Joseph Leonard MacDonald (born February 7, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Calgary Flames.[1]

Joey MacDonald
MacDonald with the Abbotsford Heat in 2014
Born (1980-02-07) February 7, 1980 (age 44)
Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 197 lb (89 kg; 14 st 1 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for
Playing career 2001–2017

Playing career

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Junior

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MacDonald began his junior hockey career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the 1997–98 season playing for the Halifax Mooseheads. In 17 games, he recorded only three wins, but continued to work on his style and play, impressing the coaching staff in the process[citation needed]. The Ontario Hockey League then came calling the following season and MacDonald began play for the Peterborough Petes as their starting goaltender. MacDonald thrived in his expanded role, finishing with a winning record and a lower goals against average. He remained the Pete's starting goaltender until the 2001–02 season when he joined the Toledo Storm of the ECHL after signing with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent.

Professional

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MacDonald struggled on the weak[citation needed] ECHL team and recorded only 12 wins in his 38 games. The Red Wings sent MacDonald to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL for the 2002–03 AHL season as backup to Marc Lamothe. MacDonald proved to be capable in his new role, finishing with 14 wins and 6 losses in the 25 games he played. The 2003–04 AHL season saw MacDonald splitting time with Lamothe. The Griffins had seen enough and after Lamothe left the following season, MacDonald was named starting goaltender. MacDonald played in 66 games for the Griffins, finishing with a record of 34–29–2 and a save percentage of .926. The 2005–06 AHL season saw an influx of goaltenders into the Red Wings farm system and MacDonald competed to stay near the top. He split time with Drew MacIntyre and new prospect Jimmy Howard. MacDonald finished the season 17–9–2 in 32 games played.

MacDonald was brought up to the NHL for the 2006–07 season when he was named as a backup goaltender to Dominik Hašek and Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings. MacDonald made his NHL debut on October 19, 2006 against the San Jose Sharks. Detroit was down 3–0 when MacDonald came in for Osgood after he let in three power play goals in the first 15 minutes of period one. However, it would take five more games, in which he was the starting goaltender, before MacDonald would get his first NHL win with a 7–4 victory over the Calgary Flames on February 11, 2007.

On February 24, 2007, the Boston Bruins picked up MacDonald on waivers. He played his first game with the Bruins on March 4, 2007 resulting in a 4–1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

On July 8, 2007, MacDonald signed a two-year deal as an unrestricted free agent with the New York Islanders.[2] He was then assigned to affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.

In the 2008–09 season, MacDonald became the Islanders regular backup goalie. This is due to the departure of the team's previous backup, Wade Dubielewicz, as an UFA and his subsequent signing in Russia. This also had to do with the second year of MacDonald's contract being a one-way deal. Many Islanders fans were apprehensive about this arrangement, feeling that MacDonald may not be ready to be DiPietro's backup on a regular basis- especially since they hoped their starting netminder was going to get more time to rest.[citation needed] That time to rest came earlier than expected as DiPietro started the season recovering from an injury and then went out once again to another injury after two losses. MacDonald finished the season with a 14-26-6 record, to go along with a 3.37 goals against average. A high point of his season was a 2–0 victory against his former team, the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. MacDonald made 42 saves while recording his first career shutout in the NHL.[3]

On August 10, 2009, MacDonald was signed to a one-year contract by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[4] Prior to the 2009–10 season, MacDonald was placed on waivers and was assigned the starting goaltender for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, on September 29, 2009. On October 8, 2009, MacDonald was called up to the Maple Leafs to back up Vesa Toskala. He would later get his first ever start with the Maple Leafs on October 13, 2009.[5]

 
MacDonald with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2014

On March 3, 2010, MacDonald was traded by the Leafs to the Anaheim Ducks for a seventh round pick. As the Ducks had no AHL affiliate team at the time, MacDonald remained with the Marlies after the trade.[6]

On July 2, 2010, MacDonald returned to Detroit when he signed a one-year two-way contract with the organization.[7] He recorded a 5-5-3 record in 15 appearances with Detroit, including one shutout. He remained with the Red Wings for the final months of the regular season and playoffs as Jimmy Howard's backup due to an injury to Chris Osgood.

MacDonald signed a two-year contract on July 11, 2011[8] with the Red Wings (a two-way deal in the first year and a one-way deal in the second year) over an offer to play in the KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.[9] MacDonald began the season with the Griffins as the organization's number three goaltender. Following an injury to starter Jimmy Howard and the unsteady play of back-up Ty Conklin, MacDonald was recalled to the Red Wings where he has helped extend the Red Wings NHL-record home winning streak.

MacDonald was put on waivers by the Red Wings on February 10, 2013.[10] He was then claimed off waivers by the Calgary Flames the following day. He was their backup goaltender behind Karri Ramo[11]

MacDonald was signed as a free agent on July 1, 2014 by the Montreal Canadiens to a one-year two-way contract.[12] MacDonald failed to make the Canadiens out of training camp and, after clearing waivers, was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs.

