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Curtis McElhinney

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Curtis McElhinney
McElhinney with the Springfield Falcons in 2013
Born (1983-05-23) May 23, 1983 (age 41)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Calgary Flames
Anaheim Ducks
Ottawa Senators
Phoenix Coyotes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Toronto Maple Leafs
Carolina Hurricanes
Tampa Bay Lightning
National team  Canada
NHL draft 176th overall, 2002
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2005–2021

Robert Curtis McElhinney (born May 23, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He previously played in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning. McElhinney was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Flames, and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Playing career

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Early years

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McElhinney played four years of university hockey for Colorado College, compiling a 62–15–8 record in that time en route to winning two Western Collegiate Hockey Association First All-Star Team selections in 2003 and 2005, as well as NCAA Second and First All-American Team selections in 2003 and 2005, respectively.[1] He was selected 176th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

He made his professional debut in 2005–06 with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL). He tied for the AHL lead in shutouts in 2006–07 while setting an Omaha team record with 44 wins. He played in the 2007 AHL All-Star game,[2] and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.[1]

McElhinney split 2007–08 between the Quad City Flames and Calgary. He made his NHL debut on October 22, 2007 against the San Jose Sharks in relief of Miikka Kiprusoff,[2] appearing in five NHL games, finishing with a 0–2–0 record and a 2.00 goals against average.[1] He played the entire 2008–09 NHL season with Calgary as Kiprusoff's backup and recorded his first NHL win in his 14th game of the year, the last of the regular season, in a 4–1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on April 11, 2009.[3]

McElhinney with the Calgary Flames during the 2009–10 season. He was drafted by the Flames in 2002.

The Flames signed McElhinney to a two-year contract prior to the 2009–10 season.[4] He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on March 3, 2010 in exchange for goalie Vesa Toskala.

On February 24, 2011 McElhinney was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Dan Ellis. On February 28, he was claimed off waivers by the Ottawa Senators.

McElhinney signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Phoenix Coyotes on July 4, 2011.[5]

On February 22, 2012 McElhinney was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets (along with second round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (via Ottawa) and a conditional fifth round selection in the 2013 Draft) for Antoine Vermette.[6] He spent the season with Columbus' AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons and had a fine season, posting nine shutouts to lead the league and set a franchise record for both single season and career shutouts, and was again named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.

He was placed on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets January 8, 2017, after allowing 4 straight goals in a 5–4 loss to the New York Rangers on January 7, 2017. He posted a 2–1–2 record and a .924 save percentage in 7 games with the team in the 2016–2017 season.[7] One day after being waived, McElhinney was claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were in need of a backup goaltender following a disappointing season by Jhonas Enroth.[8]

Down the stretch, McElhinney went 6–7 with 1 shutout, a 2.85 GAA and a .914 save percentage. As starter Frederik Andersen went down with an injury, McElhinney received quite a few extra starts. Most importantly in the second last game of the season for the Leafs with a playoff spot on the line. In this game, McElhinney made arguably the biggest save of his career in the dying seconds on Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby who seemingly had a wide-open net for a one-timer goal. McElhinney slid across the crease to make a pad save and preserved the lead that eventually held up to earn the Leafs a playoff berth.[9]

Later career and retirement

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Prior to the 2018–19 season, on October 1, 2018, the Maple Leafs placed McElhinney on waivers after Garret Sparks won the backup goaltending job in the pre-season. His two-year tenure with the Maple Leafs ended as he was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes the following day, in order to add depth after an injury to Scott Darling.[10] McElhinney would go on to split most of the 2018–19 season in goal with Petr Mrázek.

On May 1, 2019, McElhinney started for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs versus the New York Islanders in Round 2 making him the oldest goaltender to make his first career playoff start at 35 years and 343 days of age. On May 3, 2019, in Game 4, he helped to secure the franchise's first ever 4–0 sweep in the best-of-seven series.[11]

On July 1, 2019, McElhinney signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.[12] He was part of the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup-winning teams, spending most of those seasons as the backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy.[13]

On September 25, 2021, McElhinney announced his retirement via Instagram.[14]

International play

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Following the Leafs first round defeat by the Boston Bruins in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, McElhinney was named to Team Canada to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[15]

