29-year-old goalie was All-Star in 2024, when he led NHL in wins

Alexandar Georgiev signed a one-year, $825,000 contract with the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

The 29-year-old goaltender went 15-26-4 with a 3.71 goals-against average and .875 save percentage in 49 games (47 starts) for the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks last season. He was traded to San Jose as part of the deal for goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on Dec. 9, 2024.

Georgiev will look to regain the form he found during his first two seasons in Colorado. In 2022-23, he tied for the NHL lead in wins (40) and set career bests in GAA (2.53), save percentage (.919) and shutouts (five). The following season, he led the League in wins (38) and played in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time.

Signed by the New York Rangers as an undrafted free agent on July 19, 2017, Georgiev is 151-108-26 with a 2.99 GAA, .903 save percentage and 15 shutouts in 303 regular-season games (288 starts) for the Rangers, Avalanche and Sharks. He is also 9-10 with a 2.72 GAA and .906 save percentage in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games (18 starts).

Georgiev is the second goaltender Buffalo has added this offseason, joining Alex Lyon, who signed a two-year, $3 million contract ($1.5 million average annual value) on July 1. They will look to compete for playing time with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who made an NHL career-high 55 starts last season, and Devon Levi.