Earlier this evening the Buffalo Sabres announced that they had signed two-time NHL season wins leader goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year, $825,000 contract. He is the first hockey player born in Bulgaria to play in the league. Georgiev was raised in Russia where they moved soon after his birth and played in Russia and Finland before making his way to North America.
The 29-year-old went undrafted in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft but was then invited to the New York Rangers development camp from where he signed a three-year deal. The Rangers then extracted a king’s ransom for his trading rights as he became a pending free agent from the Colorado Avalanche, gaining third-round and fifth-round picks in the 2022 NHL entry draft and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.
He signed a three-year, $10.2 million contract with the Avs and had two back-to-back career years, leading the league in both years in wins for goaltenders with 40 and then 38. Georgiev was then part of a seven-player-trade package that sent him to the San Jose Sharks last December.
Georgiev appears to have peaked in that first year at Colorado, because since then his numbers have plummeted in a very concerning manner. There are no underlying stats to redeem him either – his goals against average (GAA) has gone from 2.58 to 3.88, and his save percentage (SV%) also swinging negatively from .919 to .875.
For comparison’s sake, last season’s starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was at 3.20 and .887, James Reimer at 2.90 and .901, and Devon Levi at 4.12 and .872. Free agent Alex Lyon was signed this summer, and he had 2.81 and .896 with the Detroit Red Wings last season.
With prospects Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen also signed, this is how we should see things shaking out rosterwise with Georgiev and Levi possibly pushing each other at the Amerks.
A one-year “show-me” contract minimizes the risk on the Sabres’ side if Georgiev’s steady decline is indeed confirmed. On the other hand, can he find a spark here that bucks the trend, it’s a gamble General Manager Kevyn Adams is willing to take on a pretty cheap short deal. The dual citizen Russian-Bulgarian has played in twenty playoff games at a 2.72 and .904, might be useful to keep around and see if he would like to stick around in Buffalo?
Finally, it also lets both Ratzlaff and Leinonen duke it out in the relatively safer confines of the ECHL, and see if there’s a clear contender between them.
Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
– Ukko Pekka Luukkonen
– Alex Lyon
Rochester Americans (AHL)
– Devon Levi
– Alexandar Georgiev
Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL)
– Topias Leinonen
– Scott Ratzlaff