The Colorado Avalanche don’t necessarily have a goalie competition at hand right now, but rather a strong goaltender room. Mackenzie Blackwood was brought in last year to be the team’s long-term starter, and Wedgewood the hopeful long-term backup.
Wedgewood has an 11-1-3 record for the Avalanche this season while Blackwood had to stay out of the lineup due to an injury. He has a .917 save percentage to go along with a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.17. In the world of hockey, a goals-against average of under 3.00 is considered good, so he’s got that down.
Blackwood struggled in his three starts of the season, allowing three goals in the first game, four in the second, and another three in the third. His save percentage on the year is .870, while he’s allowed a goals-against average of 3.28. He has yet to shake off the rust—at least through those games. Maybe his fourth start of the season will go a lot better. The Avalanche sure hope that is the case.
If not, Wedgewood has proven that he can take on a big workload. With the Avalanche last season, he played in 19 games, starting 18, and going 13-4-0-1 in that span. He just continues to show that he’ll be with the Avalanche as long as they need him.
On Sunday night against the New York Islanders, Wedgewood came in absolute clutch, only allowing one goal. The play in front of him in the defensive zone wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, which forced their goalie to make some highlight-reel saves. It blew my mind how well Wedgewood moved in that game. For instance, check out this save he made in the second period. I’m honestly surprised that he didn’t get hurt while pulling off some of the moves that he did.
Blackwood’s deal with the Avalanche has him making $5.25 million for five years, while Wedgewood’s is at $1.5 million this year and then $2.5 million for 2026-27. Based off of those numbers, Blackwood is still the guy. However, There’s no shame in having two amazing goaltenders. Blackwood has shown in the past that he is the guy for the job. He will just take some time to get back to his normal self. The more he plays, the better the team in front of him should get, just like what happened when Wedgewood came into the game.
It’s a long season, so both goaltenders should get a fair share of starts, especially if the other one struggles at any point. I have confidence that Blackwood will get right at some point. Heck, maybe as soon as his very next start. Even if he doesn’t, the season is very long and there’s no reason to worry at this point. Colorado is in first place in the NHL right now and the first team to reach 30 points on the year. They are tied with the Devils with 13 wins on the year and are clearly atop the league as the best team.
We’ll see if they are able to keep that going throughout the whole year.