Avalanche Mailbag, Part 1: What’s The Georgiev Contract Endgame?

It’s officially September, which means that Colorado Avalanche hockey will be back very soon.

Actually very, very soon, as the Rookie Face-Off is set to take place in less than two weeks. Last week, I put out a call on social media for questions, and I got a ton. That means Avalanche fans are starting to come out of their hibernation with the season just weeks away. I got so many questions that I’m splitting these mailbags up, so if you have any more questions to add, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Let’s get to it for this mailbag.

From Amber: Avs seem to be loading up on goalies with Georgie in the last year of his contract. Is he as good as gone or did his playoff performance secure him an extension?

Colorado focused heavily at the NHL Draft on goalies, but outside of Nabokov, those goalies are years away from making an impact, if they ever do. They won’t have much of an impact on what the Avalanche decide to do when it comes to Alexandar Georgiev.

This is my opinion, and it’s not from any source or anything like that, but more just a hunch: I don’t think they look to bring him back. Just looking at the different scenarios that could play out, I don’t see how he returns. If Georgiev has a massive year, the Avalanche would have to fork over a lot of dough to re-sign him, as he’s set to become a UFA. They’re not an organization that has typically paid a lot of money to their goalies, so I don’t see that happening. If he has a poor year, there probably won’t be much interest in bringing him back either. And if he’s somewhere in-between, you’re probably trying to find an upgrade on a team that wants to win now.

It is a big year for Georgiev, especially since he can hit the open market next summer. I didn’t like his regular season last year, but he was solid in the playoffs. Maybe Annunen being around to lighten his workload will do wonders for him. The Avalanche sniffing around on Yaroslav Askarov should tell you they’re still looking for ways to improve in net.

From Rachel: Why didn’t the Avs bring EJ back?

I love EJ, and it’s great that he still has a relationship with everyone on the team, but it was clear in his final year in Colorado that he had lost a step. He’s just not as effective on the ice anymore. His on-ice numbers last year in Buffalo were not very good, and a team like Philadelphia is probably a good spot for him. He can be one of the leaders on a young team looking to retool a bit.

If he wants to come back and join the Altitude broadcast when he decides to call it a career, he’s more than welcome to do that. I think he’d be a perfect fit in the broadcast booth.

From Rycroft’s Mullet: When are you starting a podcast?

As of right now, not really planning on it, but we’ll see what the future holds.

From PKB: Do you see Calum Ritchie securing a top six position this year for the Avalanche?

I don’t know about the top six, but I do think Ritchie starts the season in Colorado. Whether or not he finishes the season with the Avalanche is another question entirely, but he’s spent most of the summer in Denver and I think he gets a taste.

While the AHL would be an ideal middle ground for him this season, it’s not an option due to the rules currently in place. I know some people believe he has nothing left to prove in the OHL, but I’m not one of them. He wasn’t the most dominant player in that league last year, and the year before, he was barely a point-per-game. There are still some things he can improve upon in that league, even if he’s probably better off somewhere else. It helps that he’ll probably spend a month of the season with Team Canada, preparing for and playing in the World Juniors.