The Avalanche solved one goaltending problem, but the room could be headed for another shakeup before long.
Colorado overhauled its netminders during the 2024-25 season by moving Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen for Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. The result was a dramatic turnaround, from one of the worst goalie groups in the league to one of the best, and that success carried into the 2025-26 season. Even so, the setup may not stay this way for much longer.
Cap space is part of the reason. Cale Makar’s contract extension is going to take a big bite out of Colorado’s room going forward, and that leaves the goaltending spot as one of the more obvious places to look if the Avalanche need to create flexibility. Blackwood is tied to a $5.25 million average annual value over the next four years, while Wedgewood carries a $2.5 million AAV for this upcoming season.
Wedgewood is the one facing the most immediate pressure. If he doesn’t land a new deal before the season opener on September 30th, he should be spending the season trying to earn one while also fighting to stay in Colorado as a 1A or 1B next to Blackwood. It’s the kind of situation that can turn quickly, so getting something done sooner rather than later would make sense.
Blackwood’s path comes with a different concern: health. Last season, Wedgewood opened the year in the crease because Blackwood was recovering from offseason surgery that kept him out for a while. Wedgewood handled the job well enough to end up with 43 starts, and after arriving as the backup, he gave Colorado a strong enough run to deserve another shot at starting in 2026-27.
Then there’s Ilya Nabokov, the newest name in the mix and the one with the most long-term intrigue. The Avalanche’s recent draft pick was the first goaltender taken in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, and expectations around him are already high.
After being lent to the KHL’s Magnitogorsk Metallurg, he’s now starting with the Colorado Eagles. His path has been uneven so far, but Colorado is hoping his time there gives his NHL future a boost.
If Nabokov forces his way into the NHL picture, that could open the door for a bigger move. In that scenario, the Avalanche could look to trade Blackwood and his $5.25 million cap hit, then use that money to add help elsewhere, especially if injuries start to stack up.
That kind of flexibility could matter beyond the crease, too. Colorado could use a trade acquisition who turns into a long-term piece, particularly on defense, where Josh Manson and Brett Burns won’t be around forever. A depth defenseman would fit that need.
For now, the Avalanche have three goaltenders worth tracking closely: two in the NHL and one in the AHL. If all three perform, Colorado has options. If one or more slips, another change could be coming sooner than expected.
In Other News...
Devon Toews Just Had A Very Colorado Sports Moment
Devon Toews got a little taste of Colorados other pro-sports stage recently, stepping onto the mound at Coors Field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before a Rockies game. The Avalanche defenseman took part in the pregame festivities and then settled into the stands to watch from a different vantage point, a simple crossover moment that fits neatly into the way Colorados biggest teams tend to overlap.
It was one of those only-in-Colorado scenes that reminds you how tightly the states sports world can knit itself together, from the Avalanche to the Rockies and, of course, the Broncos. Even with recent reports swirling around the Broncos ownership group, Toews trip to the ballpark served as a lighter snapshot of that shared local spotlight, with one of the Avalanches most recognizable players spending an evening right in the middle of it. [Read more 🡒]
Cale Makar Has A Chance To Enter Rare NHL History
Cale Makar keeps finding himself in the kind of conversation reserved for the NHLs most special players, and this one reaches all the way into league history. The Avalanche defenseman is not just admired as one of the games best blue-liners, but as someone with a legitimate path to an award that usually belongs to elite forwards, a path that only a handful of defensemen have ever managed to travel.
For Makar to get there, the season would have to be extraordinary in every phase, with offense and defense both strong enough to make him impossible to ignore. Even then, the Hart Trophy is a voter-driven race, and he would still have to separate himself from names like Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon, which is what makes the possibility so intriguing and so difficult to pull off. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Leave Jared Bednar Question Unsettled Entering Key Offseason
Jared Bednars contract situation has become one of the quieter storylines around the Avalanche as the offseason gets underway, but it carries real weight for a team that has spent the better part of a decade under his direction. Joe Sakic said there is no urgency to get an extension done, even as the sides continue talking, and that reflects a certain calm around a coach who has been on the bench since 2016 and helped guide Colorado to a Stanley Cup title in 2022.
Bednar is heading into the final year of his current deal, which would normally add a little more edge to the conversation, but both sides seem content to let the process breathe. For now, the Avalanche are leaving one of their most important decisions unresolved as they turn toward a crucial offseason, with the expectation that discussions will keep going without anyone forcing the issue. [Read more 🡒]