Goaltending help is on the way.
The Avalanche have acquired goaltender Jonas Johansson from the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in exchange for a 2021 sixth round draft pick. Johansson, 25, is winless (0-5-1) in six starts for the NHL-worst Sabres this season.
Johansson was held off the ice for Friday’s practice with the Sabres as trade talks began to heat up. Buffalo’s coach Don Granato said he was instructed to hold him from practicing but that he had not been traded at that point.
Born in Gavle, SWE, Johansson was drafted 61st overall by Buffalo in 2014. He has just one win in 11 NHL starts. His most successful professional campaign was in 2019-20 with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.
Johansson was 14-4-3 with a .921 save percentage, a 2.28 goals-against average and recorded two shutouts.
The Avalanche have been without their backup goalie Pavel Francouz since the third game of the season. Francouz, who is out long term, has yet to suit up for Colorado in 2021.
Without Francouz, the Avs have used starter Philipp Grubauer 23 times over the first 28 games. Avs coach Jared Bednar said in training camp that he was looking for a 60-40 split between Grubauer and Francouz but Grubauer has been relied on to play more than expected.
Hunter Miska, the Avs’ third-string goalie, has started five games for Colorado but has been unreliable. The goaltender is 1-1-2 in five starts. In his most recent game Tuesday, which was recorded as a no-decision, Miska surrendered four goals to the Anaheim Ducks on just seven shots before being replaced by Grubauer. The Avs went on to win that game 8-4.
Sakic had been in search of goaltending help for Grubauer for a while but that search heated up after recent games from Miska.
