The Colorado Avalanche addressed their goaltending issues last season by landing MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood via trades. The moves proved savvy and helped the Avalanche stabilize what was otherwise a shaky start to the season.
But beyond Blackwood and Wedgewood, the Avalanche are relatively thin in the crease. That situation means that the club must focus on boosting its goaltending depth this offseason.
PuckPedia shows prospect Ilya Nabokov and Isak Posch as other goalies in the system. Trent Miner, who was the main goalie with the Colorado Eagles, is under contract for two more seasons. Then, there’s Adam Scheel who is a UFA under the group 6 rule.
That’s pretty much that. Aside from Miner, none of the aforementioned goalies has NHL experience. Nabokov and Posch have come over from Europe. Meanwhile, Scheel has AHL experience with the Texas Stars.
If we dig deeper, we find Shamil Shmakov, Louka Cloutier, and Ivan Yunin in the Avalanche’s system. Again, none of these goaltenders can step in to provide depth at the NHL level.
That situation means the Avalanche will need to target at least one more goalie with NHL experience as insurance. With the way injuries can suddenly emerge among NHL netminders, having a reliable third-string goalie is a must.
Unless a team has a robotic goalie like Sergei Bobrovsky, virtually all contending teams must have a solid backup and a reliable third-string goalie. It’s part of NHL life. Unfortunately, the Colorado Avalanche don’t have a third-stringer who could step in and take over in a pinch.
Colorado Avalanche don’t have many options in free-agent market
Now that the dust has mostly settled on the free-agent market, the Colorado Avalanche don’t have many options in the free-agent goalie market.
The most appealing name still out there is veteran James Reimer. Reimer spent last season with the Buffalo Sabres, but found himself on the outside looking in. Similarly, Ilya Samsonov, who was the starter with the Toronto Maple Leafs a couple of seasons ago, could be another solid option.
The issue with signing either goalie is that they may not be too comfortable with starting the season with the Colorado Eagles. Meanwhile, the Avalanche won’t likely carry three goalies throughout the season.
So, the Avalanche will need to find a third-string goalie who could split duties with Miner in the AHL and be ready for a callup during the season.
Colorado could just roll with Miner as the third stringer, of course. But what would happen if Blackwood went down with injury and the tandem became Wedgewood and Miner? That’s why having a veteran third-stringer like James Reimer or Ilya Samsonov could make everyone sleep better at night.
The team still has the rest of the summer to figure out another option in the crease as insurance. As we saw last season, teams can never have enough goaltending depth.