Three Goalies for NHL Teams?

The question of carrying a third goalie on NHL teams was a hot topic last season when Florida's Roberto Loungo and Al Montoya were injured in the same game and Panthers goalie coach Rob Tallas had to suit up. Devan Dubhyk recently was quoted (see below) in a Kevin Woodley NHL.com story placing value of a third goalie to allow for additional goalie specific training during the season while managing workload. NHL teams traditionally carry two goalies which means the goalie practice workload is often subject to the team needs although the two may be very different. What I propose is that NHL allows teams carry a third goaltender who is not a prospect but classified as a coach. Ideally, he would be a recently retired pro who is making the transition into coaching. This position would be similar in nature to a bullpen catcher in major league baseball.

Having a third goaltender available for practice allows the goalie coach to control the amount of work and the type of work a starting goaltender is getting. There may be certain days that a head coach feels that the team needs some extra time on the ice while it would be better to get the starter off after a 20 minute skate. With two goalies, a head coach needs both goaltenders in net in order to run traditional drills or scrimmage like situations. With a third goalie, the goalie coach can opt to work with a goalie in a controlled environment as opposed to regular practice as Dubnyk stated. It would also allow the option for the starter to do parts of practice as opposed to every drill and leave a goalie on the ice after practice for extra player work. There are also times that injured players skate apart from the team where it would be a benefit to have a goalie for them to shoot on. A third goalie would also be available in case of a last minute injury to one of the two rostered goalies.

From a development aspect it is not in the best interest of a prospect to serve as the third goalie as they need the benefit of games to gain experience in the minor leagues. If the third goalie on an NHL team is a former professional (NHL, AHL, ECHL) interested in becoming a goalie coach he would be capable of challenging shooters in practice, staying on the ice as long as players wanted to stay out, fill in for the starter when needed as well as assist in practice planning, pre-scouts, video preparation and analysis and in game analytics. This position would not only assist the teams head goalie coach but position the third goalie to be an excellent candidate for an NHL assistant goalie coaching position. If the NHL was to recognize a teams third goalie coach as a non rostered coaching position as opposed to a playing position it would be financially feasible for clubs to make this position available and produce the next generation of professional goalie coaches.

Unmasked: Third-goalie option a must in NHL today

"Dubnyk has credited the three-goalie rotation for being able to start a franchise-record 38-straight games late last season. With two other goalies around, it allowed him to get on the ice early to work on position-specific drills with Wild goaltending coach Bob Mason without worrying about sticking around for the rest of practice. Given most practices are geared toward everyone but the goaltender, with shooters regularly given more time and space to make late passes and pick corners they might be lucky to see once all season in a game, it allowed Dubnyk to focus on his mechanics without getting worn out making hundreds of practice saves. Most goalies don't have that luxury, and the extra work they have to do between games exacerbates the need to have a third option, as the Canucks learned when Markstrom was injured in practice this week."