DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche have swapped goaltenders with San Jose, sending a struggling Alexandar Georgiev to the Sharks for Mackenzie Blackwood.
As part of the deal announced on Blackwood’s 28th birthday, the Avalanche also acquired forward Givani Smith along with San Jose’s fifth-round pick in 2027. The Sharks received forward Nikolai Kovalenko and two draft picks — a fifth-round selection in 2025 and a second-round pick in 2026.
Colorado will retain 14% of Georgiev’s contract, which equates to approximately $476,000. He was in the last season of a three-year, $10.2 million deal.
The 28-year-old Georgiev had a slow start to the season, even spending some time on the bench. He is 8-7 with a 3.38 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage.
Georgiev was acquired by Colorado in a deal with New York Rangers on July 7, 2022. He made the NHL All-Star Game a year ago in a season when he finished with a league-leading 38 wins. He wound up 86-41-11 in an Avalanche sweater.
Blackwood is off to a slow start, too, with an 0-2-2 mark. But he has a 2.72 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage over his last 14 appearances. On Oct. 22, Blackwood celebrated his 200th career game by stopping 37 of 39 shots in a 3-1 loss to Anaheim.
The Sharks initially acquired Blackwood from New Jersey in 2023 for a sixth-round pick. By trading Blackwood to the Avalanche, the Sharks were able to net a prized prospect in Kovalenko and future assets in the draft.
A rookie this season, Kovalenko has four goals and four assists over 28 games. He’s currently ninth in goals among first-year players. The 25-year-old Kovalenko made his NHL debut during Game 4 of Colorado’s first-round playoff series last season. He became the sixth player in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to have his NHL debut arrive in the playoffs.
Smith has played in six games for San Jose this season. The 26-year-old was originally selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2016 draft.
