The Colorado Avalanche spent years developing Justus Annunen, but short-term needs eventually outweighed the longterm investment.
Colorado traded Annunen and a 2025 sixth-round draft pick Saturday to the Nashville Predators for veteran netminder Scott Wedgewood, a second surprising alteration to the goalie depth before the 2024-25 season is 25 games old.
“They needed a goalie shake up here, whatever the case may be,” Wedgewood said. “I’ve read the reports. I’m a hockey fan. I watch the entire league. I want to help regardless.”
Both Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev have struggled at times this season. Their early-season troubles led to the Avalanche adding Kaapo Kahkonen on waivers. Both goalies improved and Kahkonen only got one chance in a Colorado uniform before going back on waivers.
Then Annunen was pulled twice in three starts. He allowed three goals in the first 10 minutes Monday against Tampa Bay, went back in to start the third period and yielded goals on the first two shots he faced.
While Annunen’s numbers were strong last year, the competition generally was not. Avs coach Jared Bednar rarely started him against the league’s better teams, then the two quick hooks happened against Washington and Tampa Bay.
The Avs drafted Annunen in 2018 and waited for him to develop into an NHL backup. But the club’s trust in him was fleeting even when his numbers were good against bad teams. And his play against weaker teams wasn’t as strong this year as last season.
After Georgiev allowed four goals on 23 shots Friday night in Dallas, the Avalanche’s team save percentage is now at .871. That is last in the NHL.
“I thought he played pretty good at times,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of Georgiev in Dallas. “There’s a couple of rebounds l’d like to see him control a little better. I don’t mind the goaltending that we got. Penalty kill, I think he’s part of it. He’s got to be better. The penalty kill has got to be better.”
The Avs allowed two power-play goals against Dallas, and are 30th in the league in save percentage while on the penalty kill (.793). Their 5-on-5 save percentage (.882) is tied for last with Montreal.
“The goalie position is not easy, regardless if you’re the best or the worst,” Wedgewood said. “It’s a grind every day … We can work together, get some consistency between the two of us. Whatever the the team needs. We’ll bond and get the ship righted.
“A lot of it’s not crazy,” Wedgewood said. “Stop the puck.”
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Wedgewood, like Annunen, was a third-round pick (in 2010) who took a long time to reach the NHL. He played 20 games in 2017-18, then spent two more full seasons back in the minors before getting another shot.
He only played 87 games in the league before his 30th birthday, but he’s been a survivor. Wedgewood was Tampa Bay’s third goalie in the bubble during the Lightning’s 2020 championship run. He spent the past two seasons with Dallas, and his 32 games with the Stars last year were the most he’s played for one team in a season.
“I’ve been kind of known as a room guy,” Wedgewood said. “It’s been one of those things as a backup goalie for most of my career, you’ve got to find a way to stay in the league somehow. You try to mesh with top to bottom in the room — high contracts, low contracts, old, young.
“Skill-wise, if you look at my career, there’s great numbers and bad numbers throughout seasons, but I’m going to give you everything I’ve got every night. There’s no question about that in my mind.”
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