"He Played Where?" NHL Goalies In Strange Jerseys

When a player builds a Hall of Fame career with one franchise, it’s easy to forget they may have worn a different sweater somewhere along the way. For some goaltenders, it almost feels wrong to picture them in another uniform, but at one point or another, they did.

Cam Ward – Chicago Blackhawks:

Selected 25th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2002, Cam Ward broke into the NHL during the 2005–06 season as Martin Gerber’s backup. Ward provided solid support, winning 18 games despite a 3.68 GAA in 28 appearances.

The Hurricanes opened the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, who had just squeaked into the seventh seed with 93 points. After dropping the first two games, head coach Peter Laviolette made a bold move, turning to the 22-year-old rookie in Game 3. Ward didn’t flinch. In his first career playoff start, he stopped 27 of 28 shots in a 2–1 win, earning Laviolette’s trust for the rest of the postseason.

From that point on, the net belonged to Ward, and he carried Carolina all the way to their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. Ward finished the run with a 15–8 record, a .920 save percentage, and a 2.14 GAA, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, a stunning rise that nobody could have scripted.

Ward went on to be Carolina’s starter for the next 12 years, recording 334 wins, 27 shutouts, and earning an All-Star nod in 2011. After 13 seasons with the Hurricanes, he signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018. In 33 games with Chicago, he picked up 16 wins while posting a .897 save percentage and a 3.67 GAA.

His stint in Chicago was brief and largely forgettable, but Ward’s legacy in Carolina is untouchable as the goaltender who delivered the franchise’s first and only Stanley Cup.

Miikka Kiprusoff – San Jose Sharks:

Miikka Kiprusoff is a legend in Calgary after nine incredible seasons with the Flames. With 305 wins, a .913 save percentage, a 2.46 GAA, 41 shutouts, and a Vezina Trophy in 2006, “Kipper” cemented his place as the greatest goaltender in franchise history.

Though he never captured a Stanley Cup, Kiprusoff consistently rose to the occasion in the playoffs, posting a .920 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA across five postseason runs. His finest moment came in 2004, when he backstopped the Flames to the Stanley Cup Final, finishing with a 1.86 GAA and even shutting out the Lightning 3–0 in Game 3 before Calgary fell in a heartbreaking seven-game series.

While he has yet to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Kiprusoff’s body of work in Calgary is nothing short of Hall-worthy.

But many forget that the Finnish netminder was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 1995 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks. He broke into the league in 2000 as Evgeni Nabokov’s backup, appearing in just five games but posting a 2–1 record with a 1.94 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

That spring, Kiprusoff got his first taste of playoff hockey when Nabokov struggled early in San Jose’s first-round matchup with the St. Louis Blues. Kiprusoff stepped in for Games 4 and 5, earning a win in the first and dropping a tight overtime decision in the second. Across those two games, he stopped 74 of 79 shots before Nabokov reclaimed the crease in Game 6.

Kiprusoff would remain in San Jose for three seasons, compiling 14 wins in 47 games with a .897 save percentage and 2.84 GAA. His career took off on November 16, 2003, when the Sharks traded him to Calgary for a 2005 second-round pick, a selection that turned into long-time defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic.

Ben Bishop – LA Kings:

Ben Bishop, standing 6’7”, towered over most NHL players during his 11-year career. He began in St. Louis in 2008 but was traded to Ottawa in 2012 for a second-round pick in 2013. Bishop spent just one year with the Senators before being dealt to Tampa Bay in April 2013.

His career truly took off in Tampa Bay, where he claimed the starting role in the 2013–14 season, recording 37 wins in 63 starts and finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting. Over five dominant seasons with the Lightning, Bishop averaged a .921 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA across 227 games.

Bishop helped Tampa Bay reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, posting a 13–11 record with a .921 save percentage and 2.18 GAA in 25 playoff games. Unfortunately, groin injuries slowed him down in the Finals, and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Lightning in six games.

During the 2016–17 season, with the Lightning struggling and projected to miss the playoffs, Tampa Bay traded Bishop to the LA Kings at the peak of his value in exchange for draft picks in the 2017 draft. Bishop appeared in just seven games for the Kings, posting a 2–3 record with a .900 save percentage and 2.49 GAA, before being traded to the Dallas Stars on May 9, 2017, for a fourth-round pick.

Bishop became a cornerstone in Dallas, helping the Stars succeed from 2017–2020, averaging a .923 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA over three seasons.

