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Alexandar Georgiev

West Notes: Georgiev, Vatrano, Maroon

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While Alexandar Georgiev is now extension-eligible as he’s entering the final year of his contract, Mile High Sports’ Aarif Dean suggests that it’s unlikely he gets an early deal.  With Mikko Rantanen also needing a new contract for 2025-26, his situation is likely the priority while the uncertainty surrounding Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin makes it less likely that Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland will want to commit a multi-year deal to Georgiev this early.  The 28-year-old is also coming off a tough year, one that saw him post a 3.02 GAA and a .897 SV% in 63 games; he led the NHL in goals allowed with 183 but also had the most wins (38) for the second straight season.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Ducks winger Frank Vatrano has been a strong performer in his first two years with Anaheim, putting up 41 points in 2021-22 before a breakout 37-goal, 60-point showing last season. He’s now eligible for a contract extension and has made it known his preference is to stay with Anaheim.  Derek Lee of The Hockey News assesses Vatrano’s situation, suggesting that the four-year, $22MM contract that Tyler Bertuzzi inked with Chicago this summer could serve as a comparable for Vatrano’s camp if he can put up another 20-goal performance.  Cap space isn’t an issue for the Ducks right now but assuming they’ll be out of the playoff mix again this coming season, they’ll have to decide between extending him or moving Vatrano as a rental for what would likely be a strong return.
  • Veteran forward Pat Maroon signed a one-year, $1.3MM contract with the Blackhawks early in free agency which will be the 14th season of his career. The 36-year-old told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s not focusing beyond the coming season and isn’t sure if this will be his final year.  Maroon spent most of 2023-24 with Minnesota before being acquired by Boston at the trade deadline although his injury at the time limited him to just two regular season games.  He had four goals and 11 assists along with 60 penalty minutes in 51 appearances last season.

West Notes: Morrison, Gulyayev, Georgiev

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The Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, have reached the Calder Cup Final in each of their first two seasons of existence. They’re loading up for a third run to the championship series, signing left winger Cam Morrison to a one-year deal, per the league.

Morrison, 25, was a second-round pick of the Avalanche in 2016 but never signed, instead opting to land with the Blackhawks as a free agent in 2020 coming out of Notre Dame. He played out his entry-level contract without an NHL call-up and has spent the past few seasons bouncing between various AHL and ECHL clubs, although he’s beginning to solidify himself as a quality depth piece at the second-highest level of play in North America.

The 6’3″, 209-lb forward spent last season in the Panthers organization on an AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers, where he had five goals and six assists for 11 points with 10 PIMs and a +5 rating in 45 games. He also appeared in eight ECHL games for the Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades, where he had five goals and an assist.

Morrison will head out West to a Coachella Valley team set to have a solid veteran presence up front, including captain Max McCormick, Brandon Biro, and Mitchell Stephens, all of whom are under contract with the Kraken on two-way deals and have NHL experience.

More updates from the Western Conference:

  • Don’t expect Avalanche prospect Mikhail Gulyayev to get his feet wet in the AHL before making his NHL debut. The defenseman told Sergey Demidov of Responsible Gambling that “my path to the NHL is to come and play right away.” Gulyayev, 19, was picked 31st overall in 2023 and remains under contract with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League through 2025-26. It’s likely he’ll play out the final two seasons of that deal before signing his entry-level contract with Colorado and making his NHL debut in the fall of 2026. An offensive powerhouse in the junior ranks, Gulyayev had four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 64 games for Avangard in his first full professional season last year.
  • The Avalanche also have a bit of a question mark in the crease with Alexandar Georgiev entering the final season of his contract. It seems likely the pending UFA will test the market next summer, opines Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports. Georgiev currently costs $3.4MM against the cap for the strapped Avs, and Deen believes a solid season from the netminder would likely price him out of Colorado’s goaltending budget, while an underwhelming season from the Bulgaria-born goalie would likely influence the Avs to walk away. Thus, 24-year-old Justus Annunen’s performance in his first season of full-time backup duties will be one of the bigger storylines in Denver in 2024-25.

Avalanche Notes: Landeskog, Foudy, Georgiev

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Corey Masisak of The Denver Post is reporting that Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog was on the ice today for the first time since having cartilage replacement surgery on his right knee. The 31-year-old is missing his second consecutive season as he deals with a significant injury. While a return to the ice is a good thing for Landeskog, he is still a long way away from a return according to Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar.

Landeskog has been out of action since he helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup back in June of 2022. He attempted to return during the 2022-23 season but suffered several setbacks that prohibited him from getting back on the ice. He worked hard to try and avoid a major surgery but eventually had knee surgery in May of 2023.

In other Avalanche notes:

  • The Avalanche announced today that they’ve activated forward Jean-Luc Foudy off of the Injured Non-Roster list and assigned him to their AHL affiliate the Colorado Eagles. The 21-year-old has missed the entire first half of the season and will begin his return in the AHL. He did see nine games on NHL action last season with Colorado and was held pointless. With the Eagles last season, Foudy dressed in 46 games and had 11 goals and 25 assists. The former third-round pick was widely considered to be the best skating prospect in the 2020 NHL entry draft and could fit in well with Colorado once he is able to get back into game shape.
  • Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now tweeted today that the Avalanche have some concerns about goaltender Alexandar Georgiev’s workload this season and with good reason. Georgiev is currently on pace to play 68 games this season which would eclipse his career high of 62 games that he played last season. While Georgiev garnered Vezina Trophy consideration with his play last season, this year has been a little bit different. Georgiev has seen his save percentage drop, his goals against average inflate, and his underlying numbers dip significantly. While it could be a slump for the 27-year-old, it could also be a sign that Georgiev is fatigued and could use some rest.

Central Notes: Francouz, Gostisbehere, Krug

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It will pretty much strictly be Alexandar Georgiev’s net for the time being in Colorado as Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that netminder Pavel Francouz will be out for the next three weeks due to a lower-body injury.  The 32-year-old is no stranger to missing time as his NHL career high in games played in a single season is only 34.  However, Francouz has done rather well this season, posting a 2.53 GAA with a .919 SV% in 15 starts, numbers that are actually a little better than Georgiev.  The Avalanche recalled Justus Annunen earlier today and it’s worth noting that their next four games are a pair of back-to-backs but with the youngster having just two career NHL appearances and Colorado only being two points up on a playoff spot, it’s possible that Georgiev will need to play both ends of those contests.

More from the Central Division:

  • One of Arizona’s top trade chips should be back in action soon as PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports (Twitter link) that blueliner Shayne Gostisbehere could return to the lineup on Sunday. The 29-year-old has missed the last three weeks with an upper-body injury.  Gostisbehere has 29 points in 48 games in 2022-23 – a point-per-game output that’s nearly identical to last season – and is in the final year of his contract that carries a $4.5MM AAV.  The Coyotes were given a pair of draft picks by Philadelphia to take on his deal back in 2021 and they’re well-positioned to add another pick or two by trading him, likely with salary retention, before the March 3rd trade deadline.
  • Blues defenseman Torey Krug is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against Colorado, NHL.com’s Lou Korac notes in his latest piece for Sports Illustrated. The veteran left Tuesday’s game early with an injury but was able to suit up on Thursday.  Head coach Craig Berube indicated that the undisclosed issue for Krug is unrelated to the injury he sustained earlier in the week.  Krug has 22 points in 38 games so far this season.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Lafferty, Claesson

