The goaltending for the Colorado Avalanche was a major story that played a significant role in their success and how far they went in the playoffs. Despite having what was supposed to be their main starter, Mackenzie Blackwood, start the season on injury reserve, backup Scott Wedgewood came into the role and didn’t look back, having a career season that helped him earn a contract extension.

The tandem, now dubbed the “Lumberyard,” flourished when Blackwood returned from injury and solidified a 1A/1B net tandem that played off each other when one went on a bit of a cold streak. When Blackwood or Wedgewood was injured, Trent Miner from the Colorado Eagles held his own when called up.

With all goaltenders back for this upcoming season and the newest addition of top prospect Ilya Nabokov now over from the KHL and likely joining the Eagles this upcoming season, despite what changes or additions were made to the rest of the roster, this season could have a lot of implications for what the goaltending system looks like for the Avalanche in the future.

The biggest question on everyone's mind is what we can expect from Wedgewood this upcoming season and whether it can be repeated. Last season, Wedgewood was asked to do more than in any other season he had. Before playing 45 games last season, the most he had played was 32, and he started 28 of them during the 2023-24 season with the Dallas Stars, when Jake Oettinger went down with a lower-body injury that kept him out for just over a month.

Finishing with a .921 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average is no joke, there were very few time where you could have made an argument where he should have made a save there or two, but outside of some faults, he stood on his head multiple games when the offence couldnt get anything clicking and the power play, to no one surprise, couldn't captilze on their opportunities, having him either hold leads or help them to overtime and the shootouts.

Heading into next season, what will the role be for Wedgewood? He managed to finish the season strong and carry that momentum into the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild playoff series, but looked shaky in the conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Are we going to see a similar role this season, a 1A/1B situation where the team rides the hot hand, or could we see Wedgewood take a step back from his success last season? He is entering his $2.5 million extension and turning 35 this season; it will be interesting to see how they want to continue with him if he has another stellar season or regresses.

This season for Blackwood was a road full of ups and downs. From flashes of what he can really show when healthy to signs of not being able to start him and having to rely on Wedgewood. Despite the ups and downs, he still finished with a .904 SV% and a 2.51 GAA, which is down from his previous season's stats with the team, but considering the injuries he dealt with, not too bad.

We could argue that, when comparing goaltenders, Blackwood's highs are higher than Wedgewood's, but his lows can be lower. So, heading into this season, if we can expect a healthy Blackwood (knock on wood), could he play his way into the role that Wedgewood had, where the team is forced to start him just by how well he is playing?

Or, like the Wedgewood situation, is his play just not going to be good enough consistently to earn him that 1A starting spot, and will he have to rely on back-to-back games and a cold stretch from Wedgewood to try and earn that spot whenever it comes?

With three more seasons at $5.25 million and a six-team no-trade clause, it's going to be tough to justify moving Blackwood if he doesn't bounce back, but with the rates that starting goaltenders are signing, unless they get lucky with another Wedgewood situation, the best option right now is to hope Blackwood, now healthy, can find his form again.

The talk of the Avalanche community has finally come to a head; arguably the team's most talented prospect has now come over from his loan in the KHL and will be playing games in the AHL to start the season. The former second-round pick continued to impress in the KHL, and despite a down season last year marked by minor injuries and time as a backup, it's time to see how he can convert his game.

The biggest topic will be how the Eagles coaching staff and head coach Jussi Ahokas manage playing time between him and Trent Miner, who has played a vital role in the team's success, especially last summer during their Calder Cup Playoff run to the conference finals.

But looking at who is under contract, games are starting to open up. Outside of Miner, who played 32 games, Isak Posch played 28 but was a part of the Ross Colton deal with the Nashville Predators, and Kyle Keyser played 15 games. There are 43 games right there that will either be split between the two or go to a third goalie if an injury occurs.

The other thing to consider is that Nabokov is in his final year of his ELC. He spent his first year this past season on loan to the KHL, so despite playing well or bad, contract talks will happen sometime this season or in the summer with his RFA rights and as mentioned, if he does play well, as the cap is going up, were starting to see a lot of young goaltenders start to ask for larger and longer contracts and that might be something the Avalanche will need to consider.

The one piece that has been with the Avalanche the longest among all the goaltenders mentioned in Miner. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, he has spent seven seasons playing in the AHL with the Eagles and three seasons with the Utah Grizzlies in the ECHL.

He's played 100 games in the AHL, and the only times he's really gotten a chance in the NHL were when there was an injury. Heading into this season, it will probably be the same: if there were an injury to Blackwood or Wedgewood, he would get the call-up, while Nabokov continues to get reps with the Eagles.

He is also in the final year of his two-year contract, which he signed in the summer of 2025. Though with RFA rights, it will again be an interesting case of him being a solid goaltender for the AHL who can’t find the right time to make the jump to the NHL, either with his play or with other goaltenders, in this case, Nabokov looking to make the push as well to the main roster.

The Avalanche have tough decisions to make this upcoming year, but these are good ones to have. After the 2022 Stanley Cup, the team has had a revolving door of goaltenders due to underperformance and injuries, but now it finally has a tandem it can run with. They have a talented young prospect who can start taking the next steps needed in the coming seasons, and even younger talent developing every season, with no rush in sight.