Signed by the Rangers as an undrafted free agent on July 19, 2017, Georgiev is 58-48-11 with a 2.94 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and eight shutouts in 129 career games, all with the Rangers.
"When he was a starter, he played really well, and he wanted a bigger opportunity, and he's got that opportunity," Avalanche Executive Vice President / General Manager Joe Sakic said Thursday night at the NHL Draft in Montreal. "He was looking forward to the challenge. What I like about it, he played in a big market. He was in New York. He can deal with a lot of that stuff. We're excited for him."
The 6-foot-1, 178-pound netminder established career-bests in appearances (34), games started (32), and wins (17) in 2019-20 while leading New York goaltenders in each of those categories. As a rookie in 2018-19, Georgiev ranked second among first-year goaltenders in appearances (33) and saves (966), tied for second in shutouts (2), ranked fourth in wins (14), and fifth (min. 10 appearances) in SV% (.914).
Georgiev spent parts of two seasons from 2017-19 with the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, recording a 16-22-7 record, 3.13 goals-against average, .904 save percentage and two shutouts in 48 total contests.
The Ruse, Bulgaria, native moved to Russia shortly after he was born and as a dual citizen of both nations, competes for Russia in international hockey events. He represented Russia at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, posting a 2-0-0 record, both shutouts, to help his country to a bronze medal. He was the second goaltender in the history of the Russian/Soviet National Team to record a shutout in each of his first two career appearances at the IIHF World Championship. Georgiev also skated for Russia at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, going 3-1 with a 2.52 goals-against average in five appearances to help Russia win silver.
