It was solely two weeks in the past that the Colorado Avalanche made a commerce with the San Jose Sharks to amass goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to assist overhaul their goalie scenario.
Goaltending was the clear weak spot of the roster within the first two months of the season, and administration wasted little time in attempting to repair it.
Additionally they wasted little time in ensuring that Blackwood goes to be their goalie for the foreseeable future, signing him to a five-year, $26.25M contract extension on Friday after making simply 4 begins with the crew.
It’s a massively dangerous contract, and there’s no assure it’ll work out the best way the Avalanche hope it is going to.
There may be additionally a really actual probability it might be the subsequent regrettable contract handed out by a crew to a mid-level goalie.
Goaltending is a difficult place for NHL groups as a result of it’s the most impactful place on the ice. An awesome goalie can elevate a mediocre crew right into a contender, whereas a poor goaltending efficiency can take a contender and switch right into a pretender. What makes it so maddening is that for all of its significance, additionally it is one of the crucial troublesome positions to venture by way of efficiency. There are solely a handful of goalies you can depend on for high-level play yr after yr. There is a component of randomness and unpredictability with the second- and third-tier goalies, and that’s the stage that Blackwood falls into.
He confirmed flashes of being an excellent starter earlier in his profession when he first entered the league with the New Jersey Devils, however was a below-average starter for 4 consecutive seasons between 2020-21 and 2023-24.
He has been considerably higher to date this season, and between the Sharks and Avalanche, his .914 save share is seventh within the NHL out of 37 goalies which have appeared in at the least 15 video games.
If he maintains that stage of play, his new contract might be a discount for the Avalanche. However there is no such thing as a assure he does that, given his observe document.
Possibly taking part in behind a robust Avalanche crew with an awesome protection and loads of offensive aim assist will assist him and produce out one of the best in him. The supporting forged round him definitely places him able the place he doesn’t must be the point of interest of the roster. The Avalanche don’t want a goalie who can steal them video games. They simply want any person who’s stable and doesn’t lose them video games the best way Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen have been early within the season.
However these five-year goalie contracts within the $25M-30M vary don’t sometimes prove nicely for the groups that hand them out. That’s the similar wage vary that gamers like Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh), Joonas Korpisalo (Ottawa), Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus), Jack Campbell (Edmonton), Darcy Kuemper (Washington), and Philipp Grubauer (Seattle) have signed lately. Nearly all of them have been clear losses for the crew inside a few years. Within the case of Korpisalo, Campbell and Kuemper, they have been traded away from their groups or waived inside two years of signing the offers, whereas Jarry and Merzlikins have been among the many least productive starters within the league. Grubauer misplaced his beginning job in Seattle.
Given Blackwood’s inconsistent observe document all through his profession, there’s a superb probability the Avalanche discover themselves in an analogous place in a few years. It’s merely a dangerous contract.
