Avalanche Recall Justus Annunen in Effort to Solve Goalie Issues

On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Avalanche placed 24-year-old goaltender Ivan Prosvetov on waivers. Prosvetov has only played in 11 games since joining the team from the Arizona Coyotes earlier this season, including eight starts. They proceeded by calling up Justus Annuen from the Colorado Eagles. The move can hold many factors, but let’s dive into what this means for Annunen and the goaltending for the remainder of the season.

Who Is Justus Annunen?

Annunen is a Finish goaltender drafted in the third round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft with the 64th pick. He has spent much of this time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Colorado Eagles. With 114 regular season games played, Anunnen has a 60-29-19 record with a .905 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.76 goals against average. He has seen time in the NHL this season and previous ones, with four games played and has a record of 3-1-1, a .871 SV%, and a 3.94 GAA.

Anunnen has been having a solid season with the Eagles, with a 14-5-4 record, a .908 SV%, and a 2.65 GAA. He last started against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 16 and helped them win the game while, stopping 36 of the 40 shots he faced that night. As stated before, Annunen has never really gotten much of a look in the NHL, only in some somewhat right circumstances with injuries, when it was with Pavel Francouz as a backup for Alexandar Georgiev or when it was Philipp Grubauer in net when he was with the team.

Prosvetov’s Future With the Team

After getting waived by the team, Prosvetov was able to clear waivers, meaning he will be heading down to the Colorado Eagles and playing there until called back up for the remainder of the season. He had a solid start to the season, but his last game was a disaster. He was pulled after giving up four goals on just 13 shots against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 6. He currently holds an 8-4-3 record with a .895 SV% and a 3.16 GAA on the season. This is a surprise for many Avs fans who knew little of Prosvetov when they picked him off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes when they announced that Francouz would miss the entire season. While his play might have been satisfactory for many teams, with the Avalanche, it was not cutting it.

With Georgiev getting the majority of starts this season, Prosvetov has played very irregularly and during long stretches, which could impact his play and has shown at times. Prosvetov is a fantastic guy, but it seems the staff doesn’t have much faith in him currently, and they need to find a solution behind Georgiev. The Avalanche still could use him in the organization, as goaltending depth is still a question mark. His role this season, and if given a contract this offseason, could see him in Annunen’s spot, where he plays as a call-up from time to time in the AHL with Annunen as the potential backup, depending on Francouz’s health and future.

Avalanche’s Current Need For a Reliable Backup Goaltender

With the Avalanche’s current record, they are looking at another all-in push for the Stanley Cup. While their offense has looked great, and the defense at times could be rough, the current goaltending situation is a significant point of emphasis to fix. Georgiev has been incredible, but he has been way overplayed. Currently, with 40 games started, he could potentially be looking at over 70 games started, which is for a team with a lot of ambition to potentially play another 28 games (if they make it to the Stanley Cup and each series goes to game seven). They need another reliable goaltender who can take some games off his back for the rest of the regular season while ensuring they can compete at the highest level.

While Annunen will get a look on the upcoming road trip, the Avalanche are still very much in the market for another goaltender. At this point, they need to see if they have an internal option to help out, which means giving Annunen a real shot. If Annunen performs well, general manager Chris MacFarland may pivot. However, the organization wants more of a sure thing backing up Georgiev, who leads the NHL in games played.

The Avalanche are looking for their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history, and to do so, you need reliable goaltending. While Georgiev has been solid, you must ensure he is healthy and confident come playoff time. So, is it Annunen from the minors, or do they trade for Marc Andre Fleury, Jake Allen, or someone else? This is a topic they must fix before the end of the regular season.