Confirmed with Link: Blackwood traded to Colorado

[expatriatedtexan]

Nobody knew when Miles came to the Avs, it was a prophecy.

Man...our playoff avatars has to be something along the lines of the Prophecy of Wood.

 

[forsbergavs32]

The thing that pisses me off about this isn’t the player, it's what they gave up to get him.

Grier acquired Blackwood for a 6th round pick a year ago. That's it.

Today, CMac gave up a quality young NHL player (Kovalenko) with upside, a goalie in Georgiev that while he hasn't great the last year, we have seen can be quite good when he isn't f***ed up mentally, a 2nd round pick, a 5th round pick that can become a 4th round pick, and retained 14% of George's salary... and Blackwood is a UFA at the end of the season.

Just seems like a massive overpayment and terrible asset management.

The way I look at it is this:

- The Avs absolutely needed to move Georgiev and everyone knew it, so the price was going to be high
- We’re in win now mode so they’re not worried about picks really (especially since we suck at drafting)
- Georgiev had negative value with his performance and outbursts, so the Avs are trying to save the year by getting him out of here now
- Blackwood may only be a slight upgrade (hopefully more) but getting rid of a goalie who wasn’t playing well at all and seemed to not be well liked by a lot of his teammates could end up being the biggest asset from this trade. Even CMac and Bednar had recently mentioned locker room chemistry.

I don’t mind the high price paid for something that can likely be a big boost to the Avs by not having a toxic goalie who they didn’t trust.

 

[the_fan]

Is MacK gonna give #29 to Blackwood?

 

[S E P H]

If we had been guaranteed a week ago that Georgiev would be traded, the party and excitement in here would have been fabulous.

Now, all of a sudden, losing Kovalenko is a tragedy.

Now, all of a sudden, a 2nd round pick is more valuable than Gold.

Now, all of a sudden, after our new back-up pitched a shutout, this is a bad trade.

JFC.

It's not necessarily losing those pieces, nobody here doesn't care about keeping a 2nd or Kovalenko, but it's for a proper piece. Like, we traded all of this for a bloke we might not even want to re-sign. That is pretty telling IMHO.

 

[CobraAcesS]

No, the team played consistently better with him in..

That's been in the blood of this team for a long time. See Kurtis, who I liked, but wasn't useful once neutered by Bednar.

I actually like MWood, I know most are frustrated with him, but I'm sorry, a cannonon ball that can score on occasion when his speed and physical game catch the other team off guard is just fun.

I've never had high expectations though. Cmac literally made the point his contract was a 4th liner contract with inflation in the future. (Don't remember the exact words).

So he's our dopy C Mc, and I'm fine with it. He's fast, physical and can rip it. Which is an improvement lol.

It would be nice if he was on the 4th line though.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

The way I look at it is this:

- The Avs absolutely needed to move Georgiev and everyone knew it, so the price was going to be high
- We’re in win now mode so they’re not worried about picks really (especially since we suck at drafting)
- Georgiev had negative value with his performance and outbursts, so the Avs are trying to save the year by getting him out of here now
- Blackwood may only be a slight upgrade (hopefully more) but getting rid of a goalie who wasn’t playing well at all and seemed to not be well liked by a lot of his teammates could end up being the biggest asset from this trade. Even CMac and Bednar had recently mentioned locker room chemistry.

I don’t mind the high price paid for something that can likely be a big boost to the Avs by not having a toxic goalie who they didn’t trust.

The first is not really that big of a deal. Sucks we had to use it to get rid of Georgiev. Sucks even more that we retained on him. But we've just walked away from a ticking time bomb. That is worth a lot! I do believe this team has been playing poorly and I've afforded them the excuse that they've been walking on egg-shells so far.

The biggest thing to me is that now that we have decent goal-tending, we can really examine what's going on with our skaters. I think just having stable goaltending is going to make a big difference in the way the team plays...but I am still very concerned about our forwards bailing the zone too early and leaving the D-men to get stuffed. I know we want to turn and burn but we've got to do it as a 5 man unit. And I haven't seen enough of that lately and that's on the skaters not the goalies.

I guess I'm just saying that I hope this more stable goaltending tandem will allow us to concentrate on the skaters and figure out what exactly is holding them back (besides shit tending).

Is MacK gonna give #29 to Blackwood?

If he does, I hope like hell he takes #1.

