Colorado Avalanche Trade for Phillip Grubauer

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NHL

Colorado Avalanche Trade for Phillip Grubauer

The Colorado Avalanche traded for Phillip Grubauer and have made a big splash in the offseason. They have also addressed their goaltending quagmire with Jonathan Bernier leaving in free agency.

The question is, how good can he be in maroon and blue? He was good enough to get the start from Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz in the playoffs last season. However, that was short lived as he was replaced after two losses for Braden Holtby. He did not start another game for the Stanley Cup champion Caps in their playoff run. That being said, getting the starting nod in the playoffs was an incredibly strong statement from the Capitals.

“Not getting to play, no player likes it, but it is part of the team, part of hockey,” Grubauer said of being pulled in the playoffs. “Not everybody can play the whole time, and in the end, Barry [Trotz] makes the decision of who is in the lineup, and you have to accept that if you like it or not, nobody likes to sit out. Even if I didn’t play, I was supporting the guys.”

Two Number One Goaltenders

The 26-year-old, Rosenheim, Germany native, will look to solidify his position as a number one goaltender going into training camp. The plan from GM Joe Sakic is to use Grubauer and Semyon Varlomov in an alternating role. For most of Varlomov’s career, he has struggled to stay healthy. One way to keep him healthy and limber is to keep him fresh. Having two legitimate number one goaltenders will allow Varly to rest more. Both goaltenders will count for more than $9 million against the cap next season. Varlomov will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He will most likely be moving on to greener pastures. Most fans wanted the Avalanche to draft a goaltender for the future and that did happen, but Sakic addressed this need immediately with the signing of Grubauer.

Grubauer Wants to be a Number One

“I tried to play my game, tried to be consistent the last couple years and win some games and get some points, and hopefully teams and other people saw that,” Grubauer said. “That was my goal, to be a No. 1 starter.”

Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs are in the rearview mirror, Grubauer gets another shot to cement his role as a number one goaltender with a new franchise. Starting 10 of the Capitals’ final 17 regular season games, Grubauer compiled a 7-3-0 record with a .925 save percentage and a 2.31 goals against average. In the 27 appearances since he recorded his first win in late November, Grubauer was the steadiest goaltender in the league with a .937 save percentage and a 1.93 goals against average.