There’s little wiggle room for Georgiev
Alexandar Georgiev is heading into the final year of his current deal. In short, Georgiev needs to play well in order to ensure a new deal, whether in Colorado or elsewhere.
However, Georgiev looked shaky at times during the preseason. In particular, an ugly 6-1 preseason loss to the Vegas Golden Knights raised questions about Georgiev’s overall performance.
Of course, the hope is that Georgiev shakes off a couple of bad outings and gets back on track during the regular season. But in case he struggles, Justus Annunen could take over.
Now, it’s important to keep this in mind as there was little chance for Annunen to leapfrog Georgiev in the preseason. Nevertheless, the full 82-game schedule is an entirely different animal. The Avs will need to play solid defense in front of Georgiev to keep his confidence high.
Similarly, if Annunen is called upon to take the reins, the Avs will need to rally around their netminder to ensure he performs up to his capabilities.
Now, can it be said there’s a goalie controversy in Colorado? At the moment, no, there is none to speak of. However, there’s little wiggle room for Georgiev. There’s no telling how long the Avs will wait before pulling the plug on him and giving Annunen a real shot at becoming the team’s number-one goaltender.
Ultimately, the worst-case scenario would be to see both netminders struggle. Such a situation could send Avs’ management scrambling for a solution. But Avs’ fans certainly hope it doesn’t come to that. There are two solid goalies on the roster, giving the club a chance to win every night.