Avalanche gets their backup goaltender

The Avalanche announced today they have re-signed goaltender Pavel Francouz to a one-year contract. BSN Denver has learned the contract is a one-way deal worth $950,000.

The contract gives Colorado their presumptive backup goaltender to Philipp Grubauer as Semyon Varlamov is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and Joe Sakic made it clear at his recent presser the Avalanche won’t be extending him before the market opens on July 1.

Francouz came across the pond to North America last year after earning KHL Goaltender of the Year honors two years ago. His debut season in the AHL for the Colorado Eagles was nothing short of a success as he earned AHL All-Star honors and backstopped the Eagles to a postseason appearance in their first year in the AHL.

Francouz went 27-20-1 in 49 AHL appearances with a .918 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against-average. He was called by the Avalanche on a couple of occasions but actually saw NHL action in two games. He made two relief appearances for Grubauer and managed to get two hard-luck losses, giving him a record of 0-2-0 despite a .943 save percentage and 1.97 GAA.

Francouz will look to make the transition next season to the backup goaltender for the Avalanche as they move on from the Varlamov era. On paper, it’s a risky plan to go with Grubauer as the clear-cut starter and Francouz as the backup because neither has proven themselves in the roles they’ll be asked to play for the Avs next season.

Grubauer had a strong finish to the season but until February he looked like a disaster of an acquisition for Colorado and Francouz made just the two appearances last year. It could easily work out as both players showed plenty capable but goaltenders are volatiles year-to-year.

Francouz’s signing also gets Colorado one step closer to solving its goaltending questions throughout the organization as they also inked Adam Werner to a two-year ELC earlier this month. He is likely to be the backup for the Eagles or the starter in the ECHL for the Utah Grizzlies depending on how many more goaltender signings Colorado has up its sleeve.

Here’s a fun Francouz highlight: