Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood ‘overlooked’ for Vezina, ‘focus’ is Stanley Cup

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood was not named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy on Wednesday.

That’s awarded to the NHL’s best goalie as voted on by the 32 GMs in the league.

And it’s disappointing, given that Wedgewood led the NHL in both goals against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921) during the regular season.

Instead the finalists are Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders, Jeremy Swayman of the Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy
of the Lightning.

All of those guys appeared in at least 55 games this year, while Wedgewood split time with Mackenzie Blackwood. Still, Wedgewood skated in 45 games and posted a dazzling 31-6-6 record.

The Avalanche held practice on Wednesday as they await Round 2 of the NHL playoffs and Scott Wedgewood spoke about not being a finalist.

Asked Scott Wedgewood about not being a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. He gave a really thoughtful answer, credited Mackenzie Blackwood for the duo winning the Jennings and is also focused on the Stanley Cup. pic.twitter.com/FAWPgF5CZ6

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) April 29, 2026

“Obviously it would’ve been really cool. I think as a group we did a great job of keeping the pucks out of our net as a whole,” Scott Wedgewood said.

The combination of Wedgewood and Blackwood did win the William M. Jennings Trophy, given to the team whose net-minders allowed the fewest number of goals during the regular season.

Still this brought back memories of Team Canada for Wedgewood, who had some noise around him for the 2026 Olympics but was ultimately passed over.

“Throughout my career I’ve been overlooked in a lot of different situations and continue to will be. And you put chip on your shoulders in situations like that,” Wedgewood said. “Great numbers in less games played is almost more of a chip on my shoulder.”

Essentially Wedgewood is saying he posted excellent stats while still splitting the net with Blackwood. The GMs felt differently, but he has the proper idea moving forward.

“But to do what I did, as a team in front of this group, I’m proud of that. The awards are obviously really cool, but obviously not the main focus like the Stanley Cup is right now,” Wedgewood said.

And Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared a similar tone when asked about Scott Wedgewood being snubbed.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar on the potential snub for Scott Wedgewood in the Vezina Trophy: “There’s only one trophy I care about.” pic.twitter.com/shmKXRmFv4

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) April 29, 2026

As Bednar notes, he’s biased in his support for Wedgewood, but he’s also focused on one trophy. That’s obviously the Stanley Cup.

Two things can be true. First, Avalanche fans have a right to be annoyed that Wedgewood wasn’t named a finalist.

On the other hand, his vision about the end goal is to be applauded. Colorado is doing this to win a title — which would be the fourth in Avs history.

They’re in great shape and Scott Wedgewood was a beast during a Round 1 sweep of the Kings. If he keeps playing like this he’ll eventually earn the recognition he deserves.

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