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The Colorado Avalanche have signed goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers, adding depth to their goaltending tandem after a shaky start to the season. The question is: have the Avs already lost faith in Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen?
Kahkonen, 28, spent the previous season splitting time between the San Jose Sharks and the New Jersey Devils, posting a combined record of 7-24-3 with an .898 save percentage and a goals-against average. 3.64. His numbers aren’t incredible, but he has experience and those numbers can be deceiving considering the fact that he played for a lowly Sharks team last season. In San José he had problems, which was to be expected. However, after being traded to the Devils in March, Kahkonen showed improvement, finishing his campaign with a .923 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA in six games.
Meanwhile, Georgiev, who struggled during the team’s opening night loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, is coming off a below-average 2023-24 campaign. Georgiev allowed five goals on just 16 shots before being pulled after two periods this week. That led coach Jared Bednar to start Annunen, who didn’t fare much better.
Bednar expressed his disappointment with the team’s goaltending, as did other members of the team.
“It’s not good enough” Bednar statedhinting that it was necessary to improve the goal situation. He was not the only one who expressed concern. Mikko Rantanen, who scored a hat trick in the loss, said after the match. “If they only had 20 shots, maybe it wouldn’t be that many, but maybe the quality was too good for them.” Some of that was directed at the team, but there was an underlying indication that the club needed more saving.
Between the coach and the team’s star player publicly denouncing the goalkeeper, the writing was on the wall.
Rantanen was also not shy about praising Kahkonen. Once he found out he had been picked up, he talked about the story at the World Juniors. and said“I think he’s a good goalkeeper.”
Rantanen over his fellow Finn Kaapo Kahkonen, who is his age.
“We skated together in the summer and won the World Juniors together. So yeah, it’s good to have him. I think he’s a good goalie.”
– Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) October 11, 2024
With Kahkonen now in the fold, the Avalanche may be looking to move on from Georgiev, either now or later in the season.
Teams don’t typically have three goaltenders and if the organization feels Georgiev’s time has passed, a trade could be on the horizon. She is a UFA pending signing a contract that will allow her to earn $3.4 million this season. If AVs identify a team with network attention needs, there may be a suitable option.
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