Colorado Avalanche | The shock in front of the net bore fruit

(Denver) It is already rare for a team to replace both goaltenders in the same summer. But for this to happen in the middle of the season, let alone in a window of less than 10 days, was probably unheard of.

For most of the fall, even though the Colorado Avalanche were doing pretty well defensively, they were giving up goals at a staggering rate. As if Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen had challenged themselves to give their team as many bad starts as possible.

General manager Chris MacFarland has had enough. He first sent Annunen to the Nashville Predators to acquire backup Scott Wedgewood, who quickly stood out in his new uniform. Called up to replace Georgiev three days after the trade, he helped turn an 0-4 deficit into a 5-4 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.

A few days later, the same Georgiev headed to San Jose, in a major exchange whose centerpiece was MacKenzie Blackwood. The latter arrived in Denver to play a starting role… which he did brilliantly. Not only has the team won 8 of its 10 games since his arrival, but the effect of this revival has transcended simple numbers.

“It allowed us to play with confidence,” summarized head coach Jared Bednar Friday after the club’s practice. When we get timely saves in important moments, our team can play according to its identity. »

For the Avalanche, that means “staying in attack mode,” without fearing that the slightest mistake will result in a conceded goal.

By carrying out these two transactions, management wanted to give an electric shock to the entire organization. The exercise bore fruit.

“Trading one goalie is already a big change, so trading two is a huge shock,” analyzed forward Ross Colton. It made all the guys in the locker room look in the mirror and say, “OK, our general manager believes in us, we have to do what we have to do.” It forced the band to play better, and everyone got on board. The energy and confidence in the locker room is different than before. »

“They believe in me”

In Denver, the word “trust” is omnipresent in conversations about goalies. And it starts with the Cerberus themselves.

Less than three weeks after arriving in Colorado, MacKenzie Blackwood was offered a five-year contract which will begin next season.

This former high-ranking prospect for the New Jersey Devils saw his performance take a nosedive following a series of injuries, to the point that he was traded to the Sharks for a simple sixth-round pick during the summer of 2023 In San Jose, even though he played behind a pitiful team, he presented very decent statistics, especially since the start of this season – 2.95 average and .911 save percentage. the turquoise uniform.

So far, he’s certainly meeting expectations for the Avalanche (6-1-0, 1.93 and .932). The one who will face the Canadian this Saturday is therefore pumped up, encouraged in particular by the “vote of confidence” that was granted to him with his contract extension.

“They are sending me the message that they believe in me, and I appreciate it,” he said on Friday. I still want to continue to improve and show them that they made the right decision. So far, I’d say it’s been good. »

After almost a decade of trial and error that saw Alexandar Georgiev, Philipp Grubauer, Semyon Varlamov, Pavel Francouz, Darcy Kuemper and Calvin Pickard move into the number one seat, the Avalanche are hoping to have finally found the man who will lead the way. franchise to its next Stanley Cup.

Blackwood acknowledges that this mandate comes with its share of pressure. No matter, he prefers to concentrate on the day-to-day so as not to be “distracted” by the broader considerations of the organization.

This “new beginning” for him is, after all, still very fresh. He hasn’t even been a member of the Avalanche for a month. For someone who had never been traded during the season before, the change is sudden, especially since he went from a club in reconstruction to a serious contender for the championship.

“Being alongside the best players in the world at the peak of their careers, I had never experienced that before,” he recalls. It’s great to see what they are capable of. »

Now he just has to stay healthy – “knock on wood,” he said, banging on his locker – and stop the pucks. Which he will have plenty of opportunity to do in the coming weeks, since Scott Wedgewood was injured Thursday and will likely miss several games.

Failing to count on a third experienced goalie, Jared Bednar has already indicated that Blackwood will see a lot of action, perhaps even in sequences of two games in two nights.

However, the coach did not seem particularly worried about the fate of his team in the circumstances. This is, as we can well imagine, what happens when there is trust.