Curtis McElhinney: Ice Hockey, NHL, Family & Net Worth

Curtis McElhinney is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He has also been a part of Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, and Calgary Flames.

The Calgary Flames selected him in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 176th overall. Today, he stands tall and firm as one of the most loved players on his team. But life was not always this way.

We will be talking about McElhinney without excluding anything significant that has ever happened in his personal and professional life. Let’s get started!

Quick Facts 

Curtis McElhinney | Early Life and Family

Curtis McElhinney was born on May 23, 1983, in London, Ontario. His parents’ names are Bill McElhinney and Shirley McElhinney. He has a sister: Alana McElhinney.

Curtis grew up in his birthplace. He then moved out to Calgary, Alberta. Flying, Skiing, hiking, fishing, and mountain biking are some of his top hobbies.

Curtis is not the only one in the family to have indulged in ice hockey. Alana is also an ice hockey player. In fact, she is a goaltender like her brother.

Furthermore, she played for the Division I Bemidji State University‘s women’s hockey team.

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Curtis McElhinney | Age, Height, And Weight

The former Maple Leaf goalie is [calculate years datestring=”05/23/1983″] Years Old as of May 23, 2024. The athlete takes great care of his health and diet.

Hence, the hockey player is very fit and active despite approaching his 40s. Furthermore, he is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 200 lb, i.e., 91 kg,

Curtis McElhinney | College Career And Amateur Career

McElhinney went to Colorado College. He played ice hockey for four years while in college. He recorded a 62–15–8 score while in college.

Curtis won two Western Collegiate Hockey Association First All-Star Team selections in the years 2003 and 2005. Similarly, he won the NCAA Second and First All-American Team selections in 2003 and 2005.

The Calgary Flames drafted him in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 176th overall.

Curtis McElhinney | Professional Ice Hockey Career

He debuted professionally with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL) in the 2005-2006 seasons.

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2006-2008 Season

The team tied for the AHL lead in shutouts in 2006–2007. They made the team-highest record of 44 wins for the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights.  

He participated in the 2007 AHL All-Star game. Also, he was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.

He played his debut game in NHL on October 22, 2007. It was against the San Jose Sharks in relief of Miikka Kiprusoff. He appeared in five NHL games in the season.

He compiled a 0–2–0 record and a goal of 2.00 goals-against average.

McElhinney divided his time between the Quad City Flames and Calgary Flames in the 2007-2008 season.

He spent his entire 2008–2009 NHL season playing for the Calgary Flames. He was Kiprusoff’s backup.

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Trades And 2009-2011 Season

He had his first NHL victory in his 14th game of the year. It was the last game of the regular season. He then gained a 4–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on April 11, 2009.

The Calgary Flames signed a two-year contract with him before the 2009–2010 seasons. The Flames then traded him to the Anaheim Ducks on March 3, 2010. The trade was made to acquire goalie Vesa Toskala.

The Ducks then traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 24, 2011. The trade was made to acquire Dan Ellis.

The Ottawa Senators then claimed him on February 28, 2011. McElhinney got into a one-year, two-way deal with the Phoenix Coyotes on July 4, 2011.

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2012-2013 Season

The Phoenix Coyotes then traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 22, 2012. Antoine Vermette was also traded along with him.

The Ottawa Senators picked Vermette as the second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry. He was also a conditional fifth-round selection in the 2013 Draft.

McElhinney played for the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons throughout the season. In fact, he played really well in the season.

He posted nine shutouts, leading the league. He also made a record for the franchise in both single-season and career shutouts. Moreover, he was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team once again.

2017 Season

He set 4 straight goals in a 5-4 loss to the New York Rangers on January 7, 2017. The Columbus Blue Jackets then placed him on waivers on January 8, 2017.

He recorded a 2-1-2 win rate with a .924% save percentage. The record was built on seven games with the team in the 2016-2017 seasons. But he was waived again on January 9, 2017.

The Toronto Maple Leafs then claimed McElhinney on January 10, 2017. The move was initiated because they required a backup goaltender.

Jhonas Enroth played as a goaltender for them earlier. He had a disappointing season.

McElhinney recorded 6–7 with one shutout, a 2.85 GAA, and a .914 save percentage. He gained quite a few extra starts owing to starter Frederik Andersen’s injury.

He mostly had the chance to portray his skills in the second last game season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a playoff spot on the line.

He recorded the biggest save of his career in the dying seconds in this game. It was against the Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

Crosby seemingly also made a wide-open net for a one-timer goal. He slides across the crease, making a pad save.

He also succeeded in preserving the lead that eventually helped him earn a playoff berth for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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2018-2020 Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs then placed McElhinney on waivers prior to the 2018–2019 seasons, on October 1, 2018. The step was initiated after Garret Sparks earned the backup goaltending position in the pre-season.

