I had been hearing murmurs that this was going to be the case, as he had yet to make an appearance for any recent Captain’s Skate’s, but it appears the news is out there – Pavel Francouz is unlikely to be ready for the start of training camp for the Colorado Avalanche.
And from the sounds of it, there’s a chance he won’t be ready to start the season.
Just as I was headed to the mountains for a wedding, Frank Seravalli from the Daily Faceoff reported that the Avalanche are currently examining the goaltender market. Francouz, who had offseason surgery on his adductor, has not completely recovered from the procedure.
Francouz did skate briefly back in early August at Family Sports, but never took shots. This really isn’t a surprise, and as I mentioned earlier, word around the rink was that he wasn’t quite ready.
Justus Annunen has been skating with the NHL players, but from the sounds of it, the Avalanche may look at other options to back up Alexandar Georgiev. It might not have to be trade, either. If they’re patient, they might be able to snag a goaltender off waivers to help in the short-term. It’s unknown how long Francouz will be out, but Seravalli reported that the concern is he will miss “some time.”
One team to monitor for the goaltender market is Montreal. They currently have 3 NHL goaltenders on their roster, and are unlikely to keep them all. On top of that, they have Cayden Primeau in the AHL who is ready to play in the NHL. There are always goalies available on the waiver wire right before the start of the season, so Colorado will likely have options.
Stay tuned to CHN as more news comes in. The NHL squad hits the ice for camp exactly one week from today.
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