There is no denying that the Colorado Avalanche are going to be a contending hockey team. They have one of the top forwards in the entire league in Nathan MacKinnon and also a Norris Trophy caliber defenseman in Cale Makar. Mikko Rantanen is a top winger and helps spearhead the offensive attack. The team has also built a formidable blue line to help round out the roster. If there was ever a glaring weakness, it is the goaltending position.

When the team got to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2022, they got average goaltending and it was just enough to secure a championship. That offense was elite and was explosive and there was no shortage of weapons on that roster. The club lost Darcy Kuemper and one of the smartest moves was acquiring Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers. At first it proved to be an extremely wise acquisition, but the Avalanche might want to address the goaltending position sooner than later.

Georgiev Beginning to Struggle

Prior to coming over to the Avalanche, Georgiev has never started more than 30 games. He was primarily the back up in New York, which makes sense given what’s between the pipes in that organization. Since he’s come over to Colorado, his workload and nearly doubled. In a way, that is great because he has become the workhorse and number one starter. The not so great part is that it’s beginning to catch up to him.

During the 2022-23 season, Georgiev made 62 starts. His numbers were actually really solid. he had 40 wins, which was wonderful. He also finished with a 2.53 goals against average and a .918 save parentage. Also, his 21.9 goals saved above expected was top ten among goaltenders. It was not just in general, but his play in the high danger areas was also good. He was a good goaltender and worthy of being acquired. Last season, he made the same number of starts, but his play took a dip.

This is where things took a slide and regression hit. Georgiev saw a rise in his goals against average (3.02) and a drop in save percentage (.897). His goals saved above expected was still positive (5.0) and his high danger save percentage dropped slightly (.709). Unfortunately, that carried over into the postseason. He allowed seven goals in Game 1 against the Winnipeg Jets, but was steady the rest of the way. Georgiev still kept the club in games, but finished the postseason with a 2.85 goals against average and .895 save percentage.

Could the heavy workload have caught up to him in back to back seasons? It’s possible. We’ve now started to see teams utilizing a tandem and having backups in place to help shoulder the workload. The Boston Bruins and New York Islanders have been prime examples of this and it’s proven to work. Heck, even Jonathan Quick with the Rangers was able to give relief to Igor Shesterkin and it allowed him to rest and get ready for a deep playoff run. So what can the Avalanche do from here?

Colorado Figuring It Out Sooner than Later

Georgiev has yet to be sharp this season. In two starts this season, he’s been pulled from both of them. In the first game, he allowed five goals on 16 shots and in the second game allowed three goals on nine shots. Simply put, that is not ideal by any means especially from your number one goaltender. He has a subpar 7.75 goals against average and a .680 save percentage. They not only need Georgiev to step up, but need extra boosts in the crease. They need to figure it out, but how?

Further Development from Justus Annunen

Annunen is the primary backup goaltender for the Avalanche now. With them turning to a younger goalie, the time is now to see if he can take the next step in his young career.

During the 2023-24 season, he was not bad and faired out well in the starts that he did make. He made 12 starts last year and won eight of those starts. In those starts, he finished with a 2.25 goals against average and .928 save percentage. The sample size is awfully small, but the potential is there.

Given Georgiev got yanked twice this season, Annunen has come in for relief. He has allowed four goals, giving him a 4.69 goals against average and a .765 save percentage. They both need to shine brighter than they have so far. But if not Annunen, then who else?

Latest Waiver Claim is Quite Good

In what was a shocking turn of events, Kaapo Kahkonen was put on waivers by the Winnipeg Jets. In what was a smart move by the Avalanche was claiming him off waivers. What they are getting is a good goalie and what might be the best goalie in that room.

During the 2023-24 season, Kahkonen split time between the San Jose Sharks and the New Jersey Devils. Despite the Sharks being a poor team, he was a good goalie for them given what was in front of him. Even on an injury riddled Devils team filled with rookies carrying the load, he was strong in net. With the Sharks, he finished with a 3.81 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. With the Devils, he saw improvement with a 2.51 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. The most eye opening part of his game was his .826 high danger save percentage, showing how alert he is.

The Avalanche are getting a good goalie and with how good the team is in front, this is an improvement. With how competitive the Central Division is and the Western Conference, they cannot afford goaltending to derail their season.