Colorado Avalanche Could Solve Goalie Woes with a Trade

SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 6: Fellow Goaltenders Philipp Grubauer #31 and Semyon Varlamov #1 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrate their 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on December 6, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 6: Fellow Goaltenders Philipp Grubauer #31 and Semyon Varlamov #1 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrate their 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on December 6, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
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NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 31: Mackenzie Blackwood #29 of the New Jersey Devils in action against the Vancouver Canucks at Prudential Center on December 31, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Canucks 4-0. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Age: 22
Current Team: Binghamton Devils
Current Stats: 2.37 GAA, 0.926% (NHL) in 13 games
All-Time Stats: 2.37 GAA, 0.926% (NHL) in 13 games

MacKenzie Blackwood is the Devils’ third-string goalie, and boy-oh-boy is he good. In 13 NHL games this season, he recorded a 2.37 GAA and 0.926 save percentage. Weirdly, his AHL stats aren’t quite as good — 2.63 GAA and 0.912 save percentage.

The Devils picked Blackwood in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. After this season, he has one year left on his entry-level contract. He’s big — 6-foot-4, 225 pounds — and young, so he sometimes makes youthful mistakes.

However, I think he could be the future of the Colorado Avalanche’s goalie woes. Unfortunately, I imagine the Devils intend for him to be their future. They’d want Grubauer and maybe a draft pick or prospect. That’s a little painful.

Hindsight is 20-20. I liked the Nicolas Meloche drafting at the time. However, New Jersey picked Blackwood just two picks later — imagine if we’d had that foresight.