MacKenzie Blackwood could be Rangers target following Shesterkin injury, insider floats

Colorado Avalanche netminder MacKenzie Blackwood could be a replacement for the injured Igor Shesterkin.

Before getting into the weeds of Kevin Weekes’ idea, let’s add a little context first.

The New York Rangers goalie left Friday night’s game against the Washington Capitals with a leg injury. It was confirmed on Saturday that Shesterkin had sustained a season-ending injury. Well, that situation left the Rangers with their third-stringer ready to take over the starting role.

Now, all sorts of ideas have flown around, positing solutions for the Rangers’ goaltending needs.

And it was insider Kevin Weekes who suggested the idea that Blackwood could be a solution for the Rangers.

All right, so Weekes mentioned a couple of names in his post. First, Connor Hellebuyck might be the most logical solution. Other options include Jonathan Quick coming out of retirement or Filip Gustavsson, except that the Minnesota Wild netminder is injured.

That leaves Blackwood. Does Weekes know something we don’t? Is he just pulling a rabbit out of his hat? Or could there actually be something to Weekes’ idea?

If we assume he’s not just spitballing here, trading Blackwood would be a weird move for the Avalanche. While there’s nothing wrong with rolling with Scott Wedgewood, could it be that Joe Sakic feels that moving on from Blackwood is a good idea? Perhaps there might be another idea afoot here.

Trading Blackwood to Rangers would open the path for Ilya Nabokov

One of the things I’ve talked about is how Ilya Nabokov’s path is seemingly blocked in Colorado. Blackwood is still under contract for four more seasons. And while Wedgewood’s deal is up this season, Nabokov could only hope to be Blackwood’s backup moving forward.

Nabokov has also shown that he’s easing into the North American game very well. So, that means he could be NHL-ready as soon as next season.

What does that mean? That Nabokov could get the chance to be the starter next season?

Perhaps Sakic is envisioning at Wedgewood-Nabokov tandem for next season.

Meanwhile, the return the Avalanche could get for Blackwood would add valuable pieces to the team’s war chest. And that war chest will be useful at the NHL trade deadline.

If I had to bet, I’d say no to this deal. There are other goalies out there who would make a lot more sense for New York than Blackwood.

Nevertheless, there might be something I’m not seeing here. And if a deal is going to happen, it will happen soon. The Rangers cannot let their season get away right now.

So, stay tuned.

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