Colorado Avalanche claim seven-year NHL veteran goalie on waivers
The Colorado Avalanche are in desperate need of goaltending help, and on Friday they landed a veteran in the form of Kaapo Kahkonen, who was just placed on waivers by the division rival Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
The past week in waivers in the NHL has been a crazy one, and on Thursday we saw some very intriguing names waived, including veteran goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, who was waived by the Winnipeg Jets after a solid pre-season. Unsurprisingly, the 28-year old has now been claimed, with the Jets Central Division rival the Colorado Avalanche swooping in for some much needed goaltender depth.
Coming into the 2024/25 season, the Avalanche had Justus Annunen serving as the backup to Alexandar Georgiev, but given Kahkonen's experience and relative success at the NHL level, he may now take over as the backup goaltender. Last season, the team were done in by their goaltending in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the team allowing over four goals a game in their two series against division rivals, and now Kahkonen provides them with much needed depth.
Last season, he posted a .923 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA with the New Jersey Devils in six games after a rough start in San Jose, and while he's not going to carry the load, Kahkonen will be a good role player for this team if he finds a role with them or injuries strike in net. On top of that, this move allows the Avalanche to screw over a division rival in the Winnipeg Jets in the process, making this a fantastic move for the Avalanche's front office, so now we will see how this pays off throughout the season.
