Al Montoya

Álvaro Silva Montoya (born February 13, 1985) is a Cuban-American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played a total of nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers. He was selected in the first round, sixth overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2004 NHL entry draft after a three-year collegiate career with the University of Michigan. Montoya is the first Cuban-American to play in the NHL.

Playing career

Montoya was born in Chicago, Illinois, but grew up in nearby Glenview, Illinois. As a youth, he played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Chicago Young Americans minor ice hockey team. He later played for Loyola Academy, and the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

Montoya spent the 2001–02 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program before attending the University of Michigan and playing for the Wolverines ice hockey team the following year.

After re-signing with the Coyotes on July 2, 2008, Montoya started the 2008–09 season with the San Antonio Rampage, the Coyotes' AHL affiliate. Later that season, on April 1, 2009, Montoya made his NHL debut with the Coyotes, recording a shutout in a 3–0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. He went on to appear in five games for the Coyotes in 2008–09, posting a 3–1 record. That spring, Montoya was named to the American roster for the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. He started one game at the tournament, a 6–2 win over France.

On February 9, 2011, Montoya was traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2011. With Islanders' goaltenders Rick DiPietro and Kevin Poulin sidelined with injuries, Montoya was provided with an opportunity to play regularly in the NHL for the first time. He went on to play 21 games for the Islanders, posting a 9–5–5 record with a .921 save percentage and one shutout. On March 29, the Islanders re-signed Montoya to a one-year contract extension. Montoya recorded a 9–11–5 record during the 2011–12 season.

On July 1, 2014, Montoya was signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers to a two-year contract with an annual salary of $1.05 million.

Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers On July 1, 2016, Montoya was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens to a one-year contract with an annual salary of $950,000. He was the backup to starter Carey Price. During a November 2016 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montoya allowed 10 goals in a 10–0 Canadiens loss, making it the largest margin of loss by Montreal since December 1995. He kept a positive attitude about the embarrassing loss, saying that the setback only made him stronger.

On January 2, 2017, Montoya signed a new two-year contract to last until 2019.

On January 4, 2018, the Canadiens traded Montoya to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft.

Post-playing career

On September 9, 2021, Montoya was named director of community outreach for the Dallas Stars.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2000–01 Texas Tornado NAHL 15 10 3 0 780 38 0 2.92 — 1 1 0 60 2 0 2.00 — 2001–02 U.S. National Team Development Program NAHL 24 6 11 4 1344 79 0 3.53 — — — — — — — — — 2002–03 University of Michigan CCHA 43 30 10 3 2547 99 4 2.33 .911 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 University of Michigan CCHA 40 26 12 2 2340 87 6 2.23 .917 — — — — — — — — 2004–05 University of Michigan CCHA 40 30 7 3 2359 99 3 2.52 .895 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 2 1 1 0 123 8 0 3.92 .875 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 40 23 9 1 2094 91 2 2.61 .907 5 2 1 257 8 1 1.87 .932 2006–07 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 48 27 17 0 2556 98 6 2.30 .914 7 3 4 391 20 1 3.07 .873 2007–08 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 31 16 8 3 1704 72 0 2.54 .908 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 San Antonio Rampage AHL 14 8 6 0 789 34 1 2.59 .912 1 0 1 59 4 0 4.04 .857 2008–09 San Antonio Rampage AHL 29 7 17 2 1562 84 0 3.23 .885 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 5 3 1 0 259 9 1 2.08 .925 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 San Antonio Rampage AHL 14 4 7 1 771 34 0 2.65 .904 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 San Antonio Rampage AHL 21 11 8 0 1130 60 0 3.19 .891 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 New York Islanders NHL 20 9 5 5 1154 46 1 2.39 .921 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 New York Islanders NHL 31 9 11 5 1720 89 0 3.10 .893 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Winnipeg Jets NHL 7 3 1 0 351 17 1 2.91 .899 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Winnipeg Jets NHL 28 13 8 3 1541 59 2 2.30 .920 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Florida Panthers NHL 20 6 7 2 977 49 0 3.01 .892 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Florida Panthers NHL 25 12 7 3 1352 49 0 2.18 .919 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 Montreal Canadiens NHL 19 8 6 4 1125 50 2 2.67 .912 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Montreal Canadiens NHL 4 2 1 0 223 14 0 3.77 .863 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Edmonton Oilers NHL 9 2 2 2 470 23 0 2.94 .906 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Bakersfield Condors AHL 11 5 6 0 563 29 0 3.09 .879 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 168 67 49 24 9,170 405 7 2.65 .908 — — — — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2004 United States WJC 6 6 0 0 360 8 2 1.33 .944 2005 United States WJC 4th 6 3 3 0 393 22 0 3.36 .904 2009 United States WC 4th 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .875 2011 United States WC 8th 4 2 1 0 208 9 0 2.60 .871 Junior totals 12 9 3 0 753 30 2 2.39 .927 Senior totals 5 3 1 0 268 11 0 2.46 .874

Awards and honours Award Year College All-CCHA Rookie Team 2002–03 CCHA All-Tournament Team 2003 All-CCHA Second Team 2003–04 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2003–04