The Colorado Avalanche saw their terrible goaltending performance in the first game of the season against Vegas and decided to make a move by claiming goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets off waivers.

Kahkonen, 28, signed with the Jets in the offseason after bouncing between the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils last season. His time with the Sharks was disappointing behind a terrible team, as he posted a 6-20-3 record with an .895 save percentage and 3.81 (!!) goals against average before being traded to the Devils at the trade deadline landed.

His play improved from there, as he posted a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA, but still finished with a 1-4 record.

While Kahkonen likely won’t push Alexandar Georgiev for the starting goaltender spot in Denver, it looks like the Avs have created more competition for Justus Annunen. Kahkonen has performed well as a backup around the league, particularly with the Minnesota Wild.

It should also be noted that Colorado previously had a strong interest in Kahkonen and was even involved in trading his services at the deadline last season before the Devils ultimately won.

The addition muddies the situation a bit and is reminiscent of last year’s claim by Ivan Prosvetov, who played 11 games for the Avs before being sent to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) and replaced by Annunen, who played well in his 14 appearances for the Avs The Avs played last season (.928 SV% and eight wins in just 12 starts).

Both Georgiev and Annunen had disastrous performances on Wednesday night, as they combined to give up seven goals on just 20 shots on goal, which immediately raised questions about whether the Avs had the goaltending needed for a serious Stanley Cup win.

The addition of Kahkonen won’t immediately answer that question, but it shows that the Avalanche front office is keeping a close eye on this problematic situation and is willing to make changes as it sees fit.

From a contract standpoint, Kahkonen only makes $1 million on a one-year deal, so there’s no long-term commitment here and the Avs don’t need to make any major changes to accommodate his commitment.