Keith Kinkaid

Keith Patrick Kinkaid (born July 4, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the Deer Lake Red Wings of the Central West Senior Hockey League (CWSHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), Kinkaid has previously played for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Colorado Avalanche.

Playing career Born and raised in Farmingville, New York, Kinkaid graduated from Sachem High School East in 2007.

Kinkaid played for the St. Louis Bandits of the North American Hockey League for the 2008–09 season. In February 2009, Kinkaid committed to play NCAA Division I hockey for Union College. That April, Kinkaid was named MVP and Goaltender of the Year after he led all NAHL goaltenders in wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. He was also nominated for the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award.

College Kinkaid played for Union College of ECAC Hockey from 2009 to 2011. In his freshman season, Kinkaid was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team and Third Team.

After an outstanding sophomore season in which Kinkaid posted a 25–10–3 record and led the Dutchmen to their first NCAA tournament appearance, Kinkaid was named an AHCA East First-Team All-American. He was also named to the All-ECAC Hockey First Team and awarded the Ken Dryden Award as the best goaltender in the ECAC.

Kinkaid signed an entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils in April 2011 after his sophomore season with Union.

Professional Kinkaid was assigned to the Devils' American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany Devils, for the 2011–12 season. He made his professional debut on October 9, 2011, in a 4–2 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. On October 14, Kinkaid earned his first career win in a 3–2 shootout over the Connecticut Whale. During that October, Kinkaid was recalled to the NHL to play as a backup for Johan Hedberg. However, Kinkaid did not play during the 6 games he was up for and he was returned to Albany without making his NHL debut. In his second game back in the AHL, Kinkaid recorded his first professional shutout against the Norfolk Admirals. He spent the entirety of the following season with the Albany Devils before being recalled in 2014.

On June 29, 2017, Kinkaid re-signed with the Devils. In the 2017–18 season, after starter Cory Schneider suffered a groin injury on January 23, Kinkaid eventually served as the starter, and performed well, posting a 2.77 GAA. and a .913 save percentage. On April 5, 2018, Kinkaid made 30 saves to help the Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs and clinch their first playoff spot since 2012.

In the following 2018–19 season, on February 25, 2019, Kinkaid was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. Acquired for added insurance to the Blue Jackets' Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo, Kinkaid remained on the roster as the third choice goaltender and did not make an appearance with Columbus.

As a free agent from the Blue Jackets, Kinkaid was signed to a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1, 2019. After playing six games for the Canadiens, and posting a .875 save percentage, Kinkaid was placed on waivers on December 2. After going unclaimed off waivers, he was assigned to the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. In his first return to the AHL since the 2014–15 season, Kinkaid collected just 3 wins in 13 games with the Rocket. On February 29, 2020, Kinkaid was reassigned on loan by the Canadiens to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, the primary affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Kinkaid left the Canadiens organization after his lone season with the club, and was signed as a free agent to a two-year, $1.65 million contract with the New York Rangers on October 9, 2020. Kinkaid made his Rangers debut on March 7, 2021, in the Rangers' 5–1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As a free agent from the Rangers, Kinkaid was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Boston Bruins on July 13, 2022. In the season, Kinkaid was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. On November 2, 2022, Kinkaid was recalled from Providence, following a lower body injury to Jeremy Swayman. He made his Bruins debut, collecting 30 saves, in a 3–1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on November 12, 2022. Returned to the AHL following his lone appearance with Boston, Kinkaid earned 8 wins through 20 appearances with Providence.

On February 25, 2023, Kinkaid was traded by the Bruins to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Shane Bowers. Acquired to add positional depth to the Avalanche organization, Kinkaid was immediately assigned to AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Before he featured with the Eagles, Kinkaid was promptly recalled to the Avalanche and made his lone appearance in relief of Alexander Georgiev in a 7–3 defeat to the Dallas Stars on March 4, 2023. He later returned to the Eagles and played in 7 regular season games before ending the season on the Avalanche playoff roster.

As a free agent Kinkaid left the Avalanche and opted to sign a one-year contract with the lone AHL independent club, the Chicago Wolves, on July 18, 2023. Before playing a game for Chicago, however, Kinkaid signed a one-year, two-way contract to return to the New Jersey Devils on September 13. On October 18, Kinkaid was assigned to the Chicago Wolves after clearing waivers.

Kinkaid signed a professional tryout contract with the New York Islanders before the start of 2024 training camp. The team Kinkaid supported growing up. The Islanders released Kinkaid on October 2. Kinkaid then immediately signed a one-year contract with Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, and played the entirety of the 2024–25 season in the ECHL with affiliate, the Savannah Ghost Pirates.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2007–08 New York Bobcats AJHL 28 20 5 3 1,458 58 3 2.39 .935 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 15 4 9 2 844 48 0 3.41 .893 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 St. Louis Bandits NAHL 40 30 5 4 2,393 71 7 1.78 .936 12 10 2 728 14 3 1.15 .951 2009–10 Union College ECAC 25 12 8 3 1,478 61 1 2.48 .912 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Union College ECAC 38 25 10 3 2,265 75 3 1.99 .920 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Albany Devils AHL 42 17 20 3 2,347 115 3 2.94 .904 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Albany Devils AHL 45 21 17 6 2,644 120 2 2.72 .905 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 0 0 26 1 0 2.31 .923 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Albany Devils AHL 43 24 13 5 2,519 96 4 2.29 .912 4 1 3 238 9 0 2.26 .932 2014–15 Albany Devils AHL 13 7 2 3 713 26 1 2.19 .923 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 New Jersey Devils NHL 19 6 5 4 925 40 0 2.59 .915 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 New Jersey Devils NHL 23 9 9 1 1,241 58 2 2.81 .904 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 New Jersey Devils NHL 26 8 13 3 1,485 65 1 2.64 .916 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 New Jersey Devils NHL 41 26 10 3 2,298 106 1 2.77 .913 2 0 2 202 9 0 5.87 .804 2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 41 15 18 6 2,302 129 3 3.36 .891 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 6 1 1 3 340 24 0 4.24 .875 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 13 3 7 3 750 43 0 3.44 .876 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Charlotte Checkers AHL 4 2 1 1 241 9 0 2.24 .924 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 2 2 0 0 120 2 1 1.00 .962 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 New York Rangers NHL 9 3 2 1 486 21 1 2.59 .898 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 37 20 14 2 2,164 106 1 2.94 .904 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 New York Rangers NHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .935 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Providence Bruins AHL 20 8 7 4 1,123 58 0 3.10 .909 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Boston Bruins NHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .968 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Colorado Avalanche NHL 1 0 0 0 28 1 0 2.15 .889 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 7 4 3 0 398 16 1 2.41 .918 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Chicago Wolves AHL 24 8 14 2 1,356 80 0 3.54 .880 — — — — — — — — 2024–25 Savannah Ghost Pirates ECHL 32 10 18 3 1,817 96 1 3.17 .893 — — — — — — — —NHL totals 169 70 58 21 9,241 448 8 2.91 .905 2 0 2 202 9 0 5.87 .804

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2016 United States WC 6 1 4 0 350 19 0 3.25 .871 2018 United States WC 9 7 2 0 526 15 2 2.29 .912Senior totals 15 8 6 0 876 34 2 2.77 .892

Awards and honors Award YearNAHL Robertson Cup champion 2008–09 Playoff MVP 2008–09 Regular season MVP 2008–09 Top Goaltender 2008–09 First Team All-Star 2008–09College All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 2009–10 All-ECAC Hockey Third Team 2009–10 All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2010–11 AHCA East First-Team All-American 2010–11 Ken Dryden Award 2010–11