The Colorado Avalanche have had some elite names in net over the years, and Patrick Roy still sits alone at the top of that list. He remains the franchise’s standard-bearer for goaltending, the best trade acquisition in team history, and his numbers back it up: 551 wins, 315 losses and 131 ties in his career, plus a .599 win percentage that ranks eighth all-time. In Colorado, he played 478 games, started 471 and finished with a 262-140-65 record.
Now the Avalanche’s current tandem is beginning to leave its own mark.
Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood, both acquired in trades during the 2024-25 season, have already piled up enough starts and wins to start climbing the franchise’s all-time lists. Blackwood has made 72 starts, while Wedgewood has 61. That puts Blackwood 15th in Avalanche starts among goaltenders and Wedgewood 18th.
The split has also been reflected in the win column. Blackwood has 45 wins, good for 12th in franchise history, and Wedgewood is right behind him with 44. Wedgewood handled a heavy workload early last season while Blackwood recovered from an offseason injury and surgery, so the two have already shown they can carry the net in different stretches.
The Avalanche are not treating the crease like a one-man job. This is a game-by-game setup, with each goalie expected to get occasional rest and both of them still contributing to victories. That flexibility was part of the equation last season, and it showed in the results: the duo led the league in save percentage and shared the Jennings Trophy after the team allowed the fewest goals collectively, 203.
There’s also a clear salary angle here. Blackwood is the higher-paid starter at $5.25 million annually, compared with Wedgewood’s $2.5 million AAV. But after last season, Wedgewood looks like a bargain.
The ceiling for both goalies is still higher. In the Avalanche/Nordiques record book, Clint Malarchuk sits 10th with 62 wins.
Wedgewood needs 18 more to tie him, and Blackwood needs 17. If both stay on track, those marks are reachable this season.
Blackwood has another target in sight if he stays healthy. He could move all the way up to eighth on Colorado’s all-time wins list, where Mario Gosselin sits with 79. That would require 35 wins this season, a number that looks very attainable.
There were plenty of nights last year when Colorado’s goaltending had to steady the team. When the offense wasn’t clicking, Blackwood and Wedgewood kept the Avalanche in games.
And that may be the larger point with this team moving forward. The 2026-27 Avalanche are being built as a collective effort, not something carried by one position group alone.
The expectation is that every part of the roster will meet its standard in the regular season and the playoffs, with Stanley Cup-or-Bust the only real frame for this group. The guys between the pipes will be a major part of that push.
In Other News...
Avalanche May Have Found An Under The Radar Blue Line Option
Domenick Fensores arrival gives Colorado another low-risk blue line add to keep an eye on as the organization sorts through its depth chart. The 24-year-old left defenseman comes over after a productive season with the Chicago Wolves, where he set career highs in goals, assists and points while also getting a long playoff run in 18 games, and he already has a little NHL experience from a one-game stint with Carolina.
For the Avalanche, the immediate plan is straightforward: Fensore is expected to land with the Colorado Eagles in 2026-27 and continue developing in the system. What makes him interesting is the profile, a left-shot defender who has already shown he can produce at the AHL level and who now gets another chance to push for more after a steady climb through the minors. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Suddenly Face A Cale Makar Debate Fans Never Expected
The idea of the Avalanche even having a Cale Makar discussion sounds out of place until you remember how quickly the organization has surprised people before. Adrian Hernandez, an editing contributor for Mile High Hockey, raised the possibility in a recent piece, noting that Makars standing in contract talks gives him real leverage and makes the situation worth watching as the calendar keeps moving.
September 15 looms as the key date for unrestricted free agents who want eight-year deals before the maximum drops to seven years, which adds another layer of pressure to the conversation. Nobody is saying a Makar trade is likely, but the fact that it cant be completely dismissed says plenty about how unusual the Avalanches recent decision-making has already been. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Were Right To Move On From Casey Mittelstadt
Colorado had plenty of reason to keep looking when Casey Mittelstadt never quite settled into the top-six center role the Avalanche wanted from him. The move to send him to Boston reflected a clear organizational judgment: if he was not going to fill that spot, there was little sense in forcing the fit.
Mittelstadt has since settled in as a middle-six winger for the Bruins, where he posted 15 goals and 42 points in 71 games last season. The next question is whether Boston treats that as a sign of a larger breakout or a reason to commit long term, with talk already circulating about a four-year, $26 million extension that would test how much the Bruins believe in the player they inherited. [Read more 🡒]