by Goaltending has been a bit of a question mark for the Avalanche. The front office seemed to think he was ready to make a move for the good of the team, and that move came sooner than some thought.
It was announced Saturday morning that the Colorado Avalanche had traded goalie Justus Annunen and a 6th round pick in the 2025 draft to the Nashville Predators for goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Both goalkeepers play backup roles for their respective teams. With this move, the Avs are trading experience to support their clear starter, Alexandar Georgiev.
Mandatory credit: Casey Gower-Imagn
Wedgwood comes to Colorado having played in five games so far this season, starting in 4 of them. He holds a 1-2-1 record thus far, with a .878 save percentage and 3.69 goals against.
His all-time record is 49-50-23 since his NHL debut in 2015. The 32-year-old from Brampton, Ontario has played with the New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes, the Dallas Stars and, more recently, the Predators.
Wedgewood was drafted 84th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the next few years in the OHL with the Plymouth Whalers. After the 2011-12 season, he then played with the Devils AHL team, formerly the Albany Devils/Binghamton Devils, now the Utica Comets, and their ECHL affiliate until his NHL debut in 2015 with the New Jersey Devils.
Related: Avalanche signs goaltender Justus Annunen to 2-year contract
Justus Annunen has been in the Colorado system since 2018, when he was drafted 64th overall by the Avalanche. He made his NHL debut in December 2021 and has since played in 29 games with the Avalanche, where he had a 0.902 SV%, 2.81 GAA and two shutouts. The 24-year-old netminder has a record of 16-9-2 in those 29 games and was 6-4-0 this season alone in the crease.
The Avalanche will play Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers. After playing a game Friday, their first back-to-back game this weekend, they will not hold a morning practice Saturday. Alexandar Georgiev will likely start, but Scott Wedgewood should be on his way to Denver to back things up.
