Notebook: How Many Goalies Will The Avalanche Use This Season?

I would’ve never thought a week ago that the Avalanche would be in this spot on Oct. 14. It would’ve been really hard for me to believe that they’d lose Jonathan Drouin and add him to their long list of injuries, yet they’d still score four goals in each of the first two games. But have nothing in the standings to show for it.

Goaltending is obviously the story right now. Well, the lack of goaltending. And later tonight, the Avs will play host to the 0-1-1 New York Islanders. Neither team has won a game yet. And this could be a big put-up or shut-up moment for both clubs. It’s also worth mentioning that the Islanders love Patrick Roy and they’re going to want to win this one for him.

At this point, I genuinely have no idea how the goaltending situation is going to play out. Last year I went through the entire regular season being a firm believer that Alexandar Georgiev was the guy. I backed him every step of the way and always pulled his stats from 2022-23 as the reason why I felt we needed to be patient with him. I believed the Avs would go out and bring in someone like Marc-Andre Fleury or Jake Allen to be his 1B — but he’d still be the 1A.

The moment I finally had enough, where I wrote about him no longer having my confidence, was after Game 1 of the first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets. It wasn’t until then that I finally wrote a column calling for head coach Jared Bednar to turn to Justus Annunen. And if he’s still sick, play Ivan Prosvetov. I was over it. I felt the team needed a change. But what did Georgiev do? Came right back in Game 2, then 3, 4, and 5, and eliminated the Winnipeg Jets in the next four games. He was also solid against Dallas, albeit the second-best goalie in that series.

So, I’m struggling with what to feel about his start. On one hand, two terrible games aren’t enough to define an entire season. But Georgiev had the entire offseason to work through whatever inconsistencies he had last year. And to be quite honest, his preseason was terrible before this. Nothing seems to be going his way. We know Georgiev is likely starting against the Islanders. But anything more than that is anybody’s guess. I think right now the issue isn’t necessarily what game Georgiev starts. The team just needs him to finish one.

So with all that being said, I raise the question: How many goalies will play for the Avalanche this season? Gone are the days where a team regularly dresses only two goalies. Last year Colorado played Georgiev, Annunen, and Prosvetov for more than 10 games, each. We know Kaapo Kahkonen is joining the team after his visa issues are cleared up. And we know he’s going to get an opportunity. But could there be more? Is he simply just another Prosvetov or Jonas Johansson for this club? Will the trade speculation continue through the fall and all the way to the trade deadline? It’s absolutely insane that we’re already having these conversations after just two games.

Again, I would’ve never thought a week ago that the Avalanche would be in this spot on Oct. 14.

Kaapo Kahkonen

I’m intrigued by this goaltender. I know it’ll take some time for him to get up to speed with a new team, system, etc. But I’m really curious about how he does when he finally gets a shot. From what I’ve seen from him in the past, I believe Kahkonen is an NHL goalie. I think he’s better than Prosvetov and I think he’ll have a longer career in North America. But, how much of a chance will he get with the Avs? When you’re riding a three-goalie system, one guy is always going to get the short end of the stick. Colorado needed a spark and felt it was worth claiming Kahkonen off waivers. But will he get a long leash? What if his first game is shaky? What if his first two games don’t inspire confidence? As long as both Georgiev and Annunen are also still healthy and on the NHL roster, Kahkonen likely won’t have much runway to figure things out.

We’ll see how it plays out, but if I had to guess, I’d say Kahkonen’s first start comes Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.

Calum Ritchie

The only -4 on the Avalanche roster through two games is Calum Ritchie. There’s a lot of pressure on the kid right now to produce. He made the opening night roster of a Stanley Cup-contending team that’s missing championship-caliber wingers like Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen, and Gabriel Landeskog. And given how depleted the roster is, there isn’t much time for him to figure things out.

If or when the Avs get healthy, Ritchie will benefit from another season in the Ontario Hockey League. He should be on Team Canada at the World Juniors and he should dominate the OHL again. I just hope he gets a taste of celebrating a goal or two over the next handful of games before he becomes a serious player on the Avalanche in 2025-26.