Colorado needed a veteran backup goalie for most of the season and they found one as they purchased Devan Dubnyk from San Jose in exchange for the defender Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in 2021. Both teams confirmed the deal. GM sharks Doug Wilson released the following statement on the move:
Devan brought the element of professionalism and perfect class in our locker room, in what was an extremely unique and challenging season. He fit in perfectly with our group and helped mentor many younger players. We thank him for his contributions to our club on and off this season and wish him all the best in Colorado.
The 34-year-old Netminder was in his first season with the Sharks, following an off-season transaction in Minnesota, which San Jose hoped would help him rediscover his form a few years ago. However, this did not happen, as Dubnyk recorded a GAA of 3.18 with a save rate of just .898, figures that were not much better than his last year with Wild.
However, the move to bring Dubnyk makes sense from the perspective of Avs. Pavel Francouz he was injured throughout the season, forcing Philipp Grubuaer to play the vast majority of the games so far, and although he played great, there is a risk of burning him if he continued to stretch. Jonas Johansson was brought in last month to try to help and while he came out of a closing place last night, it clearly wasn’t the solution for the rest of the season. Dubnyk should be able to play a little more often in the last month to help keep Grubauer fresh, at the cost of adding that insurance is relatively low.
Pateryn is moving for the second time this season, having been acquired earlier this year for Ian Cole in a move designed to give them some flexibility and a place for Bowen Byram. Its inclusion is primarily for ceiling matching purposes, as its $ 2.25MM AAV is slightly higher than Dubnyk’s $ 2.167MM (Minnesota pays the other half of that amount out of the off-season transaction) . As a result, Peter Baugh of The Athletic broadcasts (Twitter link) that there is no salary withholding in the transaction. Pateryn split the season between the NHL, the AHL and the taxi team and will likely play a similar role as a deep blueliner or taxi crew for San Jose.
The move frees up a list spot for anyone Alexei Melnichuk or Josef Korenar join San Jose’s running list. Both youngsters could be part of the plan right after next season, so the chance to evaluate one or both in NHL action will be beneficial. Meanwhile, Colorado GM Joe Sakic has now added veteran depth for the second time in as many days since yesterday’s acquisition Patrick Nemeth from Detroit to supplement his list for what he hopes will be a long playoff period.
Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network was the first to report that Dubnyk was going to Colorado while Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet noted first the fifth-round pick goes to San Jose.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.