When the Colorado Avalanche began the 2021 regular season, they did so without their backup goalie. At some point during training camp, Pavel Francouz suffered a lower body injury, making him unavailable. Now, more than a month later, he finds himself on LTIR and the Avalanche could be looking to trade for a goalie as a result.
Last season, when Philipp Grubauer was hurt, Francouz stepped in to start 34 games as an NHL rookie. He put up a great .923 sv% while finishing sixth in the league in goals saved above average—directly ahead of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Robin Lehner.