Personal life

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McElhinney and his wife Ashleigh have one son and one daughter.[16][17] McElhinney has a younger sister, Alana, who played goaltender for the Division I Bemidji State University's women's hockey team.[18]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2001–02 Colorado College WCHA 9 6 0 1 — 441 15 1 2.04 .918 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Colorado College WCHA 37 25 6 5 — 2147 85 4 2.37 .906 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Colorado College WCHA 19 10 6 1 — 1015 41 2 2.42 .906 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Colorado College WCHA 25 21 3 1 — 1490 52 2 2.09 .927 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights AHL 33 9 14 — 2 1619 68 3 2.52 .912 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights AHL 57 35 17 — 1 3181 113 7 2.13 .917 5 2 3 311 11 0 2.12 .914
2007–08 Calgary Flames NHL 5 0 2 — 0 149 5 0 2.00 .902 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Quad City Flames AHL 41 20 18 — 2 2320 88 3 2.28 .911 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 14 1 7 — 0 518 31 0 3.59 .889 1 0 0 34 1 0 1.76 .900
2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 10 3 4 — 0 502 27 0 3.22 .885 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Anaheim Ducks NHL 10 5 1 — 2 521 24 0 2.76 .917 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Anaheim Ducks NHL 21 6 9 — 1 996 57 2 3.43 .890 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Ottawa Senators NHL 7 3 4 — 0 399 17 0 2.56 .917 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 2 1 0 — 0 72 2 0 1.67 .944 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Portland Pirates AHL 25 10 13 — 0 1379 70 0 3.04 .907 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Springfield Falcons AHL 49 29 16 — 3 1349 113 9 2.32 .923 8 3 5 483 25 0 3.10 .895
2013–14 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 28 10 11 — 1 1423 64 2 2.70 .909 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 32 12 14 — 2 1710 82 0 2.88 .914 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 18 2 7 — 3 836 46 0 3.31 .890 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 7 2 1 — 2 376 15 0 2.39 .924 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 14 6 7 — 0 759 36 1 2.85 .914 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 18 11 5 — 1 980 35 3 2.14 .934 1 0 1 48 4 0 5.07 .826
2018–19 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 33 20 11 — 2 1978 85 2 2.58 .912 5 3 2 268 9 0 2.01 .930
2019–20 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 18 8 7 — 3 1081 52 1 2.89 .906 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 12 4 6 — 2 720 37 1 3.09 .875 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 249 94 95 — 20 13,019 615 12 2.83 .907 7 3 3 350 14 0 2.30 .921

International

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Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2018 Canada WC 5 3 2 0 245 6 1 2.02 .936
Senior totals 5 3 2 0 245 6 1 2.02 .936

Awards and honours

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Award Year
College
WCHA First All-Star Team 2002–03
2004–05 		[1]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2002–03 [1]
AHCA West First-Team All-American 2004–05 [1]
WCHA All-Tournament Team 2005 [19]
AHL
Second All-Star Team 2006–07 [1]
NHL
Stanley Cup champion 2020, 2021 [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Curtis McElhinney player profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Hanlon, Peter; Kelso, Sean (2009). 2009–10 Calgary Flames Media Guide (PDF). Calgary Flames Hockey Club. p. 74.
  3. ^ Sportak, Randy (April 12, 2009). "McElhinney on fire in Flames victory". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Sportak, Randy (July 25, 2009). "Goin' north nice to Irving". Calgary Sun. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  5. ^ "Coyotes sign McElhinney to one-year deal". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  6. ^ "Blue Jackets trade veteran Vermette to Coyotes". The Sports Network. February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  7. ^ "Curtis McElhinney Stats, News, Bio".
  8. ^ "Maple Leafs hope Curtis McElhinney will address backup goalie woes". Toronto Star. January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  9. ^ "GOTTA SEE IT: MCELHINNEY ROBS CROSBY FOR "SAVE OF THE SEASON"". sportsnet.ca. April 8, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  10. ^ "Canes claim Curtis McElhinney". Carolina Hurricanes. October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "Game 4 Recap: Hurricanes Sweep Islanders". NHL.com. May 4, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Lightning sign goaltender Curtis McElhinney to two-year contract". NHL.com. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  13. ^ "Lightning win Stanley Cup by smothering Stars in Game 6". NBC Sports. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "McElhinney announces retirement via Instagram". TSN. September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  15. ^ "CANADA ADDS PLAYERS TO 2018 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CAMP ROSTER". Hockey Canada. April 27, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  16. ^ Sportak, Randy (June 6, 2009). "Expecting an in-crease". Calgary Sun. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  17. ^ Stephens, Eric (January 23, 2011). "McElhinneys welcome a new addition". The Orange County Register. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  18. ^ Macleod, Robert (October 20, 2017). "Curtis McElhinney finds his groove as backup for the Maple Leafs". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  19. ^ "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  20. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning win Stanley Cup in Pandemic Bubble". The New York Times. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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