The Colorado Avalanche moved on from Alexandar Georgiev shortly after the beginning of the 2024-25 season, but the goaltender is getting another chance elsewhere.
It was reported Thursday that Georgiev is being signed by the Buffalo Sabres.
It’s really a low-risk move by the Sabres, who have a solidified starter in Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen. The deal is for one year at $825k, which is not a lot more than the league’s veteran minimum of $775k. After last season’s debacle with Colorado, and with the San Jose Sharks announcing earlier than they needed to that he wasn’t going to be brought back, it’s somewhat a surprise that Georgiev has gotten a new backup spot.
However, there have been many surprises in NHL history. If Georgiev does well in spot duty, it would not be that shocking, as he even led the league in wins for the Avalanche in 2022-23 and 2023-24. I suppose some people might despise him because of his tendency to allow “soft” goals, and not only that, but far too often. It earned him the nickname “Fourgiev” because of how often it happened.
In April, Daily Faceoff cooked up a list of five disappointing players from the 2024-25 season, and Georgiev cracked the list at the fifth spot.
The Avalanche face the Sabres twice in the 2025-26 season: October 13 and November 13. The matchup in October is in Buffalo, while the November matchup is in Denver. We’ll see if Georgiev gets the chance to put it to the Avalanche. He has a record of 0-5 against the Avalanche in his career, posting a save percentage of .858, a goals against average (GAA) of 4.88, and 24 goals against.
The Avalanche will look to continue Georgiev’s inability to win against them, if the Sabres do in fact name him the starter for either of those games. If they don’t, they could have a tougher time against Luukkonen, but anything is possible in the world of sports.
At the end of the day, good for Georgiev for getting another chance at making a positive impression for himself.