It didn’t take goalie Mackenzie Blackwood long to establish himself as the Colorado Avalanche’s starter for the present and future after signing a five-year $26.25 million contract extension on Friday.
The Avalanche announced the signing, and a person with direct knowledge of the contract confirmed its value to The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team did not reveal the monetary figure first reported by Sportsnet.ca.
The new contract runs though the 2029-30 season, and validates what the Avalanche expected out of Blackwood in solidifying their goaltending upon acquiring the 28-year-old in a trade with San Jose on Dec. 9. Blackwood has gone 3-1 since the trade with a 2.03 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
“When we acquired Mackenzie a few weeks ago, we wanted to let him get to Denver, get acclimated to his new team, new city and then in due time we’d reach out to him and his representatives,” general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement released by the team. “As I said when we acquired him, we feel like Mackenzie has just gotten better and better every year and he has come in and done a great job with us in his first few starts. He’s a big body, athletic goaltender who is still young and still growing as a goaltender.”
Blackwood shined in his Avalanche debut with 37 saves in a 5-2 win over Nashville, in becoming just fourth NHL goalie to stop at least that many shots in his first game with a franchise. He’s yet to allow more than two goals in each of his four starts with Colorado, and improved his season record to 9-10-3.
Blackwood is completing the second year of a two-year contract, and is on his third NHL team after spending his first five seasons in New Jersey. The Devils' second-round pick in 2015, he was the second goalie chosen in that year's draft.
Overall, Blackwood has an 84-92-25 record with 11 shutouts and a 3.05 goals-against average in 219 career games.
The Avalanche have completely reshuffled their goaltending tandem by also acquiring Scott Wedgewood in a trade with Nashville on Nov. 30.
The two newcomers have provided stability in net for a team that was allowing 3.71 goals per outing through its first 24 games in opening the season with goalies Alexandar Georgiev and rookie Justus Annunen.
Georgiev was dealt to San Jose along with a 2026 second-round pick and rookie forward Nikolai Kovalenko in the trade to acquire Blackwood. Annunen was swapped in the trade with Nashville.
The Avalanche (21-15), who play at Utah on Friday, are 8-3 and allowing an average 2.45 goals in the month of December while making the jump from ninth to sixth in the Western Conference standings.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) defends against a shot by San Jose Sharks center Will Smith (2) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood prepares for the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
KISUMU, Kenya (AP) — The abortion debate in America is putting lives of women thousands of miles away at risk, particularly in Africa.
For decades, U.S. anti-abortion groups have lobbied for more restrictions on abortion at home and abroad. This year, the Trump administration delivered new momentum to the movement exporting “family values” overseas. It announced sweeping restrictions on U.S. funding for organizations that work on abortion-related issues overseas, which can impact up to $30 billion in aid.
These new restrictions build on the work that U.S. anti-abortion groups have been doing for years in Africa, where healthcare systems are highly dependent on foreign funding.
An analysis by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change found that 17 U.S. anti-abortion nonprofit groups spent more than $9.3 million across Africa in 2023 and 2024. That's on top of $16 million they sent to the continent from 2019 to 2022 — which is an underestimate, the researchers said.
The U.S. support has emboldened harassment of those working on reproductive rights. Doctors, nurses and activists in several African countries have been detained, threatened on social media and targeted with lawsuits.
Africa is already the deadliest place in the world to be a woman of reproductive age, with the highest proportions of maternal deaths and unsafe abortions. While the Trump administration and anti-abortion groups say they are protecting lives, healthcare providers and activists say the result is more women dying.
The U.S. State Department, in response to an Associated Press request for comment on the Trump administration’s new rules governing American aid overseas, said: “The American people expect their tax dollars to support programs that save lives ... and reflect American values, not fund abortion-related activities, left-wing social agendas, or wasteful overseas bureaucracies.”
“U.S. assistance continues to support a wide range of maternal and child health services as part of the America First Global Health Strategy,” it said in a statement.
Here are takeaways from the AP report.
It’s difficult to track the full scope of the funding U.S. anti-abortion charitable groups send to Africa.
Publicly available information from the nonprofit tax filings of the 17 groups the Institute for Journalism and Social Change looked at shows the money sent to Africa jumped 50% between 2019 and 2022, to over $16 million.
And the funding kept growing: The organizations spent almost $9.4 million in Africa during 2023 and 2024, previously unreported data analyzed by the group shows.
But that’s “just the tip of the iceberg,” said the institute’s Claire Provost.
Unlike other tax-exempt charitable organizations, U.S.-based churches and some religious groups are not required to complete annual financial disclosures detailing revenue, contributions and expenses.
Marie Stopes International said in a 2024 report that staff at its reproductive health clinics in several African countries reported online and legal attacks from U.S.-based anti-abortion groups and U.S.-funded local organizations. In Congo, it said, health workers have been detained for days for providing legally permissible services before being released without charge.
“The extent of the opposition has made abortion providers fearful of coming into work,” the report said.
In Ethiopia, the group said, the head of the local office of U.S.-based Family Watch International has “targeted and trolled members of our senior leadership team on social media,” and released YouTube videos promoting anti-abortion misinformation.
In Kenya, the names and addresses of staff at reproductive rights organizations have been published online, accusing them of murder.
The owner of a private abortion clinic in Nairobi said staff members have been harassed by police and detained. Officials demand bribes, threatening charges if they don’t pay up, the owner said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions.
The Kenyan Health Ministry, Justice Ministry and the government spokesperson’s office did not reply to repeated AP attempts for comment, including detailed questions sent via email.
An international convention signed by African countries two decades ago declared safe abortion a human right. Known as the Maputo Protocol, it obliges signatory nations to legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal malformation or risk to a woman’s health. But implementation has been spotty, forcing women to seek illicit procedures. Every year, sub-Saharan Africa records over 6 million unsafe abortions, according to the African Institute for Development Policy.
Last year, anti-abortion Christian groups from the U.S., Europe and Africa and high-ranking Kenyan officials gathered in Nairobi for a conference on “Promoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Times.”
Charles Kanjama, vice chairman of African Christian Professionals Forum, the conference organizer, said the debate over abortion is “a culture war.”
And the anti-abortion agenda is gaining momentum.
In May, an appeals court in Kenya overturned a ruling that affirmed access to abortion is a fundamental right — a case led by Kanjama, who said the decision “restored constitutional balance.”
In June, representatives of 20 African countries finalized a draft charter at a conference in Ghana that calls for rejecting sexual and reproductive health rights. It will be voted on by the African Union next year. U.S.-based anti-abortion group Family Watch International’s co-founder, Sharon Slater, was among those fundraising for the charter’s passage at the European Parliament in Brussels this year.
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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE - Anti-abortion activists rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the March for Life in Washington, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE - Schoolgirls walk home past a mural from the women's organization Plan International in Freetown, Sierra Leone, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly, File)
