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Alexandar Georgiev a breakout candidate for Colorado Avalanche

By Graham Tiedtke

Apr 29, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) makes a save on Washington Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) makes a save on Washington Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Colorado Avalanche acquired a potential breakout candidate earlier this year.

The Colorado Avalanche have some room to improve despite winning the Stanley Cup (boy, it sure doesn’t get tiring saying that). Where exactly can they improve?

Well, an important piece to any team is its goaltender. The Avalanche decided to let Darcy Kuemper leave via free agency, and before that, they acquired Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers.

Georgiev is the expected starter for the Colorado Avalanche in 2022-23. He signed a 3-year, $10.2 million contract extension with the team once the trade was approved.

During the 2021-22 season, Georgiev had a 15-10-2 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and a save percentage of .908, according to Hockey-Reference.com.

A while back, a LockedOn Rangers host joined the LockedOn Avalanche podcast to talk about the move. He stated that Georgiev is “two very different goalies when he is getting work and when he’s playing, you know, once every couple of weeks.”

So, what does that tell you? For me, it’s obvious: Making Georgiev the starter at goaltender was the obvious move. Although some may have preferred Pavel Francouz to be the team’s starter, the Avalanche don’t appear to be heading that direction.

Naming Georgiev the starter early on makes the most sense. It makes the most sense for himself as well as the other players. Just like in a sport such as the NFL, it’s best to announce your starter at the most important position.

It’s the best way to build chemistry early on.

Georgiev will have a tremendous supporting cast around him. Not only will he have coaches that believe in him, but he’ll also have star players such as Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and someone he will have to become very familiar with in defenseman Cale Makar.

With the players he will have around him, the transition should be an easy one. Only time will tell, but there’s no reason to panic right now.

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