Aaron Dell

Aaron Dell (born May 4, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Originally undrafted, Dell has played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), mainly for the San Jose Sharks, and shorter stints for the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres before retiring in 2025.

Playing career Dell played collegiate hockey at the University of North Dakota. Dell returned to the Allen Americans in trade from the Utah Grizzlies on October 11, 2014. While with the Worcester Sharks, on March 1, 2015, Dell was signed to a one-year entry-level contract with the team's NHL affiliate, the San Jose Sharks, for the remainder of the season.

In the 2016–17 season, Dell made the Sharks' opening night roster as the team's backup goaltender to Martin Jones. On October 18, 2016, Dell made his NHL debut and won against the New York Islanders. On February 28, 2018, Dell signed a two-year contract extension with the Sharks.

On October 13, 2020, Dell signed a one-year $800,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent. After attending the Maple Leafs training camp for the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Dell was included in the team's taxi squad. On January 18, 2021, Dell's brief tenure with the Maple Leafs ended as he was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils.

On July 28, 2021, Dell signed as a free agent to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Buffalo Sabres. On September 13, Buffalo announced that Dell will wear jersey no. 30, a move that upset many fans as the number had not been issued since Ryan Miller's departure from the team in 2014.

On January 25, 2022, during a game against the Ottawa Senators, Dell delivered an unprovoked hit to forward Drake Batherson, causing an ankle injury; as a result, Batherson was ruled out for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game which he was supposed to attend. The following day, Dell was suspended three games for the hit, officially ruled as interference.

As a free agent from the Sabres, Dell returned to his original club, the San Jose Sharks, after agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on July 13, 2022.

Dell signed a professional tryout deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets in August 2023. He was released from his PTO on October 5. In December, Dell signed a professional tryout deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. He was later released by the Hurricanes without a contract and later signed an AHL contract for the remainder of the season with the Ontario Reign, primary affiliate to the Los Angeles Kings, on January 6, 2024. Dell made 5 appearances with the Reign before securing a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the season with the Kings on March 5, 2024.

On September 4, 2025, Dell announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Records 2010–11: Holds UND school record for most wins in a season (30), surpassing previous record holder Ed Belfour (29) 2014–15: Holds Worcester Sharks record for GAA at 2.06 and SAV%.927 and tied with Alex Stalock with four shutouts.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2006–07 Airdrie Thunder HJHL 36 31 2 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Calgary Canucks AJHL 23 5 11 2 1245 65 0 3.13 .891 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Calgary Canucks AJHL 51 25 17 8 2986 126 3 2.53 .923 4 1 3 253 13 0 3.08 .913 2009–10 U. of North Dakota WCHA 5 1 3 1 199 6 1 1.81 .897 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 U. of North Dakota WCHA 40 30 7 2 2349 70 6 1.79 .924 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 U. of North Dakota WCHA 33 18 10 2 1799 80 2 2.67 .900 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Allen Americans CHL 44 22 11 6 2344 90 3 2.30 .916 19 12 7 1097 45 1 2.46 .915 2013–14 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 29 19 7 3 1735 62 2 2.14 .920 3 1 1 188 6 0 1.92 .932 2013–14 Abbotsford Heat AHL 6 1 2 0 262 10 0 2.29 .922 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Allen Americans ECHL 12 8 1 2 676 32 1 2.84 .902 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Worcester Sharks AHL 26 15 8 2 1544 53 4 2.06 .927 3 0 3 149 12 0 4.83 .857 2015–16 San Jose Barracuda AHL 40 17 16 6 2281 92 4 2.42 .922 4 1 3 231 10 0 2.59 .932 2016–17 San Jose Sharks NHL 20 11 6 1 1115 37 1 2.00 .931 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 San Jose Sharks NHL 29 15 5 4 1523 67 2 2.64 .914 2 0 0 47 2 0 2.55 .929 2018–19 San Jose Sharks NHL 25 10 8 4 1324 70 2 3.17 .886 2 0 1 90 5 0 3.33 .861 2019–20 San Jose Sharks NHL 33 12 15 3 1835 92 0 3.01 .907 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Binghamton Devils AHL 1 0 0 1 65 5 0 4.62 .839 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 1 5 0 320 22 0 4.14 .857 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Rochester Americans AHL 22 12 7 1 1259 61 0 2.91 .909 10 5 5 627 37 0 3.54 .883 2021–22 Buffalo Sabres NHL 12 1 8 1 566 38 0 4.03 .893 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 San Jose Barracuda AHL 38 15 17 4 2067 108 2 3.14 .898 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 San Jose Sharks NHL 4 0 3 0 200 9 0 2.71 .913 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Ontario Reign AHL 12 7 4 1 723 31 1 2.57 .914 — — — — — — — — 2024–25 Wichita Thunder ECHL 13 6 6 1 783 38 0 2.91 .914 — — — — — — — — 2024–25 San Jose Barracuda AHL 10 3 3 2 579 36 0 3.73 .890 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 130 50 50 13 6,874 335 5 2.92 .905 4 0 1 137 7 0 3.08 .891

Awards and honours Award Year College All-WCHA First Team 2010–11 NCAA goaltending title 2010–11 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2010–11 WCHA All-Tournament Team 2012 WCHA Final Five tournament MVP 2011–12 CHL All-CHL Team (First Team All-Star) 2012–13 All-Rookie team 2012–13 Most Outstanding Goaltender 2012–13 Ray Miron President's Cup champion 2012–13