Avalanche season grades: Andrew Hammond

He won exactly one game in his first season with the Avalanche. But what a win it was, right? For a couple days there, Hamburglar Fever gripped the Mile High City. And then it didn’t.

Andrew Hammond played four games with the Avs, so, like the grade we did Tuesday for Rocco Grimaldi, this will be shorter than the rest.

Let’s get to it:

OVERVIEW

He was considered a throw-in to the Nov. 5 Matt Duchene trade. He went on an incredible 20-1-2 run as a new goalie with the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15, earning the nickname “The Hamburglar.” Injuries and some subsequent subpar play with the Senators were an unfortunate aftermath of that amazing run.

He spent most of his time right after the trade with Belleville of the AHL, then moved to the San Antonio Rampage. When injuries struck both Avs’ goalies, Hammond was called up and got a March 28 start at home against Philadelphia. After a slow start, he played well from there, but got the loss, 2-1 against the Flyers.

He served out the rest of the regular season, and into the playoffs, as the backup to Jonathan Bernier. When he went down in Game 4, he became the new starter.

BIGGEST MOMENT

Well, duhhhhh. That would be April 20 – just last month still – Game 5 of the first round against Nashville. Hammond was amazing, making 44 saves in a 2-1 Avs victory. He was the toast of the town – for 48 hours. The next game didn’t go as well.

It was a great story while it lasted, though. Everybody loves a good underdog story, and this was a great one. The fact that it came in a hostile building, in a potential closeout game, made it that much better.

WHAT’S NEXT

After his huge season with Ottawa, Hammond signed a three-year, $4.05 million contract with the Senators. It was a one-way deal, so even though he spent most of last season in the minors, Hammond still made $1.5 million. That contract has run out, however.

He can be an unrestricted free agent July 1. At 30, he’s not a kid anymore, but he’s not old either. Goalies tend to have longer shelf lives than position players. I think he’ll find employment in the NHL next season, or at least a two-way deal that could put him back in the league at any moment.

Could he return to the Avs? Well, that’s an unknown at the moment. If Bernier leaves as a UFA, the chances of him getting an offer from the Avs go up. If he re-signs, it’s highly unlikely Hammond comes back here.

FINAL GRADE

A-

Hey, any guy who can come off the shelf like he did and win a playoff game on the road gets an A from me. He only allowed two goals in the loss to Philly, in his one regular-season start. Yeah, I know he was pretty bad in Game 6, but the whole team was awful.

If that’s all there was to Hammond’s Avalanche career, it wasn’t much. But we’ll always have April 20.