Avalanche Signs Pavel Francouz

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed goaltender Pavel Francouz (pa-VEHL FRAN-soos) to a one-year contract for the 2018-19 campaign.
Francouz, 27, spent the last three seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL in Russia. He was 15-11-5 in 2017-18 with a 1.80 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage. The Plzen, Czech Republic, native compiled a 32-27-11 record, a 1.73 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage in 83 career regular-season contests and was 8-9 in 18 career postseason games with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.

Prior to the KHL, Francouz played three campaigns with HC Litvinov of the Czech Extraliga, where he registered a 2.23 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage in 140 outings and twice was the recipient of the league's top goaltender award (2012-13 and 2014-15).
Internationally, Francouz will represent the Czech Republic at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark, the fifth time he will compete for his country at the annual event. Francouz split time with the Philadelphia Flyers' Petr Mrazek at the 2017 tournament and went 3-1 with a 1.49 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He also played for the Czech Republic at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, finishing 2-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. The 6-foot, 179-pound netminder also suited up for his country at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship