Expect Major Changes To NHL Teams EBUG Situations In 2026-27 Due To CBA
The Toronto Maple Leafs Zamboni driver, David Ayers, made a name for himself during the 2019-20 season.
After the Carolina Hurricanes goalie James Reimer left the game due to an injury, and subsequently, Petr Mrazek would suffer a collision with Kyle Clifford, Ayers received a chance to change the course of the game.
After the Carolina Hurricanes goalie James Reimer left the game due to an injury, and subsequently, Petr Mrazek would suffer a collision with Kyle Clifford, Ayers received a chance to change the course of the game.
He'd step onto the ice midway into the second period and help deliver a win for the Carolina Hurricanes against the team he worked for. The Hurricanes won 6-3, in what seemed like an otherworldly situation.
However, we're six years past that season, and the NHL has accounted for this situation. In the current CBA with the NHLPA, teams will have to carry three full-time goaltenders. One who travels with the team as a full-time EBUG.
Interestingly enough, the position will remain for amateurs. I guess, for goaltenders who fell through the cracks of the NHL draft, or never got their shot, this could be a chance to be part of an NHL organization.
Instead, EBUGs will now be team employees approved by the league and on-site for home and road games. They can’t have NHL experience, nor can they have 80 or more games of professional hockey experience, nor can they have played professional hockey in the prior three seasons.
NHL teams have been mum on the emergency goalie front, but one team that has debuted their EBUG is the Boston Bruins. Kyle Chauvette's a 24-year-old goaltender from New Hampshire who played for Union College and UNH. His career at the collegiate level showed potential with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.
As for what the role will entail for him, Chauvette said, “You get paid for it and travel with the team. Travel, practice, all of that.”
The NHL's newest CBA has brought significant changes to the sport of hockey, and professionalizing the EBUG position was unexpected.
Who will be next to show off their new EBUG? Do you think the NHL/NHLPA made the right choice to remove former EBUG's like Scott Foster or David Ayers from the fold?