This is the 2025-26 edition — an archived read. Read the 2026-27 report →
Mackenzie Blackwood
Colorado Avalanche Goaltender
A .9116 across 56 games at 28, in his first season on a team that was actually good.
| Season | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | NJD | 23 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 55 | 2.61 | 2 | 669 | .918 |
| 2019-20 | NJD | 47 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 124 | 2.77 | 3 | 1452 | .915 |
| 2020-21 | NJD | 35 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 106 | 3.04 | 1 | 1081 | .902 |
| 2021-22 | NJD | 25 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 79 | 3.39 | 2 | 731 | .892 |
| 2022-23 | NJD | 22 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 60 | 3.20 | 0 | 563 | .893 |
| 2023-24 | SJS | 44 | 10 | 25 | 4 | 140 | 3.45 | 2 | 1383 | .899 |
| 2024-25 | SJS/COL | 56 | 28 | 21 | 6 | 137 | 2.55 | 4 | 1549 | .912 |
| 2025-26 so far | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 252 | 103 | 103 | 28 | 701 | 2.96 | 14 | 7428 | .906 |
This Season So Far
The 2025-26 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.
Last Season
28-21-6 in 56 games between San Jose and Colorado, .9116 with a 2.55 average and 4 shutouts on 1,549 shots.
The split is the story. He arrived in December from a club that was conceding 40 chances a night and became the starter on one of the best defensive teams in the league, and the save percentage barely moved — which is either a compliment or a warning depending on which half you believe.
The Physical Game
6-4 and 225, and he looks immovable when he is on. He takes up the net, he is square more often than not, and he does not have to be spectacular to make an ordinary save.
The lateral quickness is the specific thing separating him from a genuine starter. He is not fast side to side for his size, so a puck moved across the royal road finds him a beat late, and the rebound control is ordinary — he stops pucks and does not always finish the job.
The Mental Game
The consistency has always been the issue rather than the technique. He is prone to stretches where the tracking goes and pucks he normally absorbs get past him, and they have arrived without warning in every season he has played.
What is to his credit is that he spent his best years facing 40 shots a night for rebuilding clubs and never visibly stopped competing. There is no evidence of a goaltender who gives up on a night.
The Intangibles
The first genuine chance of his career, at 28, behind a team that concedes the fewest chances in hockey. Almost any goaltender looks better in that job, and the club needs to be honest with itself about how much of a .9116 is him.
The question that decides Colorado’s season is not the regular one. It is what happens in a series where every save matters and the other club has had six days to find the hole on his glove side.