Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood's performance this season has earned them the 2025-26 William M. Jennings Trophy
With his shutout win against the Seattle Kraken, Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood have secured the William M.Jennings Trophy, as the goals (min. 25 games played) for the team with the fewest goals against during the regular season. The last time an Avalanche has won the trophy was Patrick Roy, back during the 2001-02 season.
It was career seasons for both goaltenders, as they had some pretty high stakes entering the season. They showed some good potential when they were acquired last season, but this was something else from both of them, especially Wedgewood.
For Blackwood, it was a season that had a lot of highs and lows for him. Finishing with a record of 23-10-2, a save percentage (SV%) of .904%, and a goals against average (GAA) of 2.51, it wasn't a bad season by any means, but in his first season under a new contract, there were moments when we expected more from him. While he did deal with some injuries that kept him out of some stretches during the regular season, it wasn’t a bad season by any means.
Though it does help when your tandem partner is also having a career, and by all means, a Vezina-esc season. Wedgewood earned a contract extension that starts next season, with a cap hit of $2.5 million, but given the numbers he put up this season, it might look like a steal. With career highs across the board, he finished with a record of 31-6-6 with a .921 SV% and a 2.02 GAA.
With those numbers, that's good for fourth in wins, first in GAA, and SV%, all with a $1.5 million cap hit this season. Though he did “only” play 43 games, some bigger names we could see nominated for the Vezina Trophy, like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ilya Sorokin, and Igor Shesterkin, played over 50 games, which could factor into the voting process.
It's still mind-blowing that not too long ago, this team's biggest issue was goaltending. Going from Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev to these two has completely changed how this team plays and how the focus management can put on other areas of the team besides looking for another goaltender come the trade deadline.