 

[MarkT]

Here are my thoughts. Many people here were angry that CMac wasn’t addressing the goalie situation. Then he traded for Wedgewood, but it wasn’t good enough—fire CMac—he’s not trading Georgiev fast enough! Now he trades Georgiev, and suddenly it’s, "He traded too much! Blackwood sucks!"

Honestly, some of you are never happy with the team unless everything is absolutely perfect.

Meanwhile, in the real world, this trade shows that CMac had been working on trading Georgiev for some time—a trade like this doesn’t happen overnight. So, I hope a lot of you are having crow for dinner sometime soon. Yes, maybe he should have made a move in the offseason, but they obviously didn’t expect both Georgiev and Annunen to be this terrible this season. Give them credit for adjusting when reality didn’t match expectations.

Now, about the trade itself: Blackwood was the best option available. I know a lot of you wanted Gibson, but A) he’d be even more expensive, B) how would we fit his cap hit? A 50% retention would make him even pricier, and C) he might not even be available—Anaheim just traded for Trouba. They are actively looking for veterans to help develop the young guys, like Gibson can do for Dostal. All the other upcoming UFA goalies are on teams with playoff hopes, so that wasn’t going to happen. So, Blackwood it is.

With that as a starting point, it’s obvious we had to overpay. He’s the only starting goalie on the market, his cap hit is reasonable, and we were desperate. We also had to pay to get rid of Georgiev. Nobody in the league would value Georgiev as a positive asset at this point, so getting rid of him was also part of the cost.

So, what did we lose? Kovalenko, a 2026 2nd, and a 2025 5th. I think the second is a fair price for getting rid of Georgiev, which leaves Kovalenko and a 5th for Blackwood, Givani Smith, and a 2027 5th. That actually seems very fair.

Here’s why I’m not upset about losing Kovalenko: I think he’s a classic case of being best suited to a top-six role but not quite skilled enough to play that high in the lineup. All he was likely to be here is a third-line winger. There’s also the fact that, while he’s cheap at the moment, he’s an upcoming RFA—he might have been asking for a significant raise next season. Meanwhile, we have guys like Kelly, Ivan, and Prishchepov signed to cheap contracts for next year, not to mention players like Kivi, Wagner, and now Smith. We have plenty of bodies to play bottom-six minutes, so losing one doesn’t hurt much. Kovalenko is also 25, so he’s not exactly a prospect.

Now, Blackwood: I’m relatively happy with him. He’s by no means one of the best goalies in the league, but I like his size and some of his numbers. For example, he has very strong high-danger scoring chance numbers, which is quite important for the Avalanche. The hope is that his numbers will improve now that he’s on a better team, but even if they don’t, this is still a massive upgrade over what Georgiev was giving us.

Lastly, Givani Smith represents a crash-and-bang fourth-liner we can use instead of playing a prospect on the fourth line or calling up Tynan for those minutes. He’s not going to score, and he’s not very good, but hopefully, the coaching staff can get him playing reliable fourth-line minutes if they decide to use him.

Summary: We paid a high price, but given the circumstances, I think it’s a fair deal. Blackwood is at least an upgrade, Kovalenko is not a huge loss, and Smith potentially fills a need. The draft picks would have likely been moved anyway and are the cost of doing business. It is what it is.

 

[the_fan]

If he does, I hope like hell he takes #1.

Has there ever been a skater to wear #1 in the NHL?

 

[CobraAcesS]

Man...our playoff avatars has to be something along the lines of the Prophecy of Wood.

I'm going with 462A Rated Lumber as an Avatar if we make the dance.

This may need some refinement lol

Maybe embossed on an old wood stick.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Is MacK gonna give #29 to Blackwood?

If he does, I hope like hell he takes #1.

He will use #39.

The Avs wished him a Happy Birthday quoting that number and even had a photoshop of him with 39 on the jersey.

 

[S E P H]

That's my biggest fear, some goalies are like that and we kinda need the opposite.

The Avs don't allow a ton of shots/chances but when they do they are usually great scoring chances.

We need a Chris Osgood or Corey Crawford level of goaler.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I'm going with 462A Rated Lumber as an Avatar if we make the dance.

This may need some refinement lol

You know last year, there really didn't seem to be a lot of excitement over avatars. I don't know if we all just weren't feeling it or what...but it just never really hit. At least with me.

I'm open to all possiblities but I'd like us to agree on the theme sooner so we can really prepare. I'd be good with 462A theme, an Æ/60 theme or a Wood theme. There's still plenty of time for something to organically evolve as well.

