The Colorado Avalanche have their goaltending present and now future secure, locking in Scott Wedgewood to a one-year extension.
Wedgewood, 33, was set to become a free agent after the year. Now he gets a raise from this year’s salary of $1.5 million to $2.5 million to stick in Denver for another season.
Wedgewood has appeared in 14 of Colorado’s 17 games this season, posting a 10-1-2 record, a .913 save percentage (Sv%) and a 2.26 goals against average (GAA). He started 5-0-2, which shares the third-longest goaltender streak without a regulation loss to begin a season in Avalanche/Nordiques history and was one shy of a career-long for Wedgewood regardless of start date. Wedgewood’s current five-game winning streak, dating back to Oct. 28, is tied for the longest of his career.
As of Thursday, Wedgewood’s 10 wins pace the NHL, while his GAA checks in fifth (min. 5 GP). The 33-year-old became the first net minder to reach double-digit victories in 2025-26, hitting the mark in Colorado’s win on Tuesday.
The Avs picked up Wedgewood a little less than a year ago in a trade with the Nashville Predators, which sent a 6th-round draft pick in 2025 and Justus Annunen to Tennessee. Wedgewood has posted a 23-5-3 record with a 2.11 GAA, a .915 Sv% and two shutouts over 33 regular-season appearances (28 starts) with the Avs since the deal.
He made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season and has mostly been a backup. He was actually a third-stringer on the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup in 2019-20.
The hope is that Wedgewood plays a role on the ice this time for a Cup champion, likely backing up Mackenzie Blackwood. The 28-year-old goalie was also acquired by the Avs in a trade last year. He will likely start on Thursday after missing the first 10 games of the season with a lower-body injury. They signed Blackwood to a five-year extension a little less than a year ago, which pays him $5.25 million a year.
Neither goalie has really proved it in the playoffs yet, with just a combined 11 games of experience, but their in-season results the last calendar year have been some of the best goaltending the Avs have had in this contention window.
The deal for Wedgewood gives the Avs a sure-fire backup for Blackwood for another year. It also keeps the door open but the pressure off of the future hope, 2024’s 38th overall pick, Ilya Nabokov, who is off to a slow start in the KHL this year.
This is the second extension the Avs signed this year, rewarding well-playing Gavin Brindley to a two-year deal.