He signed a one-year contract with the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on June 19, 2015[13] and had his contract renewed for a second year in March 2016. In 2017, he was let go.[14][15]

Awards

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AHL

Records

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  • Team record: Highest save percentage in a season: .936 (Grand Rapids Griffins 2003–04)
  • Team record: Most career goaltending wins: 70 (Grand Rapids Griffins)
  • Team record: Most career shutouts: 14 (Grand Rapids Griffins)

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1997–98 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 17 3 12 0 816 54 0 3.97 .880 3 1 2 140 15 0 6.43
1998–99 Peterborough Petes OHL 47 22 15 2 2,483 123 3 2.97 .911 3 0 2 145 13 0 5.34 .871
1999–00 Peterborough Petes OHL 48 20 15 6 2,641 125 2 2.84 .911 5 1 4 280 16 1 3.43 .895
2000–01 Peterborough Petes OHL 57 25 21 7 3,284 161 1 2.94 .910 7 3 4 425 18 0 2.54 .935
2001–02 Toledo Storm ECHL 39 12 15 7 2,084 100 1 2.88 .922
2001–02 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 1 0 1 84 3 0 2.14 .939
2002–03 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 25 14 6 0 1,336 49 3 2.20 .916 1 0 0 8 1 0 7.95 .750
2003–04 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 39 22 12 3 2,249 74 6 1.97 .936 1 0 1 40 4 0 6.04 .826
2004–05 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 66 34 29 2 3,754 143 5 2.29 .926
2005–06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 32 17 9 2 1,745 91 2 3.13 .897
2005–06 Toledo Storm ECHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .962
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8 1 5 1 468 27 0 3.46 .872
2006–07 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 2 1 1 0 123 6 0 2.93 .898
2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 7 2 2 1 358 16 0 2.68 .918
2007–08 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 38 16 19 2 2,266 109 2 2.89 .909
2007–08 New York Islanders NHL 2 0 1 1 120 6 0 3.00 .918
2008–09 New York Islanders NHL 49 14 26 6 2,792 157 1 3.37 .901
2009–10 Toronto Marlies AHL 36 14 19 3 2,112 112 2 3.18 .893
2009–10 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 6 1 4 0 319 17 0 3.20 .892
2010–11 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 20 10 9 1 1164 54 1 2.78 .894
2010–11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 15 5 5 3 721 31 1 2.58 .917
2011–12 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 26 11 11 3 1412 62 3 2.63 .913
2011–12 Detroit Red Wings NHL 14 8 5 1 806 29 0 2.16 .912
2012–13 Calgary Flames NHL 21 8 9 1 1148 55 0 2.87 .902
2013–14 Calgary Flames NHL 11 5 4 1 599 29 0 2.90 .890
2013–14 Abbotsford Heat AHL 16 5 10 0 900 45 0 3.00 .909
2014–15 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 26 10 9 6 1558 72 0 2.77 .910
2015–16 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 28 10 17 0 1605 85 0 3.18 .919
2016–17 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 17 4 12 0 948 44 0 2.78 .915
NHL totals 133 44 61 15 7,331 367 2 3.00 .902

References

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  1. ^ "Joey MacDonald". Legends of Hockey. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  2. ^ "Joey MacDonald signs two-year deal with the NYI". New York Islanders. July 8, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  3. ^ "Red Wings beat by Joey MacDonald, Islanders". Mlive.com. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  4. ^ "MacDonald joins Leafs after Long Island stint". Toronto Star. August 11, 2009. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  5. ^ Hunter, Paul (2009-10-13). "Lousy Leafs shake things up". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  6. ^ "Ducks nab MacDonald". NHL. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  7. ^ "Red Wings sign goaltender Joey MacDonald for depth in Grand Rapids". mlive.com. 2010-07-03. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  8. ^ "Joey MacDonald #31 - G". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  9. ^ "Well-traveled Joey MacDonald persevered to become part of Red Wings' record run". mlive.com. 2012-02-16.
  10. ^ "Jonathan Ericsson's goal with 5 seconds left lifts Wings past Kings". ESPN. Associated Press. February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  11. ^ "Flames claim netminder MacDonald off waivers". The Sports Network. February 11, 2013. Archived from the original on February 14, 2013. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  12. ^ "Canadiens agree to terms with free agent Joey MacDonald". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  13. ^ "Joey MacDonald taking hockey career overseas". The News. New Glasgow. June 19, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "Das clevere Fitnessstudio".
  15. ^ "Personalentscheidungen bei den Wild Wings". www.wildwings.de. March 13, 2016. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the Hap Holmes Memorial Award
(with Marc Lamothe)

2002–2003
Succeeded by