As the New Jersey Devils head into the 2026 offseason trying to figure out what to do with the goalie position, one of their castaways has established himself as a force on one of the NHL's best teams.
The Colorado Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings in four games, claiming a 5-1 victory to seal the deal on Sunday night to send Anze Kopitar off into retirement. We all know about the Nathan MacKinnons, Martin Necases, and Cale Makars, but ex-Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood has been just as important.
The Devils' former third-round pick has been virtually unbeatable thus far, going 4-0-0 in the first round against Los Angeles to the tune of a 1.21 GAA and .950 save percentage, having supplanted former Devils teammate MacKenzie Blackwood as the team's No. 1 goalie.
Wedgewood, 33, was also 31-6-6 in the regular season, setting career-highs in games played, starts, and wins. Overall, Wedgewood finished with a 2.02 GAA, a .921 save percentage, and four shutouts in his first full season with the Avalanche after getting traded by Nashville for Justus Annunen and a sixth-round pick last year.
Of course, we can't laugh only at Nashville for getting next to nothing for the breakout star; the Devils did it twice!
On Oct. 28, 2017, the Devils traded Wedgewood to Arizona for a 2018 fifth-round pick, then re-signed him as a free agent almost three years later on Oct. 11, 2020. Wedgewood went 3-8-3 across 16 games for the Devils in 2020-21, despite a fairly strong 3.11 GAA and .900 save percentage in tough circumstances.
Arizona eventually claimed Wedgewood back from the Devils off waivers on Nov. 4, 2021, and from there, the journeyman goalie went on to establish himself as one of the NHL's best backup goalies during his time there and in Dallas.
Losing Scott Wedgewood for nothing still haunts the New Jersey Devils
It turned out to immediate hurt the Devils, who were devastated by goalie depth in 2021-22, eventually playing Andrew Hammond for seven games and Jon Gillies for 19. Nico Daws was playing way above his head as a rookie, starting 23 games that season. They probably could have used Wedgewood that season.
And, while Wedgewood is 33 and on the back nine of his career, he's playing his best hockey for the Avalanche when they need it the most. The Devils, on the other hand, are stuck with two aging goalies of their own in Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, but both veterans are on the downswing--the former especially.
Fortunately, the Devils now have a new set of eyes in charge in Sunny Mehta, and that may help prevent such near-sighted mistakes in the future going forward.
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