Nashville Predators goaltender Scott Wedgewood is expected to lighten the load on starter Juuse Saros throughout the season with an eye toward a deeper Stanley Cup run.
-- Photo By George Walker Iv | ApPerhaps the biggest surprise of the beginning of the Nashville Predators’ 2024-25 season was seeing newly signed backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood take the ice against the Dallas Stars Oct. 10.
Wedgewood was one of many among the big signings Predators general manager Barry Trotz made when the NHL’s free agency period opened July 1, but was probably the one least expected to make an opening night start. But there he was, in the starter’s crease for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the opening faceoff.
And while some in the Bridgestone crowd kept tradition alive by yelling “you see!” during the national anthem’s opening line in a nod to normal starter Juuse Saros, the Finnish netminder was a scratch for the game due to a lower-body injury after tweaking something in the team’s final preseason game.
Out of an abundance of caution, the Predators elected to give Saros the night off for an early season game hoping to avoid a prolonged absence.
“Just prepare to play if it came to that,” Wedgewood said after the game on the uncertainty of whether he would play in the game or not. “So, just a couple days out, just put my mind in the position to start and whether (Saros) was ready or not, it was just kind of think about (starting) until the last minute.”
Wedgewood signed a two-year, $3 million contract July 1 and was not expected to see a tremendous amount of playing time as Saros’ backup. Saros leads all NHL goaltenders in games played since ascending to the Predators No. 1 goalie position following the retirement of his fellow Finn Pekka Rinne after the 2020-21 season.
Ideally, Wedgewood will be able to absorb some of the high workload Saros has seen in recent seasons. Saros will turn 30 in mid-April, just after the regular season ends and the playoffs begin. In recent years, Saros’ backup has not been called upon to play much outside of back-to-back games. The Predators’ early season schedule is light on back-to-backs, with only one such set in October, so how much action Wedgewood sees early on will be something to watch.
Not the only change
Eyebrows were raised slightly when Wedgewood’s signing was announced. At the time, the Predators had former first round draft pick Yaroslav Askarov in the pipeline, seemingly ready to at least compete for a job at the NHL level after spending two seasons in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals.
Unhappy at the thought of going back to the AHL following Wedgewood’s signing, Askarov asked Trotz for a trade, which the general manager did, sending the goaltender to the San Jose Sharks in late August. Interestingly, Askarov did not make the Sharks’ roster out of training camp and was sent to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
Although he didn’t see much action in the game against the Stars, Wedgewood struggled in his debut with the Predators, stopping 16 of the 20 shots he faced in the 4-3 loss to the Stars, the team Wedgewood played for before signing with the Predators.
Wedgewood’s NHL career save percentage is .905, and he will look to get back into that neighborhood quickly following the opener.
Following the game, Predators head coach Andrew Brunette didn’t think Wedgwood was to blame for the loss. All four goals against were allowed in the second period, a stanza in which Brunette deemed his team’s play as “sloppy.”
“We put him in a little bit of a tough spot, Brunette says. “I think he probably didn’t see a lot of rubber and when he did, they were pretty high-quality. “
With Saros’ eight-year contract extension set to kick in beginning with next season, paring down his workload in the regular season will not only keep him fresh for postseason, but also for the length of the recent massive contract extension that will keep him in the fold until he’s close to 40 years old.