Colorado before Varlamov
The Colorado Avalanche were off to a good start in the 2010-11’ season with Craig Anderson in net. Anderson was brought in, in the 2009-10’ season to compete with goalie Peter Budaj, which made sense to most of us Avalanche fans. Anderson wound up leading the underdog Avalanche squad to the playoffs before being eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the Conference Quarter-Finals after six games. We were fed up with the “Budaj Experiment” as you would call it, especially after the 2010-11’ season. Budaj split- time with Anderson and ended up going 15-21, with a 3.20 goals against average. Anderson, on the other hand, went 13-15, 3.28 GAA. The Avalanche wound up finishing (30-48-8) and they were searching for answers. Colorado’s goals against was dead last in the NHL allowing 288 goals. I and many others thought Budaj was going to be our next franchise goaltender, but he just never developed into a top-tier goalie. He was average to say the least, a solid number two option for your team. The Avalanche decided to part ways with both goaltenders, which were free-agents, leaving a big question mark at the goaltender position for next season.
The Trade
July 1st, 2011, The Washington Capitals traded goalie Semyon Varlamov, who was the 23rd overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a first-round pick in 2012, and a second-round pick for either 2012 or 2013. The Avalanche was very high on Varlamov, who in three seasons with the Capitals went 30-13-12 with four shutouts, posting a 2.39 goals against average. The stats were very good, but I was a bit skeptical with the trade right away, due to the fact that Semyon was battling injuries, and the Avalanche were investing a first-round pick into him, especially after the kind of season they had. The Capitals pulled the deal in fear they wouldn’t get anything in return for him, because he was contemplating on returning to Russia to play in the KHL. Also, they had a young goaltender in Braden Holtby in the system and were not planning on starting Varlamov the following season. In my opinion, it was a high-risk, high-reward trade for the Avalanche, but I was excited to see what the kid could do.
Early Success/Failures in Colorado
In Semyon Varlamov’s first season as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, he started the 2011-12’ campaign 4-1, leading the Avalanche to a 5-1 record. I immediately jumped on the Varly bandwagon and was strongly convinced the Avalanche won the deal with the Caps. But his early success was short lived, after the game against Chicago on October 20th; he went on a 2-6 stretch. While I was still very excited watching this team progress, it seemed like Semyon was overworked. During the last game of that disastrous stretch, Varly was replaced by veteran goaltender Jean-Sabastien Giguere, who was brought in the same year as Varly. I was honestly surprised the Avalanche benched Semyon, but knew it had to be done at that time, the team wanted to win and now. Jiggy helped push the Avalanche back into the playoff picture, as the team won a franchise best ten-games in the month of December. But after a bizarre play in the Colorado-San Jose matchup on April 5th, Giguere pulled his hamstring, putting the young goaltender Varlamov back in the fire. One of the things I was worried about with Semyon at the time was confidence, could he bounce back from a disastrous run he had, or would he continue to let it get worse. On Game-81 of the season, the Avalanche was in need of a must-win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was exciting for us Avs fans, to be back in the hunt for the playoff race, the excitement was in the air. The Blue Jackets were looking to play spoilers and end the postseason hopes for the young Avs. Varlamov ended up taking the loss 5-2, allowing four goals to a Blue Jackets team that finished the season (29-46-7), and were also 27th of 30 in goals for. The loss was heartbreaking, because it ended a season full of hope for our beloved Colorado Avalanche.
Success Now
The start to the 2013-14 Colorado Avalanche season couldn’t have gone any better for Semyon Varlamov. He is currently 5-1 with a 1.68 goals against average. The team sits at (8-1-0) and first in the Central Division, and is one of the most exciting teams to watch this year. I would think you would have to thank new head coach and former goalie Patrick Roy and J.S. Giguere for the mentorship of Varly. Roy watched a couple of Varly’s workouts over the summer and picked out something. He suggested that Semyon should shift the position of his catching hand by moving it higher, giving the players less of a target. As I’ve noticed, the special trait about Varlamov is that has insane athletic ability for a goaltender – he can make any play on the puck. The potential for him as a player is sky-high. To me, he seems more motivated than ever, which is a good sign for our fan base. He and the Avs have turned the heads of the NHL world with this fantastic start, but one thing is for sure, the Avalanche will go as far as Semyon takes them.
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