Trade Spotlight: Colorado and San Jose Swap Goalies
What is the Fantasy Outlook for Blackwood and Georgiev in Their New Surroundings?
On Monday, we had some interesting trade news: The San Jose Sharks traded away goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Givani Smith to the Colorado Avalanche for Alexandar Georgiev, forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 5th-round pick, and a 2026 2nd-round pick.
With the Sharks still rebuilding, there were rumors that San Jose would eventually trade Blackwood, who has been off to a strong start this season. The Sharks also seemed motivated to trade away either Blackwood or Vitek Vanecek because 22-year-old goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov has been succeeding with the Barracuda in the AHL. Askarov played in two games while Vanecek was injured and went 1-0-1 with a 1.96 GAA and 0.927 SV%.
The Avalanche recently got goalie help by acquiring Scott Wedgewood from Nashville on November 30th. However, Colorado wasn’t satisfied with the Wedgewood-Georgiev combo and opted for a goalie shakeup to improve their -4 goal difference this season (they currently have 32 points and sit tied for third in the Central Division with the Dallas Stars).
It’s a win-win trade for both teams.
The Avalanche get the goalie upgrade they need to make a stronger postseason push. At the same time, the Sharks acquire some future draft capital and a goalie who could bounce back in an environment with lower expectations.
However, what kind of effect does the trade have on the teams on a fantasy end? Let’s dive into the Avs and Sharks’ new goalie situations and what fantasy managers should take away from this transaction.
Can Blackwood Succeed With Higher Expectations?
Blackwood has been more than serviceable at the NHL level since debuting in 2018-2019 with the New Jersey Devils.
According to Dobber, Blackwood has played 215 NHL games, with a record of 81-91-25, a career GAA of 3.07, an SV% of .905, and a QS% of 47.4%. His three-year average (two with the Sharks and one with the Devils) metrics are also pretty solid. Over the past three seasons, he has sported a 3.27 GAA, 0.900 SV%, and 48.2% QS%.
Here’s a look at what the 28-year-old Canadian goaltender has done this season with the Sharks before Monday’s trade.
Even though the Sharks are second-to-last in the Pacific Division with 25 points, Blackwood has produced solid fantasy numbers beyond wins, which is low at six. His GAA is 2.95, SV% is 0.910, QS% is 42%, and GSAA is 5.32. Regarding the latter, his GSAA is the first time it’s been positive since 2019-2020, his second season in the NHL (with the Devils).
Blackwood has also succeeded in even-strength and short-handed situations, demonstrating his improvement from previous seasons.
His EV SV% is 0.908, and his SH SV% is .902. Those are significantly better than the rates from Georgiev (0.880 EV SV%; 0.870 SH SV%). While his EV SV% isn’t as good as Wedgewood's (0.930 EV SV%), Blackwood’s SH SV% is an upgrade from his fellow Avalanche goaltender (0.821 SH SV%). That SH SV% difference could give Blackwood the edge as the primary goaltender in Colorado.
Thus, it’s unsurprising that Blackwood’s rostered percentage has gone from about 20% pre-trade to 53% post-trade. That said, Blackwood has never played with the Sharks or Devils in the postseason. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Blackwood responds to higher expectations in Colorado for the remainder of this season. He could find himself with another club in 2025-2026 if he struggles.
Regarding the Avalanche’s goalie depth, Wedgewood may be a nice deep-league option who can easily be a third goalie on a fantasy roster.
Wedgewood is only rostered in 37% of leagues, but he has produced solid numbers in nine games between Nashville and Colorado this season. His GAA is 2.71, SV% is 0.908, QS% is 33%, and GSAA is 1.66. The only blemish is that his Really Bad Start % is 22%, which is only an 11% difference from his Quality Start %.
The 32-year-old veteran was acquired as a backup to Georgiev and will likely continue in that role with Blackwood.
Although Blackwood will be a better option than Georgiev, Colorado will utilize Wedgewood more frequently as a backup than Nashville did, making him a more viable fantasy option in leagues where goalie quality on the waiver wire is lacking.
