Confirmed Signing with Link: [COL] G Mackenzie Blackwood signs extension with the Avalanche (5 years, $5.25M AAV)

[TopShelfWaterBottle]

Pre mature signalation

 

[Mattb124]

It’s pretty obvious no one watched him in San Jose. It’s ok no one is going to blame you for not staying up to watch the worst team in the league.

Agree, but those same posters shouldn’t be posting opinions based on how he played 3 years ago in NJ or his sv % in SJ last year because it makes them look foolish.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Bidding against yourselves

 

[paragon]

At least they saw him play in their system. Can't remember how many times we have seen teams sign UFAs who completely bomb out. 5M is not what it used to be.

 

[BergyWho37]

That’s a pretty long extension on that Blackwood hopefully they don’t choke on that in the future..

 

[shadow1]

I know he isnt Shesterkin, but pretty crazy the difference between Igor and Blackwood is $6.25M. More than double the price!

For all the discourse on the length, the AAV on this contract is fairly economical.

Blackwood will be T-17th (with Kuemper) amongst goalies next season.

14	P. Grubauer	$5,900,000
15	E. Merzlikins	$5,400,000
16	T. Jarry	$5,375,000
17	M. Blackwood	$5,250,000
17	D. Kuemper	$5,250,000
19	J. Daccord	$5,000,000
19	T. Demko	$5,000,000
21	U. Luukkonen	$4,750,000

 

[Tralfamadore]

Sv% is a completely irrelevant statistic that gives absolutely no information. It counts a shot from your own end the exact same as a breakaway.

The bottom line is, binnington won a cup when he stole the show. He went on the road in game 7 in the Stanley cup finals and carried the blues to the Stanley cup by making 22 saves in the first period alone, compared to st.louis' like 6?

He's also considered a front runner to make team canada.

Can you name a goalie on your list who has stolen a series, let alone a cup? I don't think so. Continue to look at the stat sheet though and act like you know what you're talking about.

Yes I'll concede. Binnington did have one really good year. Otherwise he's been pretty average and on par or worse than the Avs goaltenders over the years.

Him being a frontrunner for team Canada is not a flex. Canada has nothing to choose from. Blackwood would be a better choise.

 

[biturbo19]

Seems odd to rush into it on such a tiny sample size there...but the Avs do always seem eager to get goalies locked in to contracts. This one is big enough that if it goes sideways, they'll have an awfully hard time moving it though.

 

[elitepete]

Doesnt this guy kinda suck?

 

[Mad Dog Tannen]

Why give him this contract now? What would have been the risk had the Avs just ... waited. Even if he got Vezina nominations at the end of the year, would he really command much more than what the Avs gave him after 4 games.

No. They bought high. Lol.

Even if he wins the cup is he beating the stats from his mini heater of 967% and 75% wins - he’ll no. Lol. It’s hilarious.

 

[EdAVSfan]

No. They bought high. Lol.

Even if he wins the cup is he beating the stats from his mini heater of 967% and 75% wins - he’ll no. Lol. It’s hilarious.

This has nothing to do with getting the cheapest price and everything to do with not letting Blackwood hit the market. They don’t want to compete with a bunch of other teams offers. There’s very to gain from waiting of the Avs are already convinced he’s their guy.

The closer Blackwood gets to UFA, the more likely he can just wait it out a couple of months and choose.

 

[HabzSauce]

Lols. I'm glad that this goof is out west where I barely ever even have to hear about him. One of my least favorite Devils ever.

Why? Always loved blackwood. He's a solid goalie, just hope he can stay consistent in Colorado

 

[gritdash60]

93 SV% in 4 games gets you 25million+ when you have posted regularly under 90 before. Well i guess its not more than 5 years ago when he looked good in New Jersey.

SV% 100 for team Canada, probably a good signing.

 

[Petes2424]

The Avs keep getting away with handing these $5 million deals out to goalies, but at some point, it’s gonna bite them.

He’s been fantastic…. For 5 games. We all know his history though. Sounds like a fine contract today. In a month, people might be shaking their heads.

He’s always been a talented goalie. So has Mrazek. They’ve just never been able to be consistent enough to play on good teams very long.

So the Avs probably feel like they can get out of the contract if they need to. We’ll see. Hope he finally finds his spot.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Reminds me of the Korpisalo deal. Could work out better, but there's certainly some red flags they ignored.

This has nothing to do with getting the cheapest price and everything to do with not letting Blackwood hit the market. They don’t want to compete with a bunch of other teams offers. There’s very to gain from waiting of the Avs are already convinced he’s their guy.

The closer Blackwood gets to UFA, the more likely he can just wait it out a couple of months and choose.

Who in their right mind was drooling at the idea of signing him for a bigger contract than this?

It's too much too soon. Clearly they think he's the answer, and time will tell - but it's still a lot for a guy with his track record.

 

[Peter Griffin]

Doesnt this guy kinda suck?

