NHL Reporter Shockingly Places Colorado Avalanches Goaltender On Unexpected List

The Avalanche made the decision to make the trade with the San Jose Sharks to bring Blackwood to the organization and that move has paid off in dividends.

The 28-year-old netminder was acquired by the avalanche on December 9th, 2024, along with Givani Smith add a fifth-round pick for 2027 in exchange for goaltender Alexander Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko A 2025 conditional fifth round pick and a second-round pick for the 2026 entry draft.

His impact has been felt across the entire team as he had won his first six of seven starts and holding a save percentage of .932 while giving the Avalanche a chance to re establish their defence and have seen their goals against drop to 2.26 since.

This improvement in play by the team and their goaltender gave Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland a chance to augment his team and acquire players like Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, Jimmy Vesey, Erik Johnson and Ryan Lindgren to give them the best chance they can to take the Western Conference and head to the Stanley Cup finals.

With his great play, on December 27th 2024 the avalanche awarded Blackwood with a new contract that holds a five year term and a value of $26.25 million and the cap hit that is 5.25 million which is set to expire in 2030.

Providing this level of goaltending along with the team playing as well as it's been will certainly bode well for the avalanche as the team will continue to decide on who will remain with the team next year as several players will be unrestricted free agents in July.

No matter who remains or leaves, the Avalanche know that they have their starting goaltender who will provide them the play they need to win.

Source: NHL trade rumors
7 Underrated Goalies Who Exceeded Expectations This Season