Pavel French | Photo: nhl.cz
The eternal obstacle of Pavel Francouze? Health. His body box betrays him all too often, mainly because he doesn’t have more matches under his belt. It frustrates him, of course, but also the organization he belongs to. That’s why Colorado is said to be looking for a new goalkeeper.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli writes about it, adding that the Frenchman is still recovering from a retractor operation.
The 33-year-old Frenchman posted an 8-7-1 record and a save success rate of 91.5% in 16 games in the Avalanche jersey last season. He still has a contract for another year with a salary of 2 million dollars.
However, the fact is that the club cannot be surprised. The Frenchman missed the entire 2020/21 year due to injury, and it wasn’t until the next season that he significantly helped No. 1 Darcy Kuemper as the Avs won their third Stanley Cup.
The Avalanche have very little cap space before the season begins. But they have to solve the goalkeeper position, so they have to look for cheap options.
According to Seravalli, the number two to Alexander Georgiev will not be sought within the organization, even if it is directly offered. One big candidate is Casey DeSmith, who will make $1.8 million this season in the final year of his contract. After the Canadiens acquired him in the Erik Karlsson trade, they have three goaltenders in Montreal, which is unnecessary.
Halák, Elliott and Hutchinson are out of contract
And otherwise? There are only a few goaltenders who meet the NHL’s requirements without a contract. They are Jaroslav Halák, Brian Elliott and Michael Hutchinson.
The 38-year-old Halák covered the back of Igor Šestorkin in the New York Rangers in the 2022/23 season. Elliott, Halák’s age, was Andrei Vasilevskiy’s No. 2 in Tampa Bay the past two seasons. Elliott started 22 games last year.
Thirty-three-year-old Hutchinson caught sixteen games in the Columbus Blue Jackets jersey last season.
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2023-09-15 13:00:00
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