Ben Bishop will always be remembered for his time in Tampa Bay and Dallas, but it’s easy to forget he once manned the crease in places you might never expect.

Jaroslav Halak – Washington Capitals:

Jaroslav Halak spent the first eight years of his NHL career splitting time between the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues. He debuted in Montreal in 2007, backing up Carey Price while posting a .919 save percentage and 56 wins in 101 games.

In the summer of 2010, Montreal traded Halak to St. Louis for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. He continued his solid play with the Blues, winning 83 games in 159 appearances and averaging a .916 save percentage over four seasons.

Halak’s next stop was unexpected. In 2014, the Washington Capitals were scrambling for a playoff push and wanted a reliable netminder to share the crease with Braden Holtby. Halak was briefly traded to the Buffalo Sabres on February 28, only to be flipped less than a week later to Washington in exchange for goaltender Michael Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla.

Although he only played 12 games for the Capitals, Halak was stellar, posting a 5–4 record with a .930 save percentage, 2.31 GAA, and a shutout. Despite his efforts, Washington missed the playoffs, and Halak was traded later that summer to the New York Islanders.

Halak spent four years each with the Canadiens, Blues, and Islanders, making it difficult to pin down where he’s most remembered. What team comes to mind when you think of Jaroslav Halak?

Curtis Joseph – Calgary Flames:

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the St. Louis Blues in 1989, Curtis Joseph began his career backing up Vincent Riendeau. After going 25–15–3 in his first two seasons, the Blues handed him the starter’s job heading into 1991–92.

“Cujo” went on to spend six strong years in St. Louis, winning 137 games and posting a .907 save percentage. But it was in Edmonton where he became a legend, known for his playoff heroics. In 1997 and 1998, Joseph put together two of the most dominant postseason runs in Oilers history, averaging a .919 save percentage and 2.39 GAA, capped by a brilliant 1998 run where he posted a .928 save percentage and 1.93 GAA.

After the 1997–98 season, Joseph moved on, playing five years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, two with the Detroit Red Wings, and finishing his run as a starter with the Phoenix Coyotes from 2005–07. By the end of that stretch, he had cemented his reputation, tallying 446 career wins in 16 seasons, two All-Star appearances, and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2000 for his leadership skills on and off the ice.

But in January 2008, the Calgary Flames needed help. Miikka Kiprusoff had carried the load, appearing in 47 of the team’s first 48 games, and desperately needed a break. Calgary signed the 40-year-old Joseph to a one-year deal, giving him a chance to back up Kiprusoff for the remainder of the season.

Joseph played just nine games in a Flames sweater, but held his own with a 3–2 record, a .906 save percentage, and a 2.55 GAA. While his stints in St. Louis, Edmonton, and Toronto defined his career, seeing “Cujo” in a Calgary jersey still feels like one of those “wait, he played there?” moments.

Evgeni Nabokov – Tampa Bay Lightning:

Evgeni Nabokov could make any list of all-time draft steals. Selected in the 9th round of the

1994 draft by the San Jose Sharks, Nabokov didn’t reach the NHL until the 1999–2000 season, but once he did, he quickly became the best goaltender in franchise history.

Over his 10 years in San Jose, he established himself as the Sharks’ all-time leader in wins (293), games played (563), and shutouts (50). In 2001, he captured the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie after posting a 32–21–7 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.19 GAA. He also represented San Jose in two All-Star Games (2001 and 2008), the most by any goalie in team history.

Nabokov signed with the New York Islanders in 2011, playing 123 games over three seasons. He appeared in just one playoff series with New York, a 2013 first-round exit to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Still, Nabokov was steady for the Isles, winning 57 games while averaging a .910 save percentage and 2.59 GAA, with nine shutouts across his three seasons.

By 2014, Nabokov was 39 years old and clearly nearing the end. Looking for a veteran to back up Ben Bishop, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed him to a one-year deal. He appeared in only 11 games, finishing 3–6–2 with a .882 save percentage and 3.14 GAA before retiring.

Legends are often remembered for the sweaters they wore the longest, but hockey history is full of strange detours and forgotten pit stops. Cam Ward in Chicago, Miikka Kiprusoff in San Jose, Ben Bishop in Los Angeles, Jaroslav Halak in Washington, Curtis Joseph in Calgary, and Evgeni Nabokov in Tampa Bay, these are the kinds of cameos that make you do a double take when scrolling through old hockey cards.

While their legacies are defined elsewhere, these brief stints remind us that even the most iconic goaltenders had journeys with unexpected turns, and that’s part of what makes their careers so fascinating.