The Carolina Hurricanes claimed McElhinney. Hence, his two-year tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended on October 2, 2018.

The claim was made to fulfil the position after Scott Darling got an injury. McElhinney played really well. He split most of the 2018–2019 seasons in goal with Petr Mrázek.

McElhinney had his debut for the Carolina Hurricanes on May 1, 2019. It was in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs versus the New York Islanders.

He also stood up as the oldest player in Round 2 to have made his first career playoff start. He was 35 years and 343 days old then.

McElhinney then helped to score the league’s first-ever 4–0 sweep on May 3, 2019. It was recorded in Game 4.

McElhinney then signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1, 2019. He was also a participant in the 2020 Stanley Cup-winning team.

He fulfilled the role mostly as the backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy in the season.

You can see the latest news relating to McElhinney on NHL’s official website.

International Ice Hockey Career And World Championship

In the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Boston Bruins defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. After that, McElhinney got named to Team Canada.

The goalie represented the Canadian team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship. The Swedens were the World Champions. Nevertheless, he assisted Team Canada to secure fourth place. 

Curtis McElhinney | Stats

The below stats represent his 11 seasons in the NHL career.

Curtis McElhinney | Mask, Jersey, And Autograph

The NHL player is quite famous for his protective helmet or mask that he wears while playing. Furthermore, he wore jersey number 35 while playing for different NHL teams.

Currently, the former Hurricane is serving as a goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Moreover, he wears number 25 with the Lightning. 

Curtis McElhinney | Wife and Children

Curtis McElhinney is married to Ashleigh McElhinney. The couple looks ravishing together.

They have a son named Trenton McElhinney and a daughter named Jaxen McElhinney. Trenton was born in 2009, and Jaxen was born in 2011.

Although we do not have their exact address, they reside in Tampa Bay, Florida. 

Curtis McElhinney | Contract, Net Worth, And Salary

McElhinney has made an impressable amount from his ice hockey career. All the teams that he has been associated with have paid him well.

Curtis McElhinney’s net worth is estimated to be around $9 million.

Moreover, his career earning has amounted to $8,940,476 after playing 11 NHL season. In 2019, he signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning that paid him $2.6 million.

Besides that, he earned over a million dollars through his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadian player also makes a decent amount through endorsements and sponsorships. 

Furthermore, he lives a decent life with his wife and children. The family is also involved in serving the community through donations.

Likewise, Ashleigh built a free library for children. The family spends a particular part of their earnings on other community service projects as well. 

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Curtis McElhinney | Social Media Presence

Curtis is very active on multiple social media platforms. Hence, he has an Instagram account with 16.7 thousand followers.

From his Instagram handle, one can quickly gather him to be adventurous and a family man. The NHL player is seen going on trips, cycling, hiking, surfing, and fishing with his kids and wife. 

Besides that, the athlete has several pictures of him and his fellow teammates on the rink. Recently, he shared a photo with his Tampa Bay teammates after winning 2019-20 NHL playoffs and his first Stanley Cup.

Likewise, the goalie is on Twitter, with over 7.7 thousand followers. He mostly tweets NHL related news, events, and highlights. 

Curtis McElhinney | Common Queries:

How old is Curtis McElhinney? 

As the NHL player was born on May 23, 1983, he is 38 years old.

Why was Curtis McElhinney placed on waivers?

The Toronto Maple Leafs placed McElhinney on waivers to acquire Garret Sparks as their backup goalie. 

What is the Curtis McElhinney – Brock Nelson issue?

Brock Nelson plays for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League.

During a game, he gave a nice little tap on the head to McElhinney. At the time, Curtis played for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Nelson did so after the New York Islanders tied the game. Although the tap was friendly, the incident was interpreted as an act of mockery. People interpreted it in their own ways.

It later became a subject matter of trolls. The New York Islanders‘ official Twitter account posted a GIF of Nelson’s head pat. They captioned it as, “Tag. You’re it.”

The Carolina Hurricanes’ Twitter handle gave a savage response. They wrote, “they’re out here playing tag.”

Did Curtis McElhinney play in American Hockey League (AHL)?

Curtis McElhinney made his professional ice hockey debut through AHL. He played for the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights in the 2005-2006 seasons.

Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben is the AHL affiliate of Calgary Flames.

McElhinney also participated in the 2007 AHL All-Star games. He ended up getting named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.

How good is Curtis McElhinney?

McElhinney is a well-polished ice hockey goaltender. He has set a few records, proving his worth.

He became the oldest goalie to have recorded and won his first postseason start. It’s never too late to make wonderful things happen. McElhinney did it at the age of 35 years 343 days.

He has been referred to as ‘an excellent goalie’ by commoners, fans, teammates, and coaches.

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