Playing career
New Jersey Devils
During his fourth and final year of major junior hockey in the 2011–12 season with the Plymouth Whalers in the Ontario Hockey League, Wedgewood was signed by the New Jersey Devils to a three-year, entry-level contract on March 20, 2012. [1]
In the 2015–16 season, on March 20, 2016, he won his NHL debut for the Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets. [2] In his second game for the Devils, Wedgewood recorded his first NHL shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins. [3]
On July 25, 2017, Wedgewood agreed to return for his sixth season within the Devils organization in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract extension. [4] He was assigned to begin the 2017–18 season, with inaugural AHL affiliate the Binghamton Devils. He recorded a win in his only game with Binghamton before he was recalled by the Devils due to an injury to starting goaltender Cory Schneider.
Arizona Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings
With the return to health for Schneider, Wedgewood was traded by the Devils to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft on October 28, 2017. [5] However, on February 21, 2018, Wedgewood, and forward Tobias Rieder, were traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper. [6] He did not play with the Kings, and spent the duration of his contract with the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning
As a free agent from the Kings, Wedgewood signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1, 2018. [7] In the 2018–19 season, Wedgewood played exclusively with the Sabres AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In 48 appearances with the Americans he posted 28 wins with a .908 save percentage.
Concluding his contract with the Sabres, Wedgewood left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1, 2019. [8] On December 6, while playing for the Syracuse Crunch, he left the game early because he sustained a lower body injury. He would be out for 4–6 weeks. [9] He returned on January 20, where he made 26 saves in a 4–2 Crunch win over the Utica Comets. Wedgewood was one of the eight players called up to the Lightning for their training camp prior to the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. [10]
Return to New Jersey and Arizona
As a free agent from the Stanley Cup-winning Lightning, Wedgewood returned to the New Jersey Devils, as a free agent in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on October 11, 2020. [11] On May 10, 2021, Wedgewood was the Devils nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. [12] On July 6, the Devils re-signed Wedgewood to a one-year, two-way contract. [13] [14]
In the following 2021–22 season, Wedgewood began the season as backup to Jonathan Bernier, in the absence of Mackenzie Blackwood. He appeared in three games before he was placed and later claimed off waivers for a second stint with the Arizona Coyotes on November 4, 2021. [15] With Arizona, he appeared in a career best 26 games, posting a 10-12-2 record, and .911 save percentage. Despite Arizona's struggles as a rebuilding team, Wedgewood showed promise in the NHL as a dependable backup, including a 40-save effort in a win against the Colorado Avalanche that ended their 18-game home win streak, on February 1, 2022. [16]
Dallas Stars
On March 20, 2022, Wedgewood was traded by Arizona to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2023 fourth-round draft pick. [17] Acquired by the Dallas Stars as they sought depth in goal during a push for the playoffs, and with injuries to their primary goaltender, Jake Oettinger, Wedgewood was given an opportunity to make an immediate impact. In eight games with Dallas, he recorded a 3-1-3 record, a .913 SV%, and a 3.05 GAA. One of his standout moments came on April 12, 2022, when he earned a 1-0 shutout victory against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion and former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning, making 25 saves in the process. [18]
On June 30, 2022, Wedgewood signed a two-year, $2 million contract extension to remain as the backup goaltender with the Stars. [19] In his first full season with Dallas in 2022–23, Wedgewood appeared in 21 games, posting a solid 2.72 goals-against average (GAA) and a .915 save percentage (SV%). Notably, Wedgewood played a crucial role in giving Oettinger rest during the rigorous regular-season schedule. Wedgewood made his post-season debut in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs with the Stars, making 3 appearances in relief throughout their run to the Western Conference finals.
Early in the 2023–24 campaign, Wedgewood was thrust into the starting role after an injury sidelined Oettinger in December 2023. During this stretch, Wedgewood excelled, going 7-1-1 while delivering several standout performances, including an overtime save against Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks that immediately led to a game-winning goal by Matt Duchene on December 21, 2023. [20] His efforts helped maintain the Stars' position near the top of the Central Division standings. [21] By the midpoint of the season, Wedgewood had already matched his previous year's workload. His stats, reflected his resilience under increased pressure and he completed the season having made a career high 32 appearances, and notching 16 wins.
Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche
After three successful seasons with the Stars, having established himself in the NHL as a backup, Wedgewood left as a free agent and was signed to a two-year, $3 million contract with the Nashville Predators on July 1, 2024. [22] With an injury to starting goaltender Juuse Saros, Wedgewood made his debut with the Predators in the 2024–25 season opening 4–3 defeat against former club, the Dallas Stars, on October 10, 2024. [23] Wedgewood collected 1 win through 5 appearances with the Predators through the opening two months of the campaign before he was traded to divisional opponent the Colorado Avalanche, in exchange for Justus Annunen and a sixth-round selection in the 2025 NHL entry draft on November 30, 2024. [24] [25] Wedgewood made his debut in relief for the Avalanche, posting his 50th career win in helping Colorado overcome a 0–4 deficit en route to a 5–4 regulation victory over the Buffalo Sabres on December 3, 2024. [26] Providing instant stability to the Avalanche's goaltending, Wedgewood posted his seventh career shutout and first in an Avalanche jersey with a 4-0 victory over his original club, the New Jersey Devils, on December 8, 2024. [27]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
