It’s not the NHL trade deadline yet, but we’ve had a couple of prominent trades in the last few days. First, it was Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Today, the Colorado Avalanche acquired Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks. Going to the Sharks was Alexandar Georgiev, who has struggled this season. Here’s the full deal:
To the Avalanche:
- Blackwood,
- Givani Smith
- 2027 fifth-round pick
To the Sharks:
- Georgiev
- Nikolai Kovalenko
- 2026 second-round pick
- 2025 fifth-round pick
The Avalanche have completely changed their goaltending tandem in the last two weeks, as they also acquired Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators just ten days ago. Meanwhile, the Sharks get a solid return for Blackwood after acquiring him for a sixth-round pick from the New Jersey Devils nearly two years ago.
Avalanche Need an Upgrade in Net
Georgiev has been struggling mightily this season, totaling a save percentage of .874 while giving up 9.4 goals above expected. It’s no surprise the Avalanche were trying to make a change, especially since Georgiev struggled a season ago, and they should get one with Blackwood.
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The Sharks are far from playoff contenders, but Blackwood has been playing well this season. The league-average SV% in 2024-25 has been hovering right around .895, and Blackwood has been well above that. He has a .909 SV% in 19 games while saving 3.9 goals above expected.
Had the Avalanche been getting league-average netminding from Georgiev through their first 29 games, they’d probably have a better record than 16-13-0. If Blackwood provides the goaltending he has for the Sharks with the Avalanche, I’d expect them to take off in the standings and start pushing for one of the top spots in the Central Division.
The Avalanche did lose a bit of forward depth by trading Kovalenko to the Sharks, but they should be able to manage since they’ve been getting healthier in recent weeks. Overall, this is a trade the Avalanche had to make because they were unlikely to get by with Georgiev in net for the remainder of the season. Blackwood should give the team the stability they’ve been seeking in between the pipes.
Avalanche Grade: B+
Sharks Get a Solid Return on Investment
The Sharks made a bold move for Yaroslav Askarov this offseason, so their future in net looks like it’s in good shape. That made it easier to part with Blackwood, who’s in the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. And it’s hard to fault general manager Mike Grier for passing up on a return like this for Blackwood.
Goalies don’t usually net big returns in trades, and though this isn’t a grand slam for the Sharks, they still did well. Kovalenko is the centerpiece and could turn into something, especially since there should be more playing time for him in San Jose than with the Avalanche.
Kovalenko has four goals and eight points in 28 games — a 12-goal, 24-point pace over 82 games — but that came mostly playing bottom-six minutes with the Avalanche. Given that the Sharks are rebuilding, I imagine they see a role for him somewhere in their middle six.
Kovalenko’s production in the KHL also suggests there’s a player worth taking a flyer on. He totaled 21 goals and 54 points in 56 games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in 2022-23 and 11 goals and 35 points in 42 games the following season. Perhaps he’ll flourish with the Sharks now that he’ll get more playing time.
As for Georgiev, he’ll also be a UFA this summer, but I can’t envision the Sharks signing him. My guess is they hope he plays a bit better for them and that they can flip him ahead of the trade deadline in March. Add in the two draft picks, and this was a tidy bit of business from Grier and the Sharks, considering what they acquired Blackwood for two years ago.
Sharks Grade: A-
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