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With no games scheduled until Tuesday, the NHL has gone ahead and released its Three Stars for this past week.  Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin took home the top nod after recording six points in three games, including two goals against Winnipeg to put him in sole possession of second in NHL history with 802.  Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was the Second Star after a trio of extra-time victories that saw him post a 0.94 GAA along with a .965 SV%.  Meanwhile, Canucks center Elias Pettersson earned the last spot of the group after tying for the most assists (five) and points (seven) on the week which is particularly impressive considering he missed Vancouver’s first game of the week due to illness.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are the headliners among Chicago’s speculative trade candidates, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago posits that forward Sam Lafferty might be of interest on the trade market closer to the trade deadline. The 27-year-old has eight points and 37 hits in 26 games this season while winning a little over 52% of his faceoffs.  He can play all three forward positions as well and that type of versatility can be appealing to contending teams.  At a $1.15MM AAV through next season, he’s also someone most teams should be able to afford so Lafferty could very well be an under-the-radar candidate to move over the next couple of months from the Blackhawks.
  • Fredrik Claesson won’t be returning to North America next season as CSKA Moscow of the KHL announced that they’ve inked the defenseman to a two-year contract extension. Claesson has 170 career NHL contests under his belt and this will be the first time since 2014-15 that he hasn’t played at the top level.  However, after spending most of last year in the minors, he opted to try his hand overseas and it has worked out well for him with receiving this commitment.  The 30-year-old has a dozen points in 41 games so far this season.

Colorado Avalanche Extend Alexandar Georgiev, Jacob MacDonald

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The Colorado Avalanche announced via Twitter that they have extended goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for three years. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that the deal is expected to carry a $3.4MM AAV and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the salary breakdown to be $3.6MM in year one, $3.7MM in year two, and $2.9MM in year three. Colorado had acquired the goaltender on Thursday in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick. The trade, and now this extension, seems to put a close to Darcy Kuemper’s time in Colorado, as he is set to hit the free agent market on Wednesday.

Just after the Georgiev announcement, the team also announced via Twitter and their website that they have extended defenseman Jacob MacDonald for two years. The news was first broke by The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. MacDonald’s contract is two-way, with a $450K salary in the minors and carries a cap hit of $762.5K each season (link).

Georgiev, 26, was an arbitration-eligible RFA who was due a $2.65MM qualifying offer, one the Rangers likely couldn’t afford, especially as a backup to Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin. With speculation that the team could let Georgiev walk in free agency, the team was able to secure a return by sending him to Colorado for the above draft picks. Colorado appeared set to try and work out an extension with Kuemper, the incumbent goaltender, but with several other UFAs on the docket and a goalie market with seemingly much higher demand than supply, Georgiev became the more attractive option.

The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Avalanche now boast a duo of Georgiev and Pavel Francouz in net, which will cost a combined $5.4MM over each of the next two seasons before Francouz becomes a UFA after 2023-24. The cost for both goaltenders is surely attractive for Colorado, given it is less than some teams pay for just their starter, however it doesn’t come without some questions as to performance. In 33 games last season, Georgiev played to just an .898 save-percentage, the worst mark of his career, and a 2.92 goals-against average. Francouz played to a far better .916 save-percentage and 2.55 goals-against average in 21 regular season games, as well as a .906 save-percentage and 2.81 goals-against average in seven playoff games, filling in for an injured Kuemper. Though Francouz’s numbers are relatively good, the Avalanche have made clear his role is as the backup. This may not necessarily hold true over the remainder of his contract, and could formulate strong competition between the two for playing time.

Switching gears and turning back to MacDonald, the 29-year-old is a veteran of 43 NHL games, including eight in 2021-22 for the Avalanche, his most significant time however, coming in 2020-21, where he played in 33 games. Having just two goals and eight assists in his NHL career to date, the defenseman has been a prolific point-producer at the AHL level, hitting the 40-point mark three times, including one 55 point season. This season, MacDonald tallied 10 goals and 15 assists in a mere 33 AHL games. The Cornell University alum could be a candidate to push for more playing time with the Avalanche this year, having shown his ability to play at the NHL level, his affordability, and with questions regarding other Avalanche defensemen, including pending UFAs Josh Manson, Jack Johnson, and Ryan Murray, as well as Samuel Girard, who broke his sternum in Colorado’s second-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Alexandar Georgiev

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The Colorado Avalanche have found a new goaltender. The New York Rangers have traded Alexandar Georgiev to the Avalanche in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick.

