Robert Curtis McElhinney (born May 23, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...

. He previously played in the NHL with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

and

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play ...

. McElhinney was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Flames, and won back-to-back

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

s with the Lightning in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Playing career

Early years

McElhinney played four years of university hockey for

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...

, compiling a 62–15–8 record in that time en route to winning two

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

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. He was selected 176th overall by the

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 The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(AHL). He tied for the AHL lead in

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s in 2006–07 while setting an Omaha team record with 44 wins. He played in the 2007 AHL All-Star game, and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team. McElhinney split 2007–08 between the

Quad City Flames The Quad City Flames were an American professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 2007 to 2009. They were owned by QC Sports Ventures Inc., an ownership group based out of the Quad Cities. The Flames played at the ...

and Calgary. He made his NHL debut on October 22, 2007 against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

in relief of Miikka Kiprusoff, appearing in five NHL games, finishing with a 0–2–0 record and a 2.00

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (dependin ...

. He played the entire

2008–09 NHL season The 2008–09 NHL season was the 92nd season of operation (91st season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was the first season since prior to the 2004–05 lockout in which every team played each other at least once during the sea ...

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 The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

on April 11, 2009. Curtis McElhinney

The Flames signed McElhinney to a two-year contract prior to the 2009–10 season. He was traded to the

on March 3, 2010 in exchange for goalie Vesa Toskala. On February 24, 2011 McElhinney was traded to the

for Dan Ellis. On February 28, he was claimed off waivers by the

. McElhinney signed a one-year, two-way contract with the

on July 4, 2011. On February 22, 2012 McElhinney was traded to the

(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 Antoine Vermette (born July 20, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Vermette played in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, ...

. He spent the season with Columbus' AHL affiliate

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ariz ...

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

January 8, 2017, after allowing 4 straight goals in a 5–4 loss to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

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. One day after being waived, McElhinney was claimed by the

, who were in need of a backup goaltender following a disappointing season by

Jhonas Enroth Jhonas Erik Enroth (born 25 June 1988), a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender, who is currently playing with Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas St ...

. 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 The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

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.

Later career and retirement

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

the following day, in order to add depth after an injury to

Scott Darling Scott Darling (born December 22, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Darling was selected by the Phoenix C ...

. McElhinney would go on to split most of the 2018–19 season in goal with

Petr Mrázek Petr Mrázek (; born 14 February 1992) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 141st overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010 NHL En ...

. On May 1, 2019, McElhinney started for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...

versus the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

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. On July 1, 2019, McElhinney signed a two year contract with the

. He was part of the 2020 and 2021

-winning teams, spending most of those seasons as the backup to

Andrei Vasilevskiy Andrei Andreyevich Vasilevskiy (russian: Андрей Андреевич Василевский; born 25 July 1994) is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted i ...

. On September 25, 2021, McElhinney announced his retirement via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

International play

Following the Leafs first round defeat by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

in the

2018 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on April 11, 2018, after the 2017–18 regular season and concluded on June 7, 2018, with the Washington Capitals winning their fir ...

, McElhinney was named to Team Canada to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

Personal life

McElhinney and his wife Ashleigh have one son and one daughter. McElhinney has a younger sister, Alana, who played goaltender for the Division I

Bemidji State University Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public university in Bemidji, Minnesota. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides higher education to north-central Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Univ ...

's women's hockey team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McElhinney, Curtis 1983 births Living people Anaheim Ducks players Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Carolina Hurricanes players Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey players Columbus Blue Jackets players Sportspeople from London, Ontario Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights players Ice hockey people from Ontario Ottawa Senators players Phoenix Coyotes players Portland Pirates players Quad City Flames players Springfield Falcons players Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning players Toronto Maple Leafs players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans