​Why couldn’t Mackenzie Blackwood hold the starting job? Does missing camp really affect an entire season that much? Is he still dealing with an injury, or does he have the yips? If he can’t be the outright starter, should Colorado consider trading him, given the other netminders in the pipeline?
Starting with that last point, it seems the season ahead will shape the future of Colorado’s goaltending options. If the team regresses to last year’s pattern, I could see Colorado keeping Scott Wedgewood for at least another year and perhaps moving on from Blackwood entirely. At that juncture, you’d want a clearer sense of what Ilya Nabokov can become, or you’d likely need to bring in another netminder to share duties with Wedgewood. You can’t pile that much pressure onto a rookie.
That said, I believe the organization will give Blackwood every chance to prove he can be the guy before contemplating a trade. He enjoyed a strong stretch in 2024-25 after the Avalanche acquired him, marking significant progress toward establishing himself as a permanent starting goalie. For a player still trying to cement that role, missing training camp seems to have hurt him more than it would have a veteran, like Connor Hellebuyck, perhaps. It’s not only the physical aspect of missing camp but also the mental preparation and focus. To me, it looked like he experienced a bit of the yips after the Olympic break. Injuries or not, Jared Bednar gave him every opportunity in the playoffs, but Blackwood couldn’t seize the moment.
So, how will he respond this coming season? I’m optimistic about his prospects, especially when you consider the message he sent with his Game 4 performance and his reflective postgame remarks after the Western Conference Final. He clearly wants this.
On a related note, will Cale Makar need offseason surgery to address the injury he sustained against Minnesota? It appeared to involve the shoulder, and shoulder injuries are notoriously tricky—easy to fix but challenging to keep fixed. Could this affect his negotiations? There hasn’t been official confirmation from Joe Sakic that Makar’s issue is a shoulder, though his comment that “we all know the injuries” hints at a shoulder matter. In a recent chat, Sakic reiterated that healthy players are the expectation for training camp and emphasized that offseason surgeries, if necessary, would be announced. While the specifics weren’t laid out, the implication is clear: if Makar needed an operation, the organization would inform fans, and any such procedure would be publicly disclosed.
Bottom line: I wouldn’t be overly stressed about Makar’s injury. He should be ready for September. Looking ahead, Blackwood’s ability to grab and hold the starting role will be the defining storyline of the Avalanche’s goaltending situation this season. If he can recapture the form he showed in the previous year and demonstrate consistency, Colorado may not need to pursue a trade. If not, the front office will have to weigh the value of Blackwood against the potential cost and certainty of a reliable veteran or a younger goaltender in the pipeline. The season will reveal whether Blackwood is the long-term answer or if roster adjustments are on the horizon.