For the past several seasons, the home crease at the Pepsi Center has belonged to Semyon Varlamov - whenever health allowed it. Since joining the Colorado Avalanche in 2011, the Russian-born netminder has been a mainstay, starting more than 350 regular season games. The only netminder in team history with a more prolific record is Patrick Roy; no other goaltender has come close.
Now, though, there’s a belief among many fans that Varlamov’s time with the Avalanche is nearing an end thanks to the addition of two higher-end backups this past summer.
The 30-year old goaltender is in the final year of his contract, and right now it seems like the team isn’t inclined to re-sign him before he hits the free agency market on July 1.