The Colorado Avalanche have traded goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to the San Jose Sharks on Monday

The Colorado Avalanche have traded goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to the San Jose Sharks on Monday. 

As part of the trade, the Sharks also acquired forward Nikolai Kovalenko, a second-round pick in 2026, and a fifth-round pick in 2025 from Colorado. Headed to the Avalanche is goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith, and a fifth-round pick in 2027.

Georgiev was selected to the All-Star team last season and has finished with the most wins twice (2023, 2024). The Bulgarian netminder struggled to start the season with an 8-7-0 record, 3.38 goals against average and a .874 save percentage. Blackwood has also fluttered this season with a 6-9-3 record, 3.00 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Both goalies will look for fresh starts in spots where they will likely be the immediate starters. 

Kovalenko is a young 25-year-old Russian forward that had played 28 games this season, recording four goals and four assists for eight points. He's a physical threat on the ice as he placed sixth on the Avalanche in hits with 34 while averaging 12 minutes of ice time this season.

The Colorado Avalanche are currently +750 to win the Central Division, +600 to win the Western Conference and +1200 to win the Stanley Cup. The move in net was needed as Georgiev weakened Colorado's goals against average to 3.55 which was fourth-worst in the NHL and made it quite impressive that the Avalanche were able to secure a 16-13-0 record. 

The San Jose Sharks are +200 to finish with the league's worst record and have an over/under set at 66.5 for regular season points. The addition of a former All-Star netminder could make the over look like a decent play but betters should see how Georgiev does after his first couple of starts in San Jose. 

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