This means that Darcy Kuemper is no longer expected to re-sign in Colorado, as the Avalanche go with a cheaper option to pair with Pavel Francouz. Georgiev, 26, is a pending restricted free agent due a qualifying offer of $2.65MM and is eligible for arbitration. Even if he landed a good settlement, it won’t match what Kuemper will likely be able to command on the open market, especially in a year with such a shallow pool of free agent goaltenders.

Interestingly enough, it appeared as though the Rangers were not going to issue that qualifying offer, which would have made Georgiev a free agent next week. With Igor Shesterkin in place and several free agents to sign, the team was expected to walk away from their backup if they couldn’t find a trade partner. By landing three picks, general manager Chris Drury has squeezed quite a bit of value out of the last few days of Georgiev’s tenure in New York.

In fact, his time there has been incredibly valuable, relative to the cost that the Rangers paid. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, Georgiev played three seasons with the team under an entry-level contract, two more with a cap hit of $2.45MM, and now netted them three draft picks before he walked out the door.

With a .909 save percentage in 131 NHL games, he doesn’t have a huge track record of success but there have been flashes of brilliance from the netminder, skill the Avalanche will hope to nurture in Colorado. The fact that Francouz has shown the ability to perform at a high level can make them a worthwhile tandem, not to mention the fact that the team itself has been able to overcome poor goaltending performances in the past.

For Colorado, with this core, it’s time to push all the chips to the middle and try to repeat. The team now has no draft picks until the sixth round this year, and are already without six future picks as well. Given the relative youth of so many key players they can afford it, though a gap in prospect development like that can be a tough thing to overcome down the road.

Still, this leaves more money open for some of their other free agent negotiations. Nazem Kadri (UFA), Valeri Nichushkin (UFA), and Artturi Lehkonen (RFA) all played huge parts in the team’s Stanley Cup win, and are deserving of big raises this summer. With a goaltending tandem that could very well cost less combined than Kuemper will make on his own, there are a few more dollars to go around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Rangers Extend Julien Gauthier

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The New York Rangers have made a small dent in their long list of offseason decisions. CapFriendly reports that the team signed winger Julien Gauthier to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $800,000, noting that Gauthier will still be a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights.

Gauthier hasn’t panned out since the Carolina Hurricanes drafted him 21st overall in 2016, dealing him to the Rangers in exchange for defenseman Joey Keane four years later. In three seasons and 91 games with the Rangers now, Gauthier has just five goals, 12 assists, and 17 points. He’ll turn 25 just after the start of next season, meaning that time is running out for Gauthier to become a consistent producer at the NHL level. He has shot just 4.3 percent over his NHL career, though, suggesting his impact has been a bit more positive than his unlucky low goal totals would suggest.

He’s shown the sparse ability to hold it together in a bottom-six role, although he seemed to take a step back this season with a little more ice time. As the Rangers look to capitalize on their ascent to the top of the Eastern Conference food chain, they’re likely getting Gauthier signed so that they can attempt to trade him this offseason. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple did report this morning that both he and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev had requested a trade out of New York.

Latest On New Jersey Devils Goaltending

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The New Jersey Devils were once again in the league’s basement in 2021-22, finishing fourth-to-last in the NHL standings with a 27-46-9 record. Perhaps the single biggest reason for the Devils’ struggles this past season was their goaltending. The team had a combined .881 save percentage, which was second-worst in the NHL, only ahead of the expansion Seattle Kraken. No Devils goalie managed to get into more than 25 games, and significant injury woes to the team’s two main goalies, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, meant the Devils needed to use seven different goalies just to make it through the year. That group of seven included promising 21-year-old 2020 draft pick Nico Daws, a player the Devils undoubtedly would have rather let develop peacefully at the AHL level. So, with that nightmare season behind them, the Devils’ have set forth in this offseason with the intention of stabilizing their situation in net. With significant cap space to spare, many have speculated on what direction the Devils could go in their crease.

