The Steep Price to Remedy the Goaltending "Problem"
The Georgiev situation had to be remedied, and the cost of losing the promising Nikolai Kovalenko is one that must have hurt, but Blackwood and his recent extension is a welcome change of pace between the pipes.
The Justus Annune trade, however, didn’t need to happen. Seeing as it was the first of the two tendy trades the Avs made, it’s hard not to feel like it was a knee-jerk reaction done in the context of a limited goalie market. Names like Blackwood, John Gibson, and Tristan Jarry all had (and, regarding the latter two, still have) traction as trade targets despite injury/performance-related concerns, but when the Wedgewood deal started to align, the Avs jumped at the chance to solidify their crease.
The problem, though, was never Annunen, and as Georgiev continued to sputter, a second deal was made. MacFarland, himself, as reported by the Denver Post, admitted that it wasn’t necessarily their plan to trade both goalies, saying, “We did not have both deals, like we were not going into it going, ‘We’ve got to make two deals.’” They didn’t need to pass on Annunen, especially not after less than 30 NHL games’ worth of experience.
"“We did not have both deals, like we were not going into it going, ‘We’ve got to make two deals.’”"Avs GM Chris MacFarland, Denver Post
It's hard to find criticisms of the immediate impact that both Wedgewood and Blackwood have had for the Avs. They have been nothing short of stellar, and they have already provided a level of confidence not seen since the tandem of Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz backstopped them in 2019-20.
In spite of the situation, it is difficult to see Annunen find a home for himself with a division rival and for Kovalenko to be given chances on the first line for a young team, and it's more difficult to see two young players dress for other teams while the Avs try to put out fires of their own making.