Alex Auld

Lore & Background

Auld began his junior career with the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and was drafted by the Florida Panthers in 1999. He turned professional in 2001–02 with the Vancouver Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, and made his NHL debut on January 23, 2002, a 4–2 victory over the Dallas Stars. His first career shutout came on March 23, 2003, against the Washington Capitals. During the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Auld replaced an injured Dan Cloutier and started Game 5, pushing the Calgary Flames to a Game 7 loss. In the 2005–06 season, after Cloutier suffered an ACL injury, Auld became Vancouver's starting goaltender and won the Cyclone Taylor Trophy as team MVP, though the Canucks missed the playoffs.

Reader's Guide

Auld was traded to the Boston Bruins on December 6, 2007, from the Phoenix Coyotes for right winger Nate DiCasmirro and a fifth-round draft pick. He served as backup to Tim Thomas for most of the 2007–08 season and played well, particularly after Thomas was sidelined by injury. His tenure with the Bruins was brief, as he signed with the Ottawa Senators as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2008. Auld later played for the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, and Montreal Canadiens before finishing his career with Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League in 2012. He retired at the end of that season.

Did You Know?

• Auld was a minor hockey teammate of future NHLers Taylor Pyatt, Patrick Sharp, Jason Jaspers, and Aaron MacKenzie.
• He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round pick in the 2002 NHL entry draft and a compensatory pick in the 2001 draft.
• Auld came within one second of recording a shutout in his Ottawa Senators debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden.
• He was claimed off re-entry waivers by the New York Rangers on February 27, 2010.

From Thunder Bay to the Pros: A Long Road to the NHL

Alexander James Auld, born January 7, 1981, honed his goaltending craft in Thunder Bay, Ontario, within the local Kings program. There he shared the ice with a remarkable cohort of young players who would all eventually reach the NHL, including Taylor Pyatt, Patrick Sharp, Jason Jaspers, and Aaron MacKenzie. Together, that Kings squad captured the All Ontario Bantam AAA gold medal in 1997 in North Bay. Auld then moved up to the Ontario Hockey League, joining the North Bay Centennials at the tail end of the 1997-98 campaign. After six games without a win, he settled into a more consistent role the following year, appearing in 38 contests. His performance earned him a selection in the second round, 40th overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 1999 NHL entry draft. He remained with the Centennials for two additional seasons as their primary goaltender before being dealt to Vancouver for draft picks. His professional path then wound through the AHL's Manitoba Moose and the ECHL's Columbia Inferno, with an ankle sprain during training camp adding an early setback to his journey.

Breakthrough Seasons and Playoff Heroics

Auld's first NHL appearance came on January 23, 2002, a 4-2 win over Dallas, but it was the 2003-04 playoffs that truly defined his character. When Dan Cloutier went down early in the Canucks' first-round series against Calgary, backup Johan Hedberg struggled in two appearances. Auld seized the starting role in Game 5 and pushed the Flames all the way to a decisive Game 7, showcasing the composure that would become his hallmark. The following season, after Cloutier suffered a torn ACL in a collision with Rob Niedermayer in November 2005, Auld was elevated to Vancouver's full-time starter. He carried that role through the remainder of the year, earning the Cyclone Taylor trophy as the team's most valuable player. He also left the Manitoba Moose as their franchise leader in wins and shutouts. His first career shutout had come earlier, on March 23, 2003, against Washington, a milestone that capped a season in which he also appeared in a Stanley Cup playoff game in relief.

Representing Canada on the International Stage

Throughout his career, Auld donned the Canadian jersey on three separate occasions, each marking a different chapter of his development. His first international assignment came at the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he served as the backup to Maxime Ouellet while Canada captured a bronze medal. That partnership with Ouellet would resurface years later at the NHL level. In December 2004, during the NHL lockout year, Auld represented Canada at the Spengler Cup, helping guide the national squad to a third-place finish. His third and final international appearance came at the 2006 World Championships, where Canada's campaign ended in disappointment with a fourth-place finish after dropping the bronze medal game to Finland. These three tournaments spanned his junior, AHL, and early NHL years, illustrating how Auld's growth as a goaltender was always intertwined with his pride in representing his country on the world stage.

Turbulent Years in Florida, Phoenix, and Boston

The 2006 trade that sent Auld to Florida alongside Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan Allen in exchange for Roberto Luongo initially positioned him as the Panthers' undisputed starter. That expectation quickly crumbled after Ed Belfour signed in late July and ultimately claimed the starting job. The situation took a dark turn in October when Auld was hospitalized after an incident while horsing around with Belfour, sparking widespread suspicion of an assault. After a disappointing season in Florida, Auld signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes in August 2007. However, Phoenix's goaltending depth was already crowded with David Aebischer and Mikael Tellqvist, and the acquisition of Ilya Bryzgalov from Anaheim left Auld as the clear odd man out. After just nine appearances, he was dealt to Boston on December 6, 2007, in exchange for Nate DiCasmirro and a fifth-round pick. In Boston, he served as backup to Tim Thomas and performed admirably, particularly when Thomas was sidelined by injury.

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