GMs content with emergency backup goalie procedure

NHL general managers discussed the league's emergency backup goalie procedure Monday and aren't looking to make a change.

Concerns arose about the legitimacy of the protocol after 42-year-old David Ayres made headlines when he starred for the Carolina Hurricanes in a win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 22.

However, NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell doesn't think there's a problem with the procedure.

"It's a good human interest story," Campbell said at the GM meetings in Boca Raton on Monday, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "I think the process works ... our general managers are fine with where it's at right now."

Ayres works for the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate and has practiced with the club in the past. He also became known for his responsibility as a Zamboni driver.

Prior to the Hurricanes-Maple Leafs extravaganza, the last emergency netminder to play in a game was Scott Foster, a 36-year-old accountant who suited up during a Chicago Blackhawks' win in March 2018.

Ayres and Foster are the only two emergency goalies to ever play in the more than 6,000 games one has been available, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika.

Coincidentally, the Hurricanes used a backup goalie who they signed in an emergency situation before Ayres' epic night. Jorge Alves signed a professional tryout contract with Carolina on Dec. 31, 2016, when Eddie Lack was sidelined with an illness. However, Alves entered the game with only 7.6 seconds to play and didn't face any shots.