Colorado Avalanche acquire Philipp Grubauer & Brooks Orpik for second rounder

The Colorado Avalanche made a huge splash at the start of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by significantly bolstering their goaltending depth before the first selection was even made.

It was announced just hours before the first round was set to begin that the Avalanche had acquired Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Brooks Orpik from the Washington Capitals in exchange for the 47th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Orpik and Grubauer will head to Colorado fresh on the heels of their Stanley Cup win with the Capitals, with Grubauer set to hit restricted free agency on July 1st.

Drafted 112th overall by the Capitals in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Grubauer has appeared in 101 regular season career NHL games, all with Washington. He’s put up a collective .923 regular season save percentage in the process, boasting six shutouts in total and a .620 career quality start percentage. This year, he recorded three of those shutouts in 35 games for Washington, helping to bolster their goaltending while Holtby struggled down the back half of the season.

This should help the Avalanche when it comes to having a healthy tandem in net next year.

Orpik, on the other hand, will add some veteran presence and potential bottom pairing depth to the Avalanche blue line. Unless what Pierre LeBrun is saying is true, and the Avalanche intend to either trade or buy-out Orpik’s final year at $5.5 million. A buy-out will cost Colorado $1.5 million in the first year (2018-19), and $2.5 million in the second year (2019-20).