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DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche acquired Jonas Johansson from the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday in an attempt to shore up their fragile goaltender.
The Sabers received Colorado’s sixth-round pick in a trade agreed to a day earlier. The Sabers had to wait for COVID-19 test results after the Boston Bruins, their most recent opponent, brought four players into NHL protocol on Friday.
Buffalo also had to wait for goaltender Michael Houser, who was signed on Friday, to cancel the waivers to avoid having to call a minors goaltender.
The Avalanche have relied heavily on starter Philipp Grubauer this season, substitute Pavel Francouz sidelined by a lower-body injury. Hunter Miska has replaced Grubauer at times, but he struggled and has a 4.16 goals against average.
Miska was recently sent to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League with Adam Werner being recalled from the Eagles.
Johansson is 0-5-1 in seven games for the Sabers this season, with a 3.79 goals-against average and 0.884 save percentage and a 1-8-2 overall record. The 25-year-old was a third-round pick by Buffalo in 2014.
He got more playing time with the Sabers after starter Linus Ullmark suffered a lower body injury last month. Ullmark is expected to be missing for a few more weeks.
Grubauer was spectacular despite the heavy workload. He’s the first Colorado goaltender to start at least 20 of the team’s first 25 games since Semyon Varlamov in 2012-13.
Grubauer, 29, already has 17 wins. His career record is 18 years, which he has had in each of the past two seasons. Grubauer’s 1.82 goals-against average is the first among goalkeepers. He also has four shutouts.
“It’s great to have this reliable goalie at the back,” said forward Tyson Jost. “He’s been great all year. We need him to continue throughout the year.”
Colorado’s defense was also a big help. The team held their opponents to under 30 shots in a franchise record of 18 straight games. In their last six games, the Avalanche have led the teams by a combined margin of 259-116.
The Avalanche are 18-8-2 mid-season. Their 0.679 percentage is the third best halfway mark since the team moved to Denver.
The Sabers are in wind-up mode as they are in a 0-11-2 slippage and risk extending their playoff drought to an NHL record-breaking 10th season.
This is expected to be the first of many trades for Buffalo. It comes three days since first-year general manager Kevyn Adams hinted that a roster reshuffle would follow after coach Ralph Krueger was fired.
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