Avalanche netminder Pavel Francouz confirmed his retirement in an interview with CT Sport on Friday. GM Chris MacFarland instructed reporters final month that retirement was overwhelmingly seemingly for the veteran backup as a result of groin and knee accidents that held him out of the 2023-24 season solely and marred most of 2022-23. The Czechia native performed in elements of 4 seasons with the Avs.
Francouz performed nearly all of his skilled profession abroad, making his top-level debut together with his hometown crew HC Plzen within the Czech Extraliga again in 2008-09. He didn’t latch on as a starter till 2012-13 with HC Litvínov, the place he remained for 3 seasons. He was named the very best goalie within the Extraliga in two of these campaigns, compiling a .928 SV% and 14 shutouts in 140 video games. He was even higher in postseason play with Litvínov, placing up a .949 SV%, 1.57 GAA, and 6 shutouts in 26 video games and ending his run with a league championship in 2015.
He then moved to the brighter lights of the Kontinental Hockey League, signing a three-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Francouz spent one other three seasons with the Russian facet, incomes Finest Goaltender and First All-Group honors within the 2017-18 marketing campaign with an impeccable .946 SV%, 1.80 GAA and 5 shutouts in 35 appearances. He was additionally the starter for Czechia on the 2018 Winter Olympics, placing up a .905 SV% in six video games, however did not medal.
After six seasons of solidifying his resume as one of many high goalies in Europe, Francouz lastly earned his first NHL deal – a one-year, one-way pact with the Avs for the 2018-19 season price $690K. He spent many of the season on project to AHL Colorado, solely making two NHL appearances in aid, however gained the backup job behind Philipp Grubauer heading into 2019-20. He instantly positioned himself as top-of-the-line backups within the league, posting a .923 SV% in 30 begins and 4 aid appearances and incomes some year-end All-Star consideration. Decrease-body accidents sadly reared their head instantly, costing him the entire COVID-shortened 2020-21 marketing campaign. Upon his return, he once more excelled in a backup function behind Darcy Kuemper, making 21 regular-season and 7 playoff appearances because the Avs gained the Stanley Cup.
Sadly, he would by no means absolutely rebound from these lower-body accidents. They restricted him to 16 begins in 2022-23 and price him the entire present season, forcing his retirement at age 33.
Francouz concludes his transient however stable NHL profession with a .919 SV%, 2.49 GAA and 4 shutouts in 64 begins and 9 aid appearances. He compiled a 44-21-6 report for Colorado and saved 25 targets above common throughout his 4 main league campaigns. PHR congratulates Francouz on a spectacular worldwide profession and his stable NHL run and needs him the very best in his post-playing days.
