DENVER — Team goals don’t always align with actual goals.

Exhibit, Eh: The Colorado Avalanche’s Lumberyard took a two-by-four over the back on Wednesday when Team Canada slammed them out of the Olympics.

You have to be kidding?

Three goalies make the cut, and Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood are not among them. Blackwood leads the NHL in goals-against-average (2.07). Wedgewood ranks third (2.13). Both are ahead of Darcy Kuemper (2.19) and Logan Thompson (2.33). And while a case can be made for the pair, the inclusion of Jordan Binnington is worse.

General manager Doug Armstrong whiffed, making a pick that reeks of favoritism and leans too heavily on legacy over recency.

Not having Blackwood on the team is just wrong based on talent alone. And not viewing the third goalie spot as a vibes guy who can start in a pinch is misguided.

Blackwood admitted that “we were both a little bit disappointed.” Wedgewood was flattered to be considered, and understood his history as a backup worked against him. If this team was selected like track and field — top times at trials leading into the Olympics — Wedgewood would have been a lock.

“I wanted to make it, and if not me, (Blackwood) for sure. I thought one of us had a good bid. There are a 100 different talking points about it,” Wedgewood said. “It was nice to fight myself into the conversation. But I am gutted for (Blackwood).”

Three spots, and they could not carve out space for one of the two from a team that is attempting to deliver the greatest regular season in league history? Three spots, and they could not find bench space for the game’s hottest netminders?

It is possible Blackwood lands as an alternate. Pride will likely prompt to him accept, but that is an insulting consolation prize. If Team Canada wanted him, he would already be on the team.

That Binnington was a no-brainer selection speaks to a flawed process. For starters, Armstrong, the man picking the squad serves as the general manager of the St. Blues, Binnington’s team. The goalie position is the weakest link for Canada, and Binnington represents a biased gamble.

By any metric, he has not been good. Blame the defenders in front of him if you please, but his GAA of 3.56 looks more like a honor roll GPA. He ranks 56th in the NHL this season.

Avs fans were not buying his selection on Wednesday night.

They booed Binnington, who has been in their crosshairs since firing a water bottle at Nazem Kadri during a postgame interview during the 2022 playoffs, when he was first introduced and as he took the ice for the second and third periods.

It set up as a night for Binnington to make a statement, to affirm his choice over Blackwood and Wedgewood. Instead he allowed four goals in the first 4 minutes, 39 seconds of a 6-1 demolition.

Everyone has a bad game, but this is a trend. Binnington is 7-10-6 this season and winless in his last four games while surrendering 18 goals.

Armstrong admitted his comfort with Binnington played a role, and told The Athletic that the goalie’s poor numbers can be traced to his team — the one Armstrong assembled.

Logic meet pretzel.

It comes down to this: Binnington was in the net when Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago. He earned Armstrong’s trust with his finish. Lost in the discussion is that Binnington sparked the match with soft goals before breaking out the extinguisher in overtime against Team USA’s Auston Matthews.

Past performance in big games should be a factor. In the case of Binnington, it is the only one. That is dangerous based on this season.

Thompson should have been on Team Canada in 4 Nations, and deserves the nod. No discussion. No complaints.

As for Kuemper, Armstrong cited his current play, pedigree and Stanley Cup championship. Oh, the irony. So you are saying that he makes it over the Avs’ Blackwood and Wedgewood because of the title he won with the Avs?

Listen, championships need not be qualified. But to put it politely, Kuemper did not fly the plane. He was more like a boarding group C passenger on Southwest Airlines.

He made some big saves, but also impersonated a sieve when benched.

It is not personal. Kuemper showed courage battling through an eye injury. He earned his ring.

But taking him over Wedgewood is a miss.

Armstrong, who has two Olympic gold medals as a member of Canada’s management group in 2010 and 2014, is making the same mistake that tripped up Team USA basketball for years.

He is focusing too much on stats and the past over fit. All three goalies on the team are starters, every game guys.

Wedgewood is comfortable going a week without playing and standing on his head in a pinch. Having a utility player provides flexibility for injury and in-game ineffectiveness.

“I hope they win the gold medal. I don’t want them to lose because they didn’t take me,” said Wedgewood, whose wife is expecting a child soon, so his time off could be a blessing for his family. “Who knows? I might not have even played. But I am still Team Canada all the way, no doubt about it.”

Good on Blackwood and Wedgewood for handling their omission with class.

Still, turning these two Avs into have nots is baloney.

In the end, Armstrong leaned into familiarity, favored Binnington. And if he dissolves, he had better be ready with a mea culpa explanation.

____

©2026 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at denverpost.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.