The Colorado Avalanche have begun making adjustments to their roster.
This week, General Manager Chris MacFarland traded for Scott Wedgewood from the Minnesota Wild, swapping backup goaltenders. The Avalanche have faced several challenges this season and are barely above .500 with a 13-12-0 record after 25 games.
So, what’s next for Colorado? While their goaltending struggles have been well-documented—ranking 30th in the league with 3.72 goals allowed per game—they also face issues in other areas, such as their penalty kill, which ranks 29th. Since the Avalanche don’t possess a 2025 first-round pick, MacFarland may need to be creative in upgrading the roster before the trade deadline in March.
On Monday’s Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Colby Cohen discussed the Avalanche’s situation and potential moves.
Yaremchuk: “What I wanted to focus on is Colorado. While it’s not too late for Nashville with just seven wins in 25 games, I don’t think they’re looking to make trades yet. Colorado, on the other hand, is definitely trying to improve, especially considering how poor the goaltending has been this season.”
“With a 13-12-0 record so far, I think this trade for a veteran like Wedgewood, who has a history of solid performances, is a good move. But it can’t be the only move. I saw them play on Saturday night, and they’re not the dominant Avalanche we’re used to. When you play Colorado now, there’s a good chance you’ll score three or four goals. You don’t have to be perfect to beat them, which wasn’t the case before.”
Cohen: “Tyler, keep in mind, we ranked Colorado fifth in our power rankings just last Monday because they were on an 8-1-1 run in their previous 10 games. Since then, they’ve lost three in a row and are on a 3-6-0 slide. But at one point, they were trending upwards. Valeri Nichushkin makes a big difference for them—this is a much better team with him in the lineup. They’re still missing key players who started the season strong but have been sidelined by injuries.”
“From my perspective, their puck management has been poor. And when you have goaltending issues like they do, you can’t afford to mismanage the puck. We’ve discussed this with Edmonton for years—without a top-tier goaltender, mistakes with the puck rarely work out.”
“Sure, Wedgewood is a solid backup who can step up when needed, as he did in Dallas. His numbers may not be impressive, but he likely brings more confidence to the room than Annunen did. I do expect Colorado to be active—given their roster, it’s a ‘win-now’ mentality every year. We’ll be watching closely to see if they make any moves, particularly with their third and fourth-line centers. Can Ivan Ivan and Parker Kelly lead those lines? Probably not.”
For more on the future of the Avalanche and the latest NHL news, you can watch the full episode here.