Colorado Avalanche could pull off blockbuster trade with Bruins

Over the course of the 2023-24 NHL season, I had been skeptical of the Colorado Avalanche and their goaltender situation with Alexandar Georgiev. I’ve said time and time again that the team could benefit from a change. Prior to the NHL playoffs, I thought that Justus Annunen should start the first game against the Winnipeg Jets.

That didn’t happen, and while Georgiev had his worst game in the playoffs this year in Game 1, he stepped up big time throughout the team’s time while it lasted until Game 6 in the second round against the Dallas Stars.

That being said, I still think that the team could benefit from a change with their starting goaltender. It could result in Georgiev being moved.

My proposal? Georgiev and a draft pick to the Boston Bruins for Linus Ullmark. I know it might sound absolutely insane, but it is possible that the Bruins would be willing to move the 30-year-old Ullmark for a guy who is a couple of years younger, while also having Jeremy Swayman take over, or let he and Georgiev battle it out in training camp for the starting job.

The switcharoo would subtract $1,591,398 from the Avalanche’s cap space, according to Cap Friendly’s mock trade machine. In the grand scheme of things, that isn’t actually a whole lot. While the Avalanche have to be mindful of their cap situation with Valeri Nichushkin’s suspension and the possibility of Gabriel Landeskog coming back sometime next season, I feel as if a change at goaltender could be necessary for the Avalanche to push forward.

Personally, I would love to see more production during the regular season. I understand that Georgiev led the league in wins last year, but he also surrendered plenty of four-goal games and I do not think that is sustainable.

Colorado Avalanche would need to lock down Ullmark with long-term deal

With Ullmark having just one year remaining on his current contract, the Avalanche would need to extend him. He’s only 30-years old, so they could sign him to perhaps a three-year deal. The move could also spread out his current cap hit, making this next year more tolerable on the salary cap.

When the Avalanche traded for Georgiev, they almost immediately signed him to a three-year extension.

If these two teams talk trade, it won’t just be a straight-up player-for-player deal. I would imagine the Avalanche would need to fork over a high draft pick if they were going to make this work. Is it likely that this trade goes down? Who knows? But I think that the Avalanche would benefit from it. They should at least explore the possibilities.