Despite a solid season as Washington's starter and an adequate playoff performance, Washington would demote Neuvirth to backup goaltender status to make way for Tomáš Vokoun, trading away incumbent backup Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche in the process.
Washington decided to drop Neuvirth to reserve goaltender status despite his solid performance as the team's starter and decent playoff results. This allowed them to bring in Tomáš Vokoun and trade away their existing backup, Varlamov, to the Colorado Avalanche.