Sharks Trade Blackwood to Avs for Kovalenko, Georgiev, 2nd-Round Pick

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The San Jose Sharks have traded Mackenzie Blackwood.

In a blockbuster trade, the Sharks have sent their top goalie and winger Givani Smith, and their own 2027 fifth to the Colorado Avalanche for winger Nikolai Kovalenko, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, the Avs’ own 2026 second-round pick, and a conditional 2025 fifth.

Colorado is also retaining 14 percent of Georgiev’s expiring contract. San Jose will carry $2.924 million of the pending UFA’s $3.4 million AAV.

Blackwood, who turned 28 today, has rebuilt his career with the San Jose Sharks, after he was beset with injuries and inconsistent play with the New Jersey Devils.

Per Evolving Hockey, his +6.77 Goals Saved Expected in All Situations is 15th in the NHL (of 74 goalies) this season, a tribute to his strong play behind a rebuilding defensive group.

He has a different task with the Avs, where he’ll be expected to lead them on a deep playoff run. He’s also set to be a UFA after this season.

Smith, 26, was waived by the Sharks on Sunday and cleared on Monday. The tough winger played sparingly with San Jose over the last two seasons. He’s set to be a UFA after this season.

Kovalenko, 25, is a solidly-built 5-foot-10 winger with some skill, a high-compete forward who San Jose hopes will fill a middle-six role on an improving Sharks squad in the years to come. This is the 2018 sixth-round pick’s rookie season, and he’s got four goals and four assists in limited action this year, 12:00 a night in 28 games. He’s an RFA after this season.

Georgiev, 28, has struggled this year, posting a -6.9 GSAx, 67th in the NHL. But from 2022 to 2024, he led the NHL with 78 wins and his +19.1 GSAx was also 19th in the league (of 113 goalies). So it’s certainly conceivable, like Blackwood, that Georgiev can find his game in San Jose, hopefully before the Trade Deadline or unrestricted free agency this summer.

Both Kovalenko and Georgiev will join the traveling Sharks in Raleigh by Tuesday. San Jose takes on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

Per the San Jose Sharks, these are the terms of the conditional fifth:

“Colorado will instead transfer the worse of their current fourth-round selections in 2025 (Colorado’s own or Vancouver’s selection) if at least two of the conditions are met:

“- Colorado advances to the Third Round of the NHL Playoffs in 2024-25

“- Blackwood wins 25 regular season games from the date of the trade to the end of the 2024-25 regular season

“- Blackwood starts 30 NHL Regular Season games from the date of the trade to the end of the 2024-25 regular season”