According to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, “multiple industry sources” indicate that the Devils “will be in on impending Toronto free agent goaltender Jack Campbell if he hits the open market on July 13.” Additionally, Brooks adds that the Devils might even attempt to acquire Campbell’s signing rights in order to get a head start on the process. Along with Campbell, Brooks also reports that the Devils “could have interest” in Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev, if Georgiev is not issued his $2.65MM qualifying offer.

Targeting Campbell would certainly make a lot of sense for New Jersey. The American netminder had a brilliant 2020-21 campaign, unseating Frederik Andersen as the Maple Leafs’ starter on the back of his 17-3-2 record and .922 save percentage. In his first full year as the Maple Leafs’ number-one goalie in 2021-22, Campbell weathered some mid-season struggles to post a 31-9-6 record and .914 save percentage. While the playoffs were not kind to him, Campbell, 30, is likely to be considered the second-best goalie on the UFA market behind Avalanche starter Darcy Kuemper, who could win the Stanley Cup tonight. The Devils landing Campbell would be a clear indication of the front office’s intention to transition from their rebuild into a more competitive phase, an intention they signaled with their signing of Dougie Hamilton last summer.

The Devils’ reported interest in Georgiev is a bit more curious. While the Georgiev from 2017-18 to 2019-20 would certainly be an improvement from the Devils’ current crop of goalies, Georgiev’s recent form does not make him a slam-dunk upgrade over someone like Blackwood. Georgiev had a .898 save percentage this past year while playing behind a very strong Rangers squad. Perhaps the Devils are confident that Georgiev can revert back to playing as well as he did a few years ago, but relying on that would be risky. Brooks did clarify that the Devils’ interest in Georgiev would be as part of a tandem rather than as a true number-one, however.

While we don’t know exactly which goaltender the Devils will ultimately choose, we do know that goaltending will be a top priority for the them this offseason. The Devils have a strong young core centered around Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and other emerging stars. Armed with the number-two overall pick at the draft, the Devils clearly want to be in the hunt for a playoff spot next season. In order to get there, they’ll need significantly improved goaltending, and targeting a top free agent like Campbell is perhaps their clearest path to stability in the crease.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Alexandar Georgiev

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Because of all the (deserved) attention that Igor Shesterkin gets in New York, it’s easy to forget that the Rangers have another 26-year-old netminder that has shown flashes of brilliance over the last few years. Alexandar Georgiev sits with a .909 save percentage over 131 career appearances and is coming off a two-year contract that carried a cap hit of $2.45MM.

It’s that cap hit that makes things difficult for the Rangers, as arbitration looms this summer should the team issue the $2.65MM qualifying offer that Georgiev is owed, a total that isn’t all that appealing for a team that is going to be pushed right to the salary cap ceiling with some of the other extensions they will try to pull off. Georgiev may well end up unqualified altogether, which would make him an unrestricted free agent instead.

Because of that issue, Arthur Staple of The Athletic writes that Rangers general manager Chris Drury is “trying hard to find a trade partner” for Georgiev (who he refers to as “disgruntled”). Staple notes that the team was previously looking for a first-round pick in return, though that ask is now likely much lower now, as the offseason begins.

Undrafted, Georgiev made his NHL debut during the 2017-18 season after signing an entry-level contract and quickly showed that he could handle himself at that level. Unfortunately, the .918 save percentage he posted that first year has been steadily decreasing every season since and reached a career-low .898 in 2021-22. Giving up a draft pick or other asset just for the right to sign an .898 goaltender doesn’t sound very appealing, though with the relative lack of options on the market this summer, perhaps it will still be necessary for one of the teams looking at a goaltending change.

If they do trade him–or even if they just let him leave unqualified–it would open a spot for a more veteran option behind Shesterkin in a more traditional backup role. While there may not be a ton of starting options, there are several pending free agent backups that could be had for much less than that $2.65MM qualifying offer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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