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July 11, 2026
Dec 31, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) in the third period against the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Question from Rudy Volz

Why couldn’t Mackenzie Blackwood hold the starting job? Does missing camp make that much of a difference across a whole season? Is he still hurt or does he have the yips? If he can’t be the starter, do they trade him, given the other goalies we have in the pipeline?

Also Read:Avalanche Mailbag 2.0: Makar’s Motivation, The Penalty Kill, & Is This Team Better?

Aarif’s Response

Starting from the last part of that question, I think the way things unfold this upcoming season will determine the future of a lot of goaltending pieces. If we see what we saw a year ago, I could see Colorado keeping Scott Wedgewood for at least another year, and potentially moving on from Blackwood altogether. At that point, you’d have to at least have an idea of what Ilya Nabokov is and could become, otherwise you’ll definitely need to bring in someone else to share the crease with Wedgewood. You can’t put that much pressure on the kid.

I do think they’re going to give Blackwood every chance to be the guy before they consider a move. Blackwood had an excellent run in 2024-25 after the Avalanche acquired him, and it was a huge step in the right direction with regard to him being a permanent starting goalie.

For a guy who was still trying to solidify that role, I think missing camp had a far greater effect on him than it would’ve for, say, someone like Connor Hellebuyck or any other established goalie. It’s not just the physical part of missing camp, but it’s also the mental focus and preparation. It definitely felt to me like he had a bit of a case of the yips after the Olympic break. Jared Bednar tried to give him every opportunity to be the guy for the playoffs, but Blackwood couldn’t hold it down.

Let’s see how he responds this upcoming season. I have a lot of confidence in him, especially with the message he sent with his Game 4 performance and the postgame presser he had after the fact in the Western Conference Final. He wants it.

Question from Rudy Volz

Will Cale Makar need surgery in the off-season to fix whatever he injured vs Minnesota? It looked like a shoulder…shoulders are tough to fix and stay fixed. Will his injuries affect his negotiations?

Also Read:Avalanche Mailbag 1.0: The Youth Movement, Kadri & Roy’s Price, & Rolling Four Lines

Aarif’s Response

There was no confirmation from Joe Sakic that Cale Makar’s injury was a shoulder injury, but he said something along the lines of “we all know the injuries” when asked about him. So, it seems safe to say it was a shoulder.

Sakic was asked about this when we chatted with him a month ago, and he made it clear that he expects everyone to be healthy and ready to go for training camp. He didn’t specify if there were going to be any offseason surgeries, but if Makar needed one, the team would’ve let us know. They announce those things pretty regularly.

Basically, I wouldn’t be too stressed about his injury. He’ll be ready to go in September.

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