Avalanche signs European goaltender

The Colorado Avalanche announced today they have come to terms with goaltender Pavel Francouz (pronounced Fran-soos for those curious) on a one-year contract through 2018-19. It is a one-way deal worth $690,000.

Francouz, 27, has had a circuitous route to North America as he spent several seasons in his native Czech Republic before moving to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, where he has spent the last three seasons. His numbers have been impressive, even for the low-scoring KHL, as he has compiled a .946 save percentage and 1.80 goals-against-average last season in 35 games played.  He has steadily earned more playing time in his three KHL seasons, going from 18 to 30 to 34 games played and his numbers remained excellent.

His playoff performance helped put him on the NHL’s radar this year as he played 12 postseason games, posting a .949/1.90 split as Traktor made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to eventual league champion Ak Bars.

He will represent the Czech Republic at the upcoming World Championships in Denmark, marking the fifth time he will represent his country at the tournament.

His role for the Avalanche is unclear immediately but he has stated previously he is willing to learn the NA game in the AHL if need be. This openness to learning in the minors doesn’t immediately rule out the return of Jonathan Bernier to the Avalanche but it does cast reasonable doubt. Starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov is the only other goaltender currently under contract in the organization as Bernier and Andrew Hammond are unrestricted free agents and Spencer Martin is a restricted free agent for the first time in his career. Martin is expected to return.

Addressing the goaltending position, specifically with Francouz, was mentioned previously in our offseason plan for the Avalanche. This signing is just one step to shoring up an organizational weakness and likely won’t be the last addition to the goaltender position this summer.