Al Montoya

Álvaro Montoya (born February 13, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the first round, sixth overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft after a three-year career with the University of Michigan. Montoya is the first Cuban-American to play in the NHL.[1] Montoya was born in Chicago, Illinois, but grew up in nearby Glenview, Illinois.

Al Montoya
Montoya with the New York Islanders in 2011
Born (1985-02-13) February 13, 1985
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Free Agent
Phoenix Coyotes
New York Islanders
Winnipeg Jets
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Edmonton Oilers
National team  United States
NHL Draft 6th overall, 2004
New York Rangers
Playing career 2006–present

Playing career
Montoya with the Winnipeg Jets in 2013

As a youth, Montoya played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Chicago Young Americans minor ice hockey team.[2] He later played for the Loyola Academy, and the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

Montoya spent the 2000–01 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Montoya began attending the University of Michigan and playing for the Wolverines ice hockey team in 2002–03. He enjoyed success at Michigan, especially during his final season in 2004–05, where he posted a record of 30–7–3. Montoya twice represented the United States at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, backstopping the team to its first gold medal at the 2004 tournament in Finland; he was named to the tournament All-Star team. The 2005 tournament, hosted by the United States, was a disappointing one for Montoya and the U.S., as they failed to earn a medal, losing to the Czech Republic in the bronze medal game.

Early NHL career

After being signed by the New York Rangers to a three-year entry-level contract in the summer of 2005, Montoya made his professional debut with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), the team with which he spent the majority of the next three seasons. Overall, he posted a 66–34–4 record with the Wolf Pack, along with a 5–5 playoff record.

With the emergence of Henrik Lundqvist as an All-Star caliber goaltender, Montoya became expendable to the Rangers. On February 26, 2008, Montoya was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes, along with Marcel Hossa, in exchange for Fredrik Sjöström, David LeNeveu and Josh Gratton.[3]

After re-signing with the Coyotes on July 2, 2008,[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] Montoya recorded a 9–11–5 record during the 2011–12 season.

Montoya again represented the United States at the 2011 World Championship. He appeared in four games and posted a 2–1 record as the Americans finished a disappointing eighth overall.

Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers

On July 4, 2012, Montoya was signed by the Winnipeg Jets to back-up starter Ondřej Pavelec on a one-year contract for the 2012–13 season, worth $601,000 after being released by the New York Islanders.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10] 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 losing 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.[11]

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.[12]

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
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
World Junior Championships
2004 Finland
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 [13]
All-CCHA Second Team 2003–04 [14]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2003–04
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References
  1. "Coyotes' Montoya gets historic 1st start". azcentral.com. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  3. "Hossa joins his brother on the move". NHL.com. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  4. "Coyotes sign Montoya, Spina plus two AHL players". NHL.com. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  5. "Coyotes' Montoya make 23 saves to earn shutout in first game". CBS Sports. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  6. "Coyotes acquire a sixth-round pick in 2011 NHL Draft from Islanders for Montoya". Phoenix Coyotes. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  7. "Islanders ink Montoya to one-year contract extension". TSN. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  8. "Jets sign backup goalie Montoya". WinnipegSun.
  9. "Florida Panthers active on day one of free agency". Florida Panthers. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  10. "Montreal Canadiens sign Montoya to 1 year deal". Montreal Canadiens. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  11. "Canadiens sign Al Montoya to a two-year extension". Montreal Canadiens. 2017-01-02. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  12. "Montoya traded to Edmonton". NHL.com. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  13. "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  14. "All-CCHA Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Hugh Jessiman		 New York Rangers first round draft pick
2004		 Succeeded by
Lauri Korpikoski
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