Will Georgiev Hold Off Askarov in San Jose?
It’s been a tough season for the Bulgarian goaltender, who now finds himself going from a team hoping to win the Stanley Cup to a club far away from making the postseason.
In an interview with SJ Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Georgiev mentioned that he was surprised by the move and admitted that he got off to a rough start this season with Colorado. However, he seemed satisfied with his performance lately, especially in his last ten games.
SP: In Colorado, why was it a tough time for you early in the season?
AG: The first two games, I was not good, definitely. I felt after that, it just kept building and building. I felt the next [few] games, my game was OK, just a couple of bad bounces here and there, and all of a sudden, you’re losing.
I felt like it never got into my head. Just tried to stay with it and get better and better, and went on a 6-0 run at some point in the season, like won six in a row. So it was just a matter of getting a streak of good bounces. I don’t want to go too much into detail, of course, it’s a lot of factors [for the trade]. I know I’m happy where my game was at the last 10 games or so.
In his last ten games, Georgiev is 6-2-0 with a 2.86 GAA, 0.893 SV%, 50% QS%, and -1.83 GSAA. His GAA and QS% numbers are impressive, while his SV% and GSAA are mediocre. However, his last month of play has been better for Georgiev, especially considering his overall numbers this season.
The GSAA has been awful for Georgiev at -11.73, correlating with his 37% RBS%, four percentage points higher than his QS% this season. His GAA is also 50 points better, and his SV% is 19 points better. So, the 28-year-old former Colorado goalie isn’t wrong when he’s saying he’s been performing better in his last ten games.
Georgiev will be an unrestricted free agent next season. Thus, there’s an incentive for him to step up and perform, especially if he wants to show suitors this offseason that he is still worthy of being a starting goalie in the NHL.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sharks maximize Georgiev’s usage between the pipes to build up some trade value in the next few months (the NHL Trade Deadline is March 7th). That makes Georgiev a worthy hold for fantasy managers, even if his winning percentage (42%) will likely take a hit in the move to the West Coast.
Some fantasy managers may wonder if Vanecek will get more time as a backup goalie with the arrival of Georgiev, who hasn’t been as impressive as the Sharks’ previous primary goalie. Based on the numbers, the Czech-born goaltender had been decent as a backup to Blackwood.
Vanecek’s numbers compare similarly to Georgiev's: his RBS% is seven percentage points higher than his QS%, his GSAA is low at -6.47, and his GAA (3.83) and SV% (0.883) underwhelm. He’s only 3% rostered in Yahoo leagues, and honestly, even after the trade of Blackwood, I’m not sure his rostered percentage will rise much in the next week or two unless Georgiev’s performance falls off a cliff.
The San Jose goaltender I’m interested in from a fantasy perspective after this trade is Askarov, who has been phenomenal with the Barracuda and fared well in a cup of coffee stint with the Sharks back in November.
It’s only a two-star start sample, but Askarov showed that his AHL numbers (1.75 GAA, 0.946 SV%, eight wins, three shutouts in 12 GP) weren’t a fluke. Both his appearances were quality starts, and his 1.96 GAA, 1.45 GSAA, and 0.927 SV% were studly marks for a rookie.
He’s rostered in 51% of Fantrax leagues, signaling that he’s already a bit of a dynasty darling despite still being in the AHL. His Yahoo rostered percentage is a bit more meager at 10%. However, that’s still seven percent higher than Vanecek, demonstrating that Askarov has much more upside than the current Sharks backup goalie.
It may feel challenging to roster Askarov in fantasy unless a manager’s goalie situation is incredibly stable and secure. That said, Askarov’s rostered percentage in Yahoo will likely only rise in the coming weeks, especially once the season enters 2025.
For fantasy managers who want an edge at goaltender, especially in dynasty or keeper formats, it is worth investing in Askarov now, especially since Georgiev won’t be part of the Sharks’ long-term plans between the pipes.
Photo Credit: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images