Scott Wedgewood joked that all he had to do to win the first major award of his NHL career was not give up 20 goals Thursday night.
“The Lumberyard” has been so effective this season that Wedgewood actually had a bigger cushion than he realized.
Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood will win the William Jennings Trophy for the 2025-26 season, which is awarded to the team which allows the fewest goals in the season. Goaltenders must play 25-plus games to be part of the award, so the Colorado Avalanche tandem will both have their names on the trophy, which has been awarded since 1982.
“No, honestly it’s super cool,” Wedgewood said. “I mean, getting your name on NHL trophy, regardless of whatever it is, it’s obviously a dream to win something. And to do it with him, with our friendship and story and this team, obviously it’s really cool.”
Colorado entered the final night of the season with 197 goals allowed — 25 fewer than the second-best, the Dallas Stars. The NHL uses the official standings, which include a “goal” awarded for shootout wins and losses. So, officially, the Avs allowed 203 goals in the first 81 games, which was still 23 fewer than the Stars’ official total.
It is only the second time Colorado has won the Jennings Trophy. Patrick Roy was awarded the trophy in 2001-02.
“I like it a lot,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It was one of our goals at the start of the year. We’ve always been a dangerous offensive team, and we’ve been proud of that over the years. Then improving on the defensive side of it, so we become a stingier and harder team to play against, is like goal No. 1. So that one means a lot, and it’s good for those guys. They’ve both been exceptional for us all year. The team has defended really well and consistently in front of them. I like that award as much as any other one.”
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (39) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Previously teammates in the New Jersey Devils organization, the Avalanche traded for both goalies in a 10-day span last season. It was the first time in NHL history that a club had traded away both of its opening-night goaltenders before Christmas.
Dubbed “The Lumberyard,” the duo changed the course of Colorado’s goaltending situation immediately last year and have played a huge part in helping the club win the Presidents’ Trophy this season. On the day the Avs traded for Wedgewood, Colorado had the worst save percentage in the NHL.
Since that day, the Avs are sixth overall and will finish first this season.
“It’s really cool,” Avs forward Jack Drury said. “They’ve both played so well all year. It’s really deserving. I think as a tandem, they’ve been really good too. I think having two good goalies is a real privilege, and I think we’re very lucky.”
Wedgewood, 33, has been one of the great stories in the NHL this season. He started 11 of the first 12 games because of a Blackwood injury, and is going to finish the year as the league leader in GAA and save percentage among qualified goalies.
Blackwood, 29, started his season on fire, going 13-1-1 before the calendar flipped to 2026. Both goalies were in strong consideration for Canada’s Olympic team. Blackwood ended up being the first alternate if any of the three picked had sustained an injury just before the tournament.
He has struggled at times since Jan. 1, and it seems likely that Wedgewood will start Game 1 of the club’s opening-round playoff series. But Bednar has made it clear that both will play.
“We’ve got a great team and we control a lot of the play, but we’ve still got to do our job,” Wedgewood said. “It’s not like you just stand out there and you get participation trophies. So to be a big part of it, not just play the bare minimum or anything, I’m proud of it for myself and proud of him. We’ve worked at it all year. We’ve improved our games. We battled each other. One of the things you cherish from this sport for a long time is just winning something and being at the top of the league.”
FOOTNOTES: Bednar will return to the bench Thursday night after missing the past two games because of injuries sustained when a puck hit him in the face Saturday night against Vegas. Several regulars will sit out the season finale. Nazem Kadri (finger) and Josh Manson (undisclosed) have missed games beyond this one with injuries, but Bednar said he expects everyone on the active roster to be available for Game 1, which the NHL announced is Sunday at Ball Arena, time to be determined.
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