The San Jose Sharks have traded goaltender Devan Dubnyk to the Colorado Avalanche as they proceed with what should be a lengthy and painful rebuild. The 34-year-old doesn’t have the capability to handle heavy workloads anymore, but he should be a fine backup. In return, the Sharks bring back defenceman Greg Pateryn and a 2021 fifth-round pick.
We have acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/MAfx8ZdyUp
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 10, 2021
Sharks Trade Devan Dubnyk
Dubnyk has been a steady and reliable goalie for many years in the NHL. The former 14th overall selection in the 2004 Draft has played in 533 career regular-season games with a .914 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against-average. The Regina, Saskatchewan native consistently posted above-average numbers for years as he moved from the Edmonton Oilers to the Arizona Coyotes to the Minnesota Wild. It was with Minnesota that Dubnyk found a strong stretch of success. He started 59 or more games in four of his seasons with the Wild. He posted a combined .918 save percentage and 2.41 goals-against while receiving both All-Star and Vezina Trophy votes twice.
However, it’s apparent that the heavy workload took its toll on the 6’6″ netminder. His production plummeted in 2019-20 and 2020-21 hasn’t been much better. Dubnyk has a .904 save percentage and 3.03 goals-against for San Jose this year while also saving -1.0 goals-saved-above-average. He’s better than the average backup with his experience, but years of toil have not been kind.
What This Means For the Future
The Avalanche were looking to upgrade their goaltender position and have with this move. This was an area of concern for the Avalanche after losing both of their starting goaltenders in the playoffs. They had to go to Michael Hutchinson with their season on the line. Colorado did not want a repeat of that. With Dubnyk, they get a player who has been to the playoffs before and will be a capable backup to Philipp Grubauer.
Don’t expect Dubnyk to get more than a handful of starts moving forward. The season has only several weeks left and his new franchise doesn’t need more than the occasional spot start. The best-case scenario for the big Canadian is average production and hopefully a shot at the Stanley Cup with a better team in front of him. This new situation could be just what the former lottery selection needs in the final stages of his career.
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