He’s been good for 25 games this season. Was pretty mediocre last season and downright awful for a few before that. Avs look like they’re taking a sizeable risk here that his current play will continue over the next few years but they are pretty desperate for goaltending.

 

[BKarchitect]

The Avs keep getting away with handing these $5 million deals out to goalies, but at some point, it’s gonna bite them.

Huh? Who? They’ve handed out one other big goalie contract, TEN years ago, to Varlamov. Weird statement.

Grubauer was making $3.33. Kuemper was one year at $4.5 but they didn’t sign that deal and the Coyotes were paying half that. Georgiev was on $3.4.

The entire point is the Avs have never found somebody they were comfortable paying since Varlamov. They didn’t sign Grubauer or Kuemper to their current huge deals…they walked away. They’ve gone cheap and half-assed. Maybe Blackwood is the guy and maybe he isn’t - but handing out their biggest contract for a goalie since a decade ago certainly is a different philosophy than what they had been doing.

There are so many made up narratives in this thread that it is mind-boggling.

 

[lakeshirts37]

He's 100% the best goalie we've had since Varlamov.

Good move to get this done early. Wait longer and his value will almost certainly have gone up.

no it wouldnt have

 

[John Mandalorian]

The Avs keep getting away with handing these $5 million deals out to goalies, but at some point, it’s gonna bite them.

He’s been fantastic…. For 5 games. We all know his history though. Sounds like a fine contract today. In a month, people might be shaking their heads.

He’s always been a talented goalie. So has Mrazek. They’ve just never been able to be consistent enough to play on good teams very long.

So the Avs probably feel like they can get out of the contract if they need to. We’ll see. Hope he finally finds his spot.

When the cap was less, the Avs let Kuemper walk who ended up signing for 5.25. Instead the Avs acquired Georgiev and signed for 3.4 AAV. The Avs spent a first to acquire Kuemper who was less than 5.0 at the time. How is it that the Avs keep getting away with giving goalies 5M deals?

 

[lakeshirts37]

The day he was acquired, general manager Chris MacFarland said they believed they had their goalie of the future and were not expecting him to be a rental.

They likely always wanted to extend him and got the idea of what his demands are from his agent before acquiring him.

28 year old goalie of the future!

 

[Shane Diesel]

The Avs keep getting away with handing these $5 million deals out to goalies, but at some point, it’s gonna bite them.

This is literally the first goaltender the Avs have paid more than $5 million per year since Varlamov. What are you talking about?

 

[lakeshirts37]

At least they saw him play in their system. Can't remember how many times we have seen teams sign UFAs who completely bomb out. 5M is not what it used to be.

system is way less of a factor for goalies. not sure what youre talking about

 

[BKarchitect]

He’s been good for 25 games this season. Was pretty mediocre last season and downright awful for a few before that. Avs look like they’re taking a sizeable risk here that his current play will continue over the next few years but they are pretty desperate for goaltending.

I mean what’s your definition of mediocre? Among starters of 41+ games last year, he was 16th on GSAX and Sharks fans were more than happy with how he developed. As @shadow1 has pointed out multiple times in this thread, his new contract AAV will be around 17th in the NHL when it kicks in.

Seems about right. If he keeps this year’s play up, it’ll be a bargain. If he “regresses” to last year, it’ll be about what he should make. If he nose dives, it’s shit. Such are goalies.

28 year old goalie of the future!

Yeah…that’s about right. What are you going on about? You do know goalies develop on an entirely different timeline than skaters right?

 

[EdAVSfan]

Reminds me of the Korpisalo deal. Could work out better, but there's certainly some red flags they ignored.



Who in their right mind was drooling at the idea of signing him for a bigger contract than this?

It's too much too soon. Clearly they think he's the answer, and time will tell - but it's still a lot for a guy with his track record.

It’s pretty much in line with what these types of goalies are getting. Daccord, Grubauer, Kuemper, Korpisalo, UPL, Jarry, Merzlikins.

If you have starter potential, and have demonstrated to be NHL calibre, this is the new standard.
Again, the Avs aren’t littered with good choices. It’s not like there’s a bunch of UFa goalies out there to choose from. Anything available, whether by trade, or UFA, has some issues. None of them are guarantees. There’s only a handful of goalies who can be relied upon year after year, and those guys are paid substantially more.

The ABs scouting identified Blackwood as the guy worth the risk for the price. They really gain nothing by waiting and instead put themselves at risk by waiting. Just because YOU don’t think there’s a team out there that would give him this, doesn’t make it true.

The avs are trusting their scouting process here. No different than any other process where a team signs a UFa before even playing a game.
The AVS needed a solution in net. They think they found one. Waiting, in the hopes of getting him a bit cheaper is not worth the risk of potentially having him test the market and leaving altogether. That then causes far more problems.

Is he the right guy to spend this on. Time will tell. But it’s definitely par for the course that everyone’s crystal balls are out in this thread.

 

[Reddwit]

I just don’t get how Blackwood’s camp had the leverage to get 5 years. His history suggests he’s inconsistent. They must really think he’ll come into his own as he ages.