For the first time in three summers, the Colorado Avalanche and their fans have one less thing to worry about. The goaltending has been less than stellar for the Avalanche, and they may have solved that problem. Within 10 days, general manager Chris MacFarland had the goaltending looking completely brand new. Here are a few reasons the Avalanche and their fans should feel more at ease coming into this upcoming season.

Save percentage

On November 9, 2024, the San Jose Sharks traded Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche. Within five games, the Avalanche signed him to a massive extension that would keep him in Colorado for the next five seasons. The biggest thing that he has proven that we do not have to worry about is the save percentage. Blackwood ended last season with the Avalanche with a .913 save percentage in 37 games. Alexandar Georgiev came out of the prior season with the Avalanche with a .897 save percentage in 63 games. Blackwood has a smaller sample size, but he has proven that he saves more shots.

Goals allowed average

This goes hand in hand with the save percentage, but there was a significant difference in the goals-allowed average for the two goalies. Blackwood had a 2.33 goals-allowed average with Colorado, while Georgiev had 3.38. This would be a 63-goal difference over 60 games. Blackwood was better at handling the high-danger shots and could handle pressure a lot better.


There were questions surrounding Georgiev about whether he could handle the starting role when Colorado traded for him in 2022. The questions were whether he was ready and could handle the workload. Blackwood had been in a starting role in both San Jose and New Jersey already. So, there were no questions surrounding his ability to handle the workload. The thing everyone was unsure about with Blackwood was how he would handle the playoffs. He carried the Avalanche to Game Seven this year against a very talented Dallas Stars club. Blackwood is the future of the Avalanche, and there is talent in Ilya Nabokov waiting in Russia to back him up next season.