Around the NHL: The Avalanche trade for a goalie (again)

Blackwood, a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end, was the best netminder on the market this season. In 19 games with the Sharks, Blackwood has a .911 save percentage and a 2.95 goals-against average while facing on average 30 shots a game. Last season, he had an .899 save percentage and a 3.45 goals-against average while facing on average 31 shots a game.

He’s started for a good team in the past, as in 2019-20 with the New Jersey Devils, he had a .915 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average in 47 games played. If you read the What’s Going On In the Pacific Division series, you’ll know I’m a big fan of the netminder.

This is a good package for the Sharks, as the Avalanche retained 14% of Georgiev’s salary. They also get a young player in Kovalenko, who has four goals and eight points in 28 games in his rookie campaign. While the fifth-round picks are a swap, the Sharks will get a second-round pick in the 2025 draft, furthering their rebuild.

Jacob Trouba traded to the Ducks

Speaking of rebuilding teams in the Pacific Division, the Anaheim Ducks acquired former New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba last Friday. In return, the Ducks took the entirety of his salary while giving up a 2025 fourth-round pick and Urho Vaakanainen.

Trouba spent parts of six seasons with the Rangers after being drafted and traded by the Winnipeg Jets. In 364 games with the Rangers, he scored 31 goals and 136 points, including a career-high 11 goals in 2021-22. Before the trade, Trouba had six assists in 24 games with the Rangers.

The right-shot defenceman played his first game for the Ducks on Monday evening against the Montréal Canadiens, leading the games in hits with five, along 22:35 minutes played on the ice, second for the Ducks.

Vaakanainen was selected 18th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2017 draft, but his career hasn’t lived up to expectations. The left-shot defenceman has played 141 career games, scoring a lone goal with 14 points. Last season, he scored that goal along with 14 points in 68 games with the Ducks.

Chicago Blackhawks fire Luke Richardson

Sticking with rebuilding teams, the Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Luke Richardson after the team started 8-16-2.

Richardson was hired as the 40th head coach in franchise history, spending parts of three seasons with the team where he amassed a 57-118-15 record. His first season with the team, 2022-23, saw the Blackhawks win the lottery and select potential generational talent, Connor Bedard first overall in the 2023 draft.

The Blackhawks finished with a .317% point percentage in 2023-24 and were pacing to do better this season, as they had a .346 point percentage through their first 26 games.

Taking over for Richardson under interim status is Anders Sörensen. The Swedish-born coach has been in the organization since 2014-15 and was the Blackhawks’ American Hockey League coach from 2021-22 until he was promoted on Dec. 5.

Sörensen is the first Swede to serve as a National Hockey League head coach and just the third non-North American head coach in league history. Ironically, the Blackhawks had one of the other non-North American head coaches behind the bench, Alpo Suhonen, back in 2000-01. The team went 29-40-8-5.