Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz has officially announced his retirement from professional hockey.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman also shared that Francouz will be an analyst for Czechia at the upcoming World Championships. 

Francouz, 33, missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season after undergoing adductor surgery during the offseason. The announcement that he would not play this year came in November, which showed the severity of Francouz's condition. 

This news is not surprising, as Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland shared with reporters that Francouz was very likely to retire because of groin and knee injuries that took away most of last season and all of this campaign. 

Francouz appeared in 73 games with the Avalanche over four seasons, posting a 44-21-6 record, a .919 SV%, and a 2.49 GAA. With numbers like these, he proved to be one of the NHL's top 1B/backup goalies and played a key role in Colorado's success during his time with the club. 

We here at The Hockey News Avalanche wish Francouz the happiest of retirements. 

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