CBJ of the Day: Curtis McElhinney

By William Espy

Calgary Flames. Anaheim Ducks. Ottawa Senators. Phoenix Coyotes. Columbus Blue Jackets. Those may seem like a bunch of randomly selected teams to some people. However, to Curtis McElhinney , they have much more significance. The Calgary Flames were the team that drafted the goaltender in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. In March 2010, he would be traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Vesa Toskala (yes, THIS Vesa Toskala):

Less than a year later, he would be traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning but before he ever played a game in the organization he would be placed on waivers and claimed by the Ottawa Senators. He would leave Ottawa as a free agent and sign in Phoenix, however that wouldn’t last long. Seven months later he would be traded (among other pieces) to Columbus in a trade that would send Antoine Vermette to Phoenix. He would seemingly finally find his new home in Columbus, spending his first season in the AHL however was probably not ideal. He would finally get a full-time backup job for the Blue Jackets in the 2013-2014 season, but he made a very minor impact. Then came the 2014-2015 season. During the 2014-2015 season McElhinney was arguably one of the top backup goaltenders in the league. He had a very slow start to the season, however when Bobrovsky went out with an injury just prior to the All-Star Break he became an all new player. McElhinney began making saves that in the past he would have let in easily. Then the season ended, as did his contract. There were many questions surrounding him, whether they let him go and bring up a player like Forsberg or Dansk to backup Bobrovsky, resign him, or sign someone else. Eventually the team would agree on terms for a $1.6M contract over two years.

Status: ?

McElhinney is probably the most difficult player to predict on the team. He has a very cheap contract, and depending on how he performs may start to gain some trade value. If he has a large amount of trade value at the start of next season then it may be a good idea to trade him before he can walk away as a free agent. It is unlikely that he will ever be a starter, however a good backup can be just as important as an elite goaltender.