Analyzing Alexandar Georgiev New Contract with Colorado Avalanche (+)

I was off by 1.2 million dollars. That’s still a pretty good chunk of change. I predicted the other day that the next Alexandar Georgiev contract would come in at three years, $ 9 million. He signed for three years, $10.2 overall, with a $3.4 million cap hit, today with the Colorado Avalanche.

He is the Avalanche’s new No. 1 goalie moving forward, there’s no longer any doubt about it. We’re about to embark on another new era of Avalanche goaltending, folks. Since Patrick Roy retired, the Avalanche have had guys like Peter Budaj, Jose Theodore, Andrew Raycroft, Craig Anderson, Brian Elliott, Semyon Varlamov, Jonathan Bernier, Philipp Grubauer and…I could keep going but you get the point.

The Avalanche have had a lot of new No. 1 goalies in the last 19 years. They’ll have another one in Georgiev, whose salary over the next three seasons breaks down like this:

I definitely should have guessed that $1.2 million higher. The defending Stanley Cup champs acquired a goalie who would have been due a $2.64 million qualifying offer no matter what, so to get him at three years and less than a million under that as a cap hit? It could be another round-tripper for GM Joe Sakic, who went from a singles and doubles hitter as a GM to a jackpot winner, all because of his superb moves,

This represents something of a risk for Sakic, however. The Avalanche have suddenly pinned their near-term future hopes on a guy who was a backup with the New York Rangers the last few years. It fits a pattern of Avalanche goalie carousels over the last few years, and that should be of pretty good comfort to fans. The Avalanche did similar deals for Semyon Varlamov and Philipp Grubauer in the last 11 years, and the results weren’t horrible at all – though neither ever got past a second round with the team.

Now, the Avalanche have just given up on the goalie who actually won them a STANLEY CUP in the last 21 years. Darcy Kuemper had a fine statistical season, but just couldn’t overcome the impression that he was like the kid who inherits $10 million from his parents, then proclaims himself a “self-made man” at the first sign of any success.

“Georgie” will go into camp as the No. 1, but let’s not count “Frankie” out yet either. He only has to get on one really hot run this coming season, while Georgiev is just mediocre, to be the new No. 1 guy. It should make for a very interesting locker-room scenario. I have a feeling Frankie, while welcoming his new teammate, might just think to himself, “I’m not gonna lose out to this carpetbagger.”

And that’s the attitude you want him to have. Nobody should ever just aspire to be a backup, no matter the comfy little salary you can make doing what Frankie does.

It’s going to be a really interesting story to see how Georgie does. Especially, after the Avalanche just let of the guy who actually, you know, won a Stanley Cup.