from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

Joe Sakic’s patience has paid off in the past, but the Avalanche general manager is playing with fire if he fails to upgrade the team’s goaltending depth in the immediate future.

Unproven rookie goalie Hunter Miska, the current backup to Philipp Grubauer, has the NHL’s worst save percentage (.838) and second-worst goals-against average (4.14) among those who have played at least five games. At this point, it’s clear the 25-year-old Miska is not an NHL-caliber goaltender. That doesn’t mean he won’t become one. It just means the Avs have poor depth at a position that requires two solid options — particularly this year in a condensed schedule....

During Wednesday’s option practice, Bednar was again asked about Miska, whom he spoke to that morning.

“I wasn’t expecting miracles out of this guy,” Bednar said. “It’s not an ideal situation. I don’t know that he’s ready to be an NHL backup at this point, but he’s been a good option for us and I just want him to keep working and trying to get better. We’re not going to indict him on a couple bad games nor are we willing to sign him to a five-year deal if he had pitched a shutout. It’s just not the way we operate. It’s constant evaluation. I just want him to keep his head up, not worry about it, put that behind him, learn from it and get ready for his next start whenever that is.”

Bednar also said Wednesday there is no update on the lower-body injury to goalie Pavel Francouz, who began the year as Grubauer’s backup but has not played a single minute. Francouz is on long-term injured reserve and he’ll presumably still be unavailable up to the April 12 trade deadline.

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