The Avalanche are keeping Scott Wedgewood around for another year. The team announced a one-year extension for the goaltender on Thursday following his strong start to the season.
Wedgewood, who was a pending unrestricted free agent, will make $2.5 million in 2026-27.
“It was in the back of my mind and something we talked about in the summer,” Wedgewood said following morning skate. “And then the season started, and obviously got off to a good start, and conversations were had. I was trying to keep it in the back of my mind and just go to work and play for the team.”
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Wedgewood was acquired almost a year ago from the Nashville Predators for Justus Annunen and a sixth-round draft pick. The 33-year-old has been incredible since then, posting a 23-5-3 record with a .915 save percentage and two shutouts. Wedgewood’s Avalanche career began in a relief appearance against the Buffalo Sabres last year, and his contract was signed the morning before Colorado hosts the Sabres at Ball Arena.
Wedgewood is 10-1-2 so far this season and leads the league in wins. He has started 14 of 17 games as the team’s starter. Mackenzie Blackwood rehabbed from an offseason injury.
Wedgewood could’ve likely gotten more money and term elsewhere, but the temptation wasn’t enough to get him to free agency.
“It makes you think. I’m a realist, and looking at it from all sides, right?” Wedgewood said. “So, I started to play well, and it’s like, what could be [out there] if you really want to go down that path? My wife and I were sitting there one day, and I was like, ‘honestly, if I’m around the league right now and you’re looking at a team that you want to go to, or you have a chance to play with a really good team. And with Blackwood being a 50-60 game guy and getting 30 starts, I want my situation.’
“For the situation that I’m in, 33 [years old], haven’t really been a starter. Haven’t been categorized as a starter. Always wanted to be, it’s never out of the question. But it was like just a thought around the whole picture, like, if I came here from the outside, it’s a chance to play 30 plus games, chance to be on a really good team, chance of winning. So when you put it in that perspective, it’s probably the best spot in the league to be a, 1A, 1B with with Blacky and everything that comes with it. It’s a perfect situation.”
Wedgewood has played for good teams before. He was the backup for Dallas in 2023-24 when the Avalanche were eliminated by the Stars in the second round. But his numbers in Colorado are of the charts compared to past years.
“I think my game’s developed. I’ve gotten a lot smarter,” Wedgewood said. “I’ve obviously experienced more and understand what works for me and what doesn’t.”
The Avs have a goalie in the wings in Ilya Nabokov, who is on loan in the KHL. But at 22 years old, the team could take their time developing him.
The start Wedgewood’s had, mixed with the past backup goalie issues the Avs have had made this extension the right thing to do. There’s no reason to rush Nabokov into a role he might not be ready for.
“It probably all everything to do with it,” head coach Jared Bednar said, referring to Wedgewood’s hot start leading to an extension in November. “We’ve got Nabokov coming. We’ve got Blackwood locked in. But Nabokov’s never played in North America or the NHL, so good prospect, but has some growth that he still needs in his game. And when you get a guy that wants to be here and fits in your room and fits in your culture and then performs like this on the ice, I think the natural progression is trying to get him locked up.”
