The days of accountants playing NHL games may soon be over.
Emergency back-up goalies, who became a sensation after accountant Scott Foster was forced to step in for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018, were turned into full-time positions in the NHL and NHLPA’s latest collective bargaining agreement.
The deal, which was ratified Tuesday and kicks in for the 2026-27 season, was released to the public on Friday.
In the document, criteria for EBUGs was outlined to ensure they straddle the line between competitive and top-end.
Previously, EBUGs — who would linger in the arena during games as a third option in net — have essentially come off the street and occasionally been forced into action when a team’s top two goalies were both forced out of the same game.
Now, teams must declare an EBUG 48 hours before the start of the season and 24 hours before each game. The player will travel with one team to all games instead of being one person assigned to both teams at any given game.
But the EBUG must never have played an NHL game, nor appeared in more than 80 professional hockey contests. The goalie can also not be someone who has played pro hockey in the previous three years.
Foster became a viral sensation when he appeared for the Blackhawks after goalies Anton Forsberg and Collin Delia were both sidelined by injury. Foster, who entered in the third period, stopped all seven shots he faced as the Blackhawks beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2.
Two years later, David Ayres — a Zamboni driver — was forced to enter a game for the visiting Carolina Hurricanes against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the middle of the second period. He made eight saves and allowed two goals as Carolina won 6-3.
Four other EBUGs have suited up in NHL games.
Meanwhile, the NHL said it is seeking a re-negotiation with the CHL to eliminate the rule that limits 19-year-olds to either the NHL or junior without an AHL opportunity.
The NHL’s proposal is to allow each team to keep one 19-year-old in the AHL.
The CHL has seen an exodus in talent in recent weeks as players have fled to the NCAA thanks to a new rule that makes junior players eligible to compete in U.S. college sports.
The CBA also closes a pair of loopholes.
It introduces a new salary cap for the playoffs, which closes the LTIR ploy that allowed teams to bring back previously injured players for Game 1 of the first round without any financial concern.
The agreement also says player salaries can’t be retained in trades more than once in a 75-day period, which closes off the three-team deals that saw one club get compensated to launder a player salary through their books.
Contract length was reduced to seven years for a re-signing and six years with a new team.
The season will expand to 84 games with training camps consequently shortened.
Elsewhere, mandatory neck guards will be grandfathered into use beginning with the 2026-27 campaign and dress codes will be softened, with teams no longer allowed to enforce rules surrounding dress while players “are required to dress in a manner that is consistent with contemporary fashion norms.”
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