Last night the Buffalo Sabres traded franchise goaltender and American Hero Ryan Miller to St. Louis in the first blockbuster trade of the NHL trade deadline. As a result, backup Jhonas Enroth unexpectedly had to play in his spot last night. However, the ramifications of a goalie trade before game time run deeper than that. The NHL requires all teams to dress a backup goalie for every game, so in situations like this where two are not readily available, teams need to get creative.
Enter Ryan Vinz.
Vinz works as the director of hockey technology (whatever that is) for a company in Buffalo and is a former member of the Sabres' staff. He was nearby and available to the desperate Sabres, so they signed him to a one day contract. For signing an emergency one day contract, the new goalie receives $500 and gets to keep their personalized jersey. Not a bad deal to watch a game from the bench next to a bunch of professionals.
What makes the situation even better for Vinz is that he basically had very limited experience as a goaltender at any level. He tried and failed to walk on to his college hockey team.
And while this situation may seem kind of crazy, which it is, it does happen from time to time. Earlier this season the Vancouver Canucks signed a 43-year old backup that had last played minor league hockey in 2001-02 to replace an injured Roberto Luongo at the last minute.
These guys get to live the dream for a single day and have an experience that will be with them for a lifetime. Here's hoping that a team calls me up one day when a situation like the Miller trade arises. My qualifications include being picked first for hockey in gym class with the express intention of making me goaile and owning a plastic Jason-esque hockey mask.
