The Colorado Avalanche needed to fix their goaltending. The front office knew it, the fans knew it, and, most importantly, the players knew it. But the price for two separate in-season goaltender trades was steep — was it worth it? Let's take a deeper look into the trades that brought MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood to Colorado, Albeit at a steep price.
First, let's begin by looking at the total sum of the two trades:
The Avs receive | The Avs lose |
|---|---|
- Scott Wedgewood | - Justus Annunen |
While general manager Chris MacFarland and president of hockey operations Joe Sakic did, at least in the short-term, fix a pressing, season-jeopardizing problem, these trades represent a more systemic and worrisome problem.
The Avs have, famously, struggled to develop their own goaltending. The only goaltender drafted and developed by the Avalanche in the last 20 years to have any sustained and consistent success with the team is Peter Budaj, who donned the burgundy and blue for 242 games across six seasons from 2005-06 to 2010-11. Calvin Pickard is another name worth mentioning, but his Avs tenure was fraught with struggles and he played less than 85 games for them.
Additionally, in the years since Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar were drafted, the Avs haven’t had any genuine breakout seasons from their position player prospects. High draft picks Tyson Jost and Martin Kaut were given ample opportunities to find their stride, but both now play elsewhere as they didn’t reach the potential of a 10th-overall and 16th-overall pick, respectively.
Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook helped the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2022, but they now play in the Atlantic Division. Oskar Olausson hasn’t cracked the Avs’ roster in any meaningful way, Justin Barron and Drew Helleson were traded to fill out that Cup-winning team, and undrafted forward Ben Meyers now plays for the Kraken.