Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was not named as one of the three goaltenders heading to Italy for the 2026 Olympics. The reveal happened at the top of the hour (noon ET), with goaltenders listed first. Those goalies were former Avalanche Darcy Kuemper, Capitals’ Logan Thompson, and Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues.
The fact that Blackwood was not on the list really sucks because we have seen how much hard work he has put into this season, winning 12 of his 13 starts after going through an offseason surgery and needing time to recover from it. That led Scott Wedgewood to start the first bunch of games of the year.
Blackwood has really come into his own as the Avs’ starter. While we are comfortable with either of the Avs’ goaltenders in net at any point, Blackwood was brought in to be the main guy. The Avalanche signed him to an extension just over one year ago. He’s now signed through the 2029-30 season.
The 29 year old has a GAA (goals against average) of 2.15, along with a .924 save percentage. Ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues, he is tied with several goaltenders with the sixth-most wins this year, while Wedgewood is tied for the number one spot in that category with 17.
Blackwood’ 2025-26 campaign has been very impressive, as well as his first season with the team (2024-25). While the Avalanche may have had the most confidence in their eventual goalie of the future, the fact that he was not a full-time starter in the past was concerning to some. He’s proved doubters wrong.
That’s something that makes the Olympics snub sting. If he didn’t make it after his incredible start to this season, what more will he have to do? Will he have to play lights-out without Cale Makar and Devon Toews right in front of him? The questions will remain, I guess.
He will have a chip on his shoulder for a while. It’s still possible that he can make Team Canada at a later time, but with the Olympics just every four years, making it onto the team one time is so important because you never know what will happen four years from now. That being said, maybe Blackwood will turn into one of the league’s best over that time, and redeem himself next time.