The San Jose Sharks traded goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, forward Givani Smith, and their own 2027 fifth-round pick on Monday to the Colorado Avalanche for goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, forward Nikolai Kovalenko, Colorado’s 2026 second-round selection, and a conditional fifth-round draft selection in 2025.
Blackwood had been the Sharks’ top goalie since he was acquired from the New Jersey Devils in June 2023. In 63 games with the Sharks, Blackwood had a record of 16-34-7 and a .902 save percentage.
After beginning the season with a 0-2-2 record, Blackwood had a record of 6-6-1 in his last 14 appearances with a .916 save percentage.
The 28-year-old Georgiev, a pending unrestricted free agent, has struggled mightily so far this season. Although he has an 8-7-0 record in 18 games, he has a .874 save percentage and one of the worst marks in the NHL in goals saved above expected.
Georgiev is in the final year of a three-year, $10.2 million contract with a $3.4 million cap hit. As part of the deal, Colorado will retain 14% of Georgiev’s contract, so the cap hit for San Jose is $2.924 million.
Kovalenko, 25, had eight points in 28 games for the Avalanche as he’s averaged just 12 minutes of ice time per game. He is in the final year of a two-year, entry-level contract and is set to become a restricted free agent next summer.
The draft picks involved are potential keys to the deal from the Sharks’ perspective. With Colorado’s 2026 second-rounder in hand, the Sharks now have three picks in the first two rounds of that year’s draft.
The conditions for Colorado’s 2025 fifth-round selection are that the Avalanche will instead transfer the worse of their current fourth-round selections in 2025 (Colorado’s own or Vancouver’s selection) if at least two of the conditions are met:
Colorado advances to the third round of the 2024-25 playoffs, Blackwood wins 25 regular season games from the trade date to the end of this season and/or Blackwood starts 30 NHL regular season games from the trade date to the end of the 2024-25 regular season.
The Avalanche, at 16-13-0, have 53 games remaining.
Please check back for updates on this developing story.
