Avalanche acquire goaltender Scott Wedgewood from Nashville Predators

The Avalanche have brought in a new goaltender to play with Alexandar Georgiev. They acquired Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators early Saturday morning to backup Justus Annunen and a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Wedgewood, 32, was signed by the Preds on July 1 for two years and carries a $1.5 million AAV. He is under contract for the rest of this season and 2025-26. Annunen, who Colorado drafted in 2018, is on the same contract period but makes $837,500. Neither team retained any salary in the deal, meaning the Avs added $662,500 to their salary cap as a result.

The Avalanche have been searching for goaltending help all year after a brutal 0-4-0 start to the season where both Georgiev and Annunen have struggled. And this might not be the only move they make before the trade deadline. Both showed flashes of steady play since then, but head coach Jared Bednar often turned to his usual starter in Georgiev to turn things around. Annunen is 6-4-0 in 11 games this season, but has a paltry .872 save percentage.

His last appearance was against Tampa Bay in relief on Monday, giving up three goals on six shots.

Also looking for a fresh start, Wedgewood has appeared in just five games for Nashville since being part of their overhauled offseason of moves. He is 1-2-1 in four starts and has a .878 save percentage. Drafted in 2010 by New Jersey, Wedgewood made a career-high 28 starts for the Dallas Stars last season and went 16-7-5 with a .899 save percentage. In 2022-23 — his first full season with the Stars — he was 9-8-3 with a career-best .915 save percentage.

Wedgewood is 49-50-23 over his career and, like Annunen, was a “Black Ace” for a Stanley Cup championship team that carried the title for the 2019-20 Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Avs host the Edmonton Oilers at the Ball Arena on Saturday, but will not have a morning skate because they played the previous night in Dallas.