Avalanche trade Annunen to Predators for Wedgewood
The Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators are swapping backup goalies.
The Avs traded Justus Annunen and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Preds for Scott Wedgewood, the teams announced Saturday.
Both netminders have struggled this season:
| Goalie | Record | GAA | SV% | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annunen | 6-4-0 | 3.23 | .872 | -5.85 |
| Wedgewood | 1-2-1 | 3.69 | .878 | -4.31 |
Goals saved above expected courtesy Evolving-Hockey.
However, Annunen, 24, is eight years younger than the 32-year-old Wedgewood. Annunen, a 2018 third-round pick out of Finland, also shined in 14 games a season ago, posting a .928 save percentage. He doesn't project to see a lot of NHL action moving forward with workhorse netminder Juuse Saros at the helm in Nashville.
Wedgewood has more experience, though. He's appeared in 135 career NHL games to Annunen's 29. Wedgewood enjoyed a stellar three-year run as the Stars' backup, posting a .907 save percentage across 61 games in Dallas, before signing a two-year, $3-million deal with the Predators in free agency. He could see more action the rest of the way with Alexandar Georgiev (.872 save percentage) struggling as Colorado's starter.