Colorado Avalanche sign Pavel Francouz to a two-year extension

In the midst of the trade deadline frenzy and shoring up the roster for the rest of the season and playoffs the Colorado Avalanche took care of one key piece of business pertaining to their future in net. No, it wasn’t the rumored depth goaltender the Joe Sakic mentioned but instead an extension for Pavel Francouz.

The contract is for $2 million dollars in each of the next two seasons which is a raise from the $950,000 one-year deal Francouz signed over the summer. With Philipp Grubauer signed only through 2020-21 this gives the Avalanche extra insurance at the goaltending position. Both will be unrestricted free agents at the end of their contracts.

Francouz has been an important contributor for the Avalanche as a backup and in now multiple instances when Grubauer has gone down with injury. He holds a 14-5-3 record with a 2.44 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

With the contract signed through the 2020-21 season, the Avalanche now have fulfilled the goaltending requirement in the Seattle Expansion Draft should they plan to not protect Francouz. A reminder, goalie prospect Adam Werner is exempt from the expansion draft process regardless of how many games he plays this season and next.