Could Colorado Avalanche move on from Pavel Francouz next offseason?

On Thursday, it was announced that Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz could miss some time during the season due to not recovering as well as hoped from adductor surgery. The team is reportedly looking into options to fill in for Francouz just in case he ends up missing a lot of time during the 2023-24 season.

While Francouz would only be playing in a handful of games, as he is the backup to Alexandar Georgiev, it might be fair to wonder if 2023-24 is his final season in burgundy and blue. The Avalanche won’t necessarily be looking to sign a top-tier goaltender in place of Francouz, which could make the decision a bit tougher. Who is out there that could be better than him?

It is possible that there might not be anybody. Francouz is making just $2 million this upcoming season, but as a backup, maybe the Colorado Avalanche could find somebody who is a little bit cheaper. It also isn’t like the Avalanche would be creating any cap penalties as this upcoming season is the last year of his deal.

Francouz has played in 37 games over the last two seasons for the Avalanche. He has a 23-12 record in that time, and save percentages of .915 and .916.

I assume that the Avalanche will want to come up with something bigger than some expect as they cannot allow starter Georgiev to play too much. Fatigue is a real thing, especially in the NHL.

The Colorado Avalanche have some things to think about in the coming days and perhaps weeks as they try and figure out what they’re going to do at the goaltender position.

Earlier, Mile High Sticking’s Sean McKenna went through a couple of names that the Colorado Avalanche could look into when thinking about Francouz replacements. It might be necessary for the team to think not only about the 2023-24 season but also beyond.