On Wednesday, head coach Jared Bednar simply said it was an option. By Thursday, it had become a certainty.
The Colorado Avalanche announced Thursday morning that goaltender Semyon Varlamov would miss the remainder of the 2016-2017 season, after opting to have hip surgery to repair his injured groin.
A lingering issue for the last few years, Varlamov’s groin has seen him sent to the shelf several times this season. Limited to 24 games, the 28-year-old finishes the campaign with six wins, a goals-against average of 3.38 and a save percentage of .898.
With Varlamov no longer an option in net, the Avalanche will no lean on the combination of 24-year-old Calvin Pickard and 21-year-old Spencer Martin; the latter of which made his NHL debut on Saturday.