Colorado Avalanche backup goalie Pavel Francouz is still recovering from abductor surgery and might not be an option to start the season, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday.
“[Avs] appear to be examining options on the goalie market,” he wrote. “Sounds like Pavel Francouz has not completely recovered from his offseason abductor surgery and there is concern he will miss some time. Francouz made just 16 starts for the Avalanche last season.”
The 33-year-old posted an 8-7-1 record in Denver last season, with a very respectable .915 save percentage. Francouz is one of four goalies under contract with the team, along with starter Alexandar Georgiev and prospects Justus Annunen, Trent Miner and Arvid Holm.
The NHL Free Agency goaltender pool has gotten extremely thin after Martin Jones signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The only options on the wire are veterans Jaroslav Halak, Michael Hutchinson and Brian Elliott.
Instead, the Avs could let the young guys play. That would likely mean Annunen would become the backup; the 23-year-old has played four games over two seasons with the team.
With Gabriel Landeskog's $7 million cap hit on long-term injured reserve as the captain continues rehabbing from knee surgery, the team has around $525,000 in cap space to work with, per CapFriendly.
If Pavel Francouz ends up being placed on LTIR himself, it would free up an extra $2 million in space.
It will be interesting to see if the Czech professional will be an option for the team early this season, or if other arrangements must be made as the Avs look to bounce back from a disappointing Round 1 exit in 2023-24.
