood#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/2s08Bn2BvO— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) December 9, 2024
The newest Avalanche forward is Smith, a 26-year-old right winger. In six games with the Sharks this season, he has no points and has not played with the AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda this season either.
Smith is a hard-checking forward, someone who is gritty and does the little things - even if it doesn’t show up on the score sheet. He’ll likely slot into where Kovalenko was in the bottom six while playing a heavier game than Kovy - and perhaps drop the gloves some more too.
#HFrandomizerGrand Rapids GriffinsGivani Smith 2019 MAR 09 • #AHLJustin KirklandMilwaukee Admiralshttps://t.co/lmt1ESFCpY pic.twitter.com/OA7XZe1mve— hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) December 9, 2024
The Avs also lose two picks in the 2025 and 2026 draft, while getting a pick in the 2027 draft in return. The already-thin draft capital for the Avalanche gets even thinner as they piece together moves to make a run toward the Stanley Cup to help out in the net.
Georgiev’s contract of $3.4M and Kovalenko’s entry-level contract worth $896K move off the books for Blackwood’s deal of $2.35M and Smith’s contract of $800K, cutting the Avs almost $1M in cap space. Blackwood’s deal expires at the end of the season similarly to Georgiev’s, and he will be playing for a renewal in Denver.
5v5 Team Defence - December 8 pic.twitter.com/HaTAFpP1Gt— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 8, 2024
What do you think of this massive move? Let us know in the comments below!...
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