NEWARK, N.J. — The Colorado Avalanche has made another significant shakeup to its goaltending depth chart.
Colorado traded starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2026 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder Monday to the San Jose Sharks for goalie MacKenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round selection, the club announced. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the deal was in the works.
Blackwood, who turned 28 years old Monday, was a second-round pick by the New Jersey Devils in 2015. He is 6-9-3 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .909 save percentage this season for the Sharks.
This is Blackwood’s second season with the Sharks. New Jersey traded him to San Jose in June 2023 for a sixth-round pick, and he signed a two-year, $4.7 million contract with the Sharks four days later. His cap hit for this season is $2.35 million, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in July.
This is the second trade for a former Devils goalie by the Avalanche in 10 days. They sent backup goalie Justus Annunen to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30 for Scott Wedgewood.
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Wedgewood has stopped 77 of 81 shots in three appearances for the Avs, including the club’s first shutout of the season Sunday night in New Jersey against his former club.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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