Coyotes send goalie Scott Wedgewood to Dallas Stars for draft pick

Arizona Republic

Dec 6, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Arizona Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood (31) faces the Dallas Stars attack during the second period at the American Airlines Center.

Less than 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline of noon Monday, the Coyotes became active.

Not long after confirming a trade for former Minnesota Wild prospect Jack McBain during Sunday night's Coyotes-San Jose Sharks game, the Coyotes announced that goaltender Scott Wedgewood had been dealt to the Dallas Stars for a conditional fourth-round draft pick.

The pick becomes a third-round pick in 2023 if the Stars make the playoffs, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Wedgewood, 29, was traded away by the Coyotes for the second time in his career. The first trade was to the Los Angeles Kings in the deal that brought Darcy Kuemper to the desert in February 2018.

Earlier this season, he was claimed off waivers by the Coyotes, who needed a second goalie with more NHL experience after Carter Hutton was injured. Wedgewood not only performed ably but seized the job in tandem with rookie Karel Vejmelka, and gave the Coyotes two goalies who outperformed outsiders' expectations.

"On behalf of the entire organization, we would like to thank Scott for everything he did for the Coyotes on and off the ice," Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong said in a team statement. "He is the consummate professional and a class act and we wish him the best of luck in the future."

Wedgewood, who made a career high 45 saves against the Pittsburgh Penguins in what ended up being his last game as a Coyote Saturday afternoon, goes to a Stars team one point out of the last Western Conference wild card playoff spot as the regular season heads toward its final month.

Wedgewood registered a .911 save percentage with a 3.16 goals against average and a 10-12-2 record in 26 games with Arizona this season. But he has had a .930 save percentage since Jan. 28.

The Coyotes traded one of five second-round picks this offseason for McBain, but replaced the lost draft choice in the Wedgewood trade.

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.