Is Blackwood Simply A Good Bad-Team Goalie?

In his epic hockey tome The Game, Hall of Fame netminder Ken Dryden spoke about in the NHL there being good bad-team goalies and good good-team goalies. He would cite Denis Herron, the man who replaced him between the pipes with the Montreal Canadiens as an example of a good bad-team goalie.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins, Herron  displayed sensational puckstopping skills while performing behind a poor team and facing a steady barrage of shots. Moving to the Canadiens and a team that was playing stellar defense and limiting the Grade A chances he needed to deal with, Herron was never able to replicate his Pittsburgh caliber.

The reason we’re bringing this up is Monday’s trade that brought Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks to the Colorado Avalanche. Certainly, by exchanging Alexandar Georgiev for Blackwood, the Avs are seeking an upgrade in the performance of their No. 1 goalie. But will they be getting that uptick?

History suggests the answer will be no. With the Sharks, where he was sometimes facing up to 50 shots a night, Blackwood was looking impressive. But prior to arriving to play with the woeful Sharks, Blackwood was launching his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, who were viewing him as their goalie of the future.

Instead, in three of his five seasons with the Devils, Blackwood would turn in a goals-against average above 3.00. In two seasons, his save percentage would dip below .900. 

There’s a feeling among hockey people that Blackwood is a modern-day version of a good bad-team goalie. He was able to excel in San Jose when the pressure was off. Now he’s going to be put under the spotlight of expectations in Colorado. Will it turn out better for him than he fared in New Jersey?