Colorado Avalanche rewind: Georgiev cements himself as reliable starter; Francouz serves as handy backup

May 11—The Denver Gazette takes one last look at the 2022-23 Colorado Avalanche season and first-round playoff exit with an in-depth review of different position groups. Next on the Avs rewind: defensemen.

Quotable

"It's been an uphill battle, but you have to accept it and live in the moment. I think we did that pretty well.

"It's such a tight group. Everybody's supporting each other. We gave it all, and we'll learn from it and get better next season."

— Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev after the team's Game 7 loss to the Seattle Kraken on April 30

Expectations

Darcy Kuemper, who helped lead Colorado to the 2022 Stanley Cup, got shown the door after just one season with the Avs. The Avalanche opted to not re-sign him, as Kuemper landed with the Washington Capitals.

Instead, the Avalanche acquired 27-year-old Alexandar Georgiev in July after five seasons with the New York Rangers. Georgiev's save percentage declined in each season in New York.

The Bulgarian was widely expected to see the most playing time, with 32-year-old Pavel Francouz and others backing him up.

Reality

Georgiev put together his best NHL season in his first year donning blue, burgundy and silver.

He tied Boston's Linus Ullmark for the most regular-season wins (40) while posting a .919 save percentage and a 2.53 goals against average — both career bests. Georgiev started 62 games in the regular season, while Francouz started 17.

Georgiev also started all seven of the Avs' playoff games against the Seattle Kraken. He allowed 2.6 goals per game and logged a .914 save percentage.

Georgiev will look back at a few crucial Kraken goals that he would like to have back. But the Avs likely wouldn't have sent the series to seven games if not for Georgiev's strong play.

Francouz played well in his small sample size. The Czech netminder posted a 2.61 goals against average and .915 save percentage.

Jonas Johansson, Justus Annunen and Keith Kinkaid combined for six appearances when Georgiev and Francouz didn't play.

Future

With Georgiev under contract for two more years, the position looks cemented for the time being — if he continues to play like he did in 2022-23. And with his contract at just $3.4 million per year, the Avs will likely get great value out of him.

His career was headed in the wrong direction in New York. But Georgiev had a resurgence in his first season with the Avalanche.

And for the second year in a row, Francouz was efficient in his minutes. Francouz had an offseason surgery but is expected to return as Georgiev's top backup for the 2023-24 season.

Johansson announced Wednesday that he's signing to play in Sweden, his home nation. Either Annunen or Kinkaid will likely take the Avs' third goalie spot next year, while the other will be assigned to the AHL's Colorado Eagles.

For a team that has so much uncertainty with its forwards and defenseman, the Avalanche have fewer question marks in goal.