ANAHEIM, Calif. — As an over-age NHL rookie, St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington came out of obscurity to lead the Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup. Binnington, 25 at the time, played just one NHL game before reaching stardom last season.
Could the Avalanche have that kind of goalie in Pavel Francouz, who produced his first career NHL shutout Friday in a 1-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center?
Francouz, 29, is in his first full NHL season, but he’s too old to be considered a rookie. He came to North America for the first time in the summer of 2018, signing a modest two-way contract with the Avs out of the Kontinental Hockey League in Europe.