I just hope we are all feeling it when the time comes.

He will use #39.

The Avs wished him a Happy Birthday quoting that number and even had a photoshop of him with 39 on the jersey.

I was talking about MacK taking #1.

That would be a f***ing statement.

 

[CobraAcesS]

You know last year, there really didn't seem to be a lot of excitement over avatars. I don't know if we all just weren't feeling it or what...but it just never really hit. At least with me.

I'm open to all possiblities but I'd like us to agree on the theme sooner so we can really prepare. I'd be good with 462A theme, an Æ/60 theme or a Wood theme. There's still plenty of time for something to organically evolve as well.

I just hope we are all feeling it when the time comes.


I was talking about MacK taking #1.

That would be a f***ing statement.

Yeah, I wasn't feeling it either lol.

The team just seemed beat to shit, and too many issues unchecked at the TDL.

But.. It was wide open, no team seemed like a monster in the West.

I still think there isn't really a team to be feared right now.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

About damn time. Clearly 4giev had to go.

However, there is no excuse why this was not addressed during the offseason. Such a dumb decision.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Avs updated their roster page on the website.

Blackwood - #39
Smith - #55

 

[CobraAcesS]

The Avs could be the monster in the NHL, and everything doesn't need to go perfectly.

If they get in relatively healthy with solid goaltending, even without Landeskog, I'm not seeing a team that they can't pulverize in playoff mode.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Avs updated their roster page on the website.

Blackwood - #39
Smith - #55

Double nickles for a tough guy... I like it.

Blackwood is taking Nieminen's number. I mean, Pavel Francouz's number. I like it!

 

[the_fan]

delete

 

[The Merchant]

 

[the_fan]

About damn time. Clearly 4giev had to go.

However, there is no excuse why this was not addressed during the offseason. Such a dumb decision.

It would cost the same if it was done in the offseason. NHL network did a good breakdown of this trade…

It’s basically Kovy for Blackwood
We had to give SJ 5th and 2nd for them to take Georgiev off our hands

Would still had to pay this price in the offseason. Should have never traded for Georgiev when we did. Could have traded for someone else but that’s pointless to even bring up. It’s over and done with

 

[expatriatedtexan]

That is purely on CMac. But I for one, am thrilled that he acted this quickly and got two established netminders with decent if not solid records.

Stability. That is what we've always said we needed. We don't need a 10M goalie who'll steal a series. We need a competent goalie who will allow our team to play their game and we'll let the chips fall where they may.

I'm over the moon right now.

 

[S E P H]

Yeah this quote from CMac is very telling.



He probably had leaders on this team banging at his door to get Georgiev off this f***ing team.

I can’t imagine how shitty of an environment it was having this sour puss allowing a goal on the first shot of the game and clawing defeat from the jaws of victory over and over.

Now, you have two good Ontario boys who will not only provide better goaltending but unquestionably better team morale.

It makes a lot of sense why DeAngelo went after him like he did.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

It would cost the same if it was done in the offseason. NHL network did a good breakdown of this trade…

It’s basically Kovy for Blackwood
We had to give SJ 5th and 2nd for them to take Georgiev off our hands

Would still had to pay this price in the offseason. Should have never traded for Georgiev when we did. Could have traded for someone else but that’s pointless to even bring up. It’s over and done with

Maybe it would. However, at least they wouldn't have to play a third of the season with possibly the worst starter in the league.

The team is barely in a wild card spot and the failure with the goaltending has costs them multiple points. Its unacceptable.

 

[forsbergavs32]

That is purely on CMac. But I for one, am thrilled that he acted this quickly and got two established netminders with decent if not solid records.

Stability. That is what we've always said we needed. We don't need a 10M goalie who'll steal a series. We need a competent goalie who will allow our team to play their game and we'll let the chips fall where they may.

I'm over the moon right now.

We're slowly seeing more corrections out of CMac and trying to fix the issues. This is obviously a different team than what Sakic started with but I recall everyone calling for Sakic's head the first couple years. It can take time for new GMs to find their groove.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

We're slowly seeing more corrections out of CMac and trying to fix the issues. This is obviously a different team than what Sakic started with but I recall everyone calling for Sakic's head the first couple years. It can take time for new GMs to find their groove.

Has he really found his groove?

Dude went through the entire offseason drinking kool-aid and wishing Georgiev is the answer in net. Props for making moves eventually, but they should have never even been in this situation in the first place.