Devils Ready To Waive On Mackenzie Blackwood?
We tried to tell you this a few years ago. Mackenzie Blackwood absolutely sucks and brings very little to the table. Of course, the Devils won 52 games and were a playoff team this year. Blackwood was involved in just 10 of those wins. Blackwood also didn’t get a start in the postseason.
With New Jersey clearly prioritizing Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek, is now the time to finally move off Blackwood? It appears we don’t have to wait much longer for the inevitable.
Frank Seravalli dropped this nugget in his latest column on Daily Faceoff:
“Scoop: Blackwood is far and away the most likely player to not be issued a qualifying offer this spring. Seen as recently as two years ago as one of the promising, up-and-coming young goaltenders, Blackwood’s stock has dropped steadily by combination of injury and inconsistent play. Over the last three years, he’s appeared in 82 games with an .897 save percentage. It’s possible the Devils could try to find a suitor ready to rehab Blackwood for a late-round pick, but every team knows he’s set to become a UFA otherwise.”
Blackwood is due a qualifying offer of $3.36 million. Based on everything we know about Blackwood, it’s just not a number that makes any sense to pay. As Frank mentions in the snippet, always hurt, not really productive. Even if you’re a team interested in the reclamation project, there is no urgency to trade for him given the circumstances.
Remember when Mackenzie Blackwood vs. Carter Hart used to be a thing? It’s not like fortunes have favored Hart but Blackwood’s stock has totally tanked.
