Alexandar Georgiev must convince one team he can replicate some of his best years in The Show to reignite his NHL career. That said, he couldn't capitalize on his chance last year.
Alexandar Georgiev failed to stay in the NHL last year, but the goalie's eyeing a comeback.
The 2024 NHL All-Star Game participant and KHL club Spartak Moscow terminated his contract on June 2.
Georgiev's agent, Stanislav Romanov, told Hockey News Hub the goal is to return to the NHL, where he played eight seasons from 2017-18 to 2024-25.
The 30-year-old went from being one of the NHL's busiest netminders to missing out on a roster spot in three years. His NHL comeback attempt won't be easy by any means.
He could bounce back next season if one of the handful of NHL clubs needing goaltending support takes a chance on him. That said, his experience wasn't enough to stay in the league last year, and he has a lot of competition in free agency.
Twenty goalies who played at least one NHL game this season are pending UFAs, according to capwages.com. Take away Jonathan Quick, who announced his retirement, and seven other netminders who played fewer than 10 games this year, and there are still 12 pending UFAs.
That group includes two-time Stanley Cup champion Sergei Bobrovsky, current Stanley Cup finalist Frederik Andersen, two-time Cup runner-up Stuart Skinner and veterans Cam Talbot, Connor Ingram, David Rittich, Eric Comrie and Vitek Vanecek.
In what could help Georgiev's comeback attempt, none of the pending UFA goaltenders who played at least 10 games this season recorded a save percentage of at least .900.
Georgiev also posted some decent stats in the KHL, with a .918 save percentage and 2.37 goals-against average in 24 games.
That being said, Georgiev did have his shot last year in somewhat similar circumstances and couldn't capitalize on it.
He signed a one-year, $825,000 contract with the Buffalo Sabres before training camp this past fall. He allowed 11 goals on 86 shots across four appearances for an .872 save percentage in the pre-season.
Not only did he not make the Sabres, but the squad claimed Colten Ellis off waivers from the St. Louis Blues to push Georgiev further down the depth chart. He and the team mutually terminated his NHL contract so he could sign with Spartak.
Other UFA goalies who signed one-year, one-way contracts last off-season before Georgiev joined Buffalo were Ivan Prosvetov, Cal Petersen, Cayden Primeau, Anton Forsberg, Kaapo Kahkonen, Rittich and Matt Murray.
Aside from Murray, who won two Stanley Cup championships, arguably none of those netminders have the same level of NHL experience as Georgiev.
In fact, not even Murray has played as many NHL games as Georgiev's 303.
As a backup with the New York Rangers, Georgiev had a save percentage of .905 or better in four of five seasons before they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche.
Georgiev was the Avalanche's No. 1 goalie in 2022-23 and 2023-24, playing 62 and 63 games, respectively. Only Nashville Predators starter Juuse Saros played more games across those two seasons than Georgiev. His 78 total wins in those years led the NHL as well.
In 2022-23, Georgiev had a 2.53 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and five shutouts. The following year, he recorded a 3.02 GAA, .897 SP and two shutouts.
Alexandar Georgiev was one of the NHL's busiest goaltenders before his stats worsened with the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)In 2024-25, however, Georgiev's situation changed.
In 18 games to start the season, Georgiev went 8-7-0 with a 3.38 GAA and .874 SP as the Avalanche struggled out of the gate.
Colorado ended up trading Georgiev to the San Jose Sharks, where he started 30 games, won seven and logged a 3.88 GAA and .875 SP. Playing on a rebuilding Sharks squad that averaged the second-most shots against in the league didn't help his performance, but Georgiev finished the season second-last in goals saved above expected, at minus-17.9, according to moneypuck.com.
So, despite having proven himself in the past as Colorado's starter and doing enough to win many games for two years, a handful of netminders were signed before he was last year.
Just because this new batch of UFAs didn't have outstanding stats doesn't mean this year will automatically be different for him, either.
The Edmonton Oilers may search for a new No. 1 goalie this summer, and the Florida Panthers may follow suit if Bobrovsky does not re-sign with them. The Carolina Hurricanes and Andersen must decide what they'd like to do after the Stanley Cup final, and the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Utah Mammoth could look for backups, whether they dive into free agency or the trade market.
If any of those clubs want a low-cost netminder with lots of experience, then Georgiev should be a target. But that was the case for Georgiev last year, and it did not pan out.
History did not seem convincing enough for teams seeking goaltending help last year to give Georgiev a roster spot. With lots of competition in free agency, he must convince one team he can replicate some of his best years in The Show to reignite his NHL career.
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