Coming out of the shadows: why the exchange in Colorado is beneficial for Georgiev

The information that Alexander Georgiev could leave the New York Rangers appeared in the last offseason.

However, then the transition did not take place, and the Russian remained in the team.

But this time there was little doubt that he would leave.

And in early July, the American media reported that the bronze medalist of the World Championship expressed a desire to leave the team and asked the management for an exchange.

After just a few days, the goalkeeper's request was granted.

Moreover, he was traded by the current owner of the Stanley Cup, the Colorado Avalanche.

In return, the Rangers received picks in the third and fifth rounds of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and the third round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

The general manager of the team from Denver, Joe Sakic, did not hide his joy - according to him, Georgiev showed himself well when he went on the ice from the first minutes.

Sakik stressed that the Russians were taken as the main goalkeeper.

At first glance, the deal looks like a win-win for all parties.

“New York” managed to transfer the rights to the hockey player shortly before he risked becoming a free agent.

This explains the fact that the team agreed to a rather modest offer from a competitor, because it is not easy to choose future stars at such late picks.

On the other hand, Rangers general manager Chris Drury cleared a spot under the salary cap, as the team had a fair amount of unsigned players in the summer.

Along the way, we managed to get rid of the reserve goalkeeper who lost motivation, whose departure right now does not look like a big problem for the Rangers, since there is an experienced Keith Kincaid and a young Adam Guska.

But the main winner in this situation is Georgiev.

Alexander, who played one season in the AHL for the Hartford Wolf Pack, broke into the New York team in 2017.

The Bulgarian-born Ruse has proved himself to be a fearless goalkeeper, boldly throwing himself under the puck after the strongest shots, albeit with some gaps in technique.

For example, he is not strong in finishing control.

Nevertheless, in his debut season, he spent his ten matches in the regular season.

And in the next one, he established himself in the team and played 33 meetings, in which he missed 91 goals.

However, Alexander almost always had to put up with the role of a reservist.

At first, he was behind Henrik Lundqvist, and then, when the Swede left the team, he lost the competition to compatriot Igor Shesterkin.

Although in a short period there was a unique situation in which three goalkeepers shared the playing time at once.

And the completed season turned out to be the worst for Georgiev in many key metrics.

In 33 regular season encounters, he allowed himself to be upset 85 times.

In previous years, Alexander had missed more, but the reliability indicator was only 0.898.

For Alexander, this is an anti-record in the NHL.

A negative indicator of expected goals conceded (-7.6) also speaks volumes.

That is, the hockey player missed 7.6 more than he should have, if we evaluate the danger of blows.

For comparison, at Shesterkin, it was an incredible 44.9.

In many meetings, Georgiev did not look his best, for example, he allowed Carolina and Edmonton to score six times and Minnesota, Vegas and Washington five each.

The Russian was especially unsuccessful in the first part of the regular season.

However, it's unfair to say that the Ruse native was a burden to the Rangers.

In some segments, he helped partners.

So, Alexander was forced to become the main one from the beginning of December until almost mid-January - while Shesterkin was recovering from an injury - and he looked pretty good.

For example, on January 3, he made 33 saves in a match with Edmonton and was recognized as the third star of the match.

Even the head coach Gerard Gallan praised him then, stressing that he had two strong goalkeepers at his disposal.

And the fans were so impressed with the actions of the athlete that they chanted his name.

Finally, at the end of the season, Alexander scored shutouts in fights with Philadelphia and Carolina.

Nevertheless, Georgiev could not compete with Shesterkin when he was healthy and in good shape.

In 53 matches, Igor allowed himself to be upset only 106 times and achieved an excellent utility indicator - 0.935.

Not surprisingly, following the results of the regular championship, he received the Vezina Trophy as the best goalkeeper.

And in the Stanley Cup, the Olympic champion almost single-handedly dragged the team to the conference finals.

At the same time, Georgiev did not enjoy the confidence of Gallan at the decisive moment, even if his compatriot made mistakes.

In the playoffs, he played only twice, and both meetings fell on the series with Pittsburgh.

In the first, Shesterkin missed four and was replaced in the first break, in the second - six in 40 minutes.

But in the following games, Igor still went on the ice.

Alexander, one gets the impression, is simply tired of the role of a backup and intends to prove himself as the first number.

And he still has enough time for this, because the World Cup bronze medalist recently turned 26 years old, which is not age for a goalkeeper.

In Colorado, he will finally get a chance to get out from behind the backs of competitors.

The Avalanche, although quite unexpectedly taking the Stanley Cup, could not boast of a strong goaltending line, such as, for example, the opponent in the Tampa Bay finals with Andrey Vasilevsky in the lineup.

The main was Darcy Kemper, who missed 38 goals in the playoffs and has a rather modest reliability indicator (0.902).

His replacement, Pavel Francouz, appeared on the ice less often, but acted at the same level (0.906).

In addition, both goalkeepers have crossed the 30-year milestone, and it is impossible to bet on them in the long term.

In addition, the Czech also regularly gets injured.

Kemper, according to media reports, after the arrival of Georgiev may leave the team altogether.

Allegedly, this is due to the fact that the club has no place left under the salary cap.

However, it is unlikely that the departure of the Canadian will greatly upset the Avalanche, because in the person of the Russian they have received a reliable promising goalkeeper who has everything to become the first number and prove himself.

In addition, he did not have to offer a serious contract.

But if Igor becomes the leader of the Colorado, he will definitely earn his money.