Two-way contract

A two-way contract is a professional sports contract which stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play.

One-way contract

A one-way contract means that the player is paid the same amount of money regardless of whether he plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) or American Hockey League (AHL).^[1]

AHL/ECHL

This is what a player signs to lay out the terms of their playing status and salary. This is not transferable to the NHL and would require the player to sign a new contract with the NHL team.^[2]

Recent ATOs

On December 16, 2010, the Phoenix Coyotes signed Tom Fenton to a one-game amateur contract.^[3]

Another use of an ATO was when the Minnesota Wild signed 51-year-old Paul Deutsch^[4] on November 23, 2011.^[5] Deutsch was signed because the Wild were unsure their minor league goaltender, Matt Hackett, would arrive in time for the game. Deutsch wore number 33 and only participated in warm ups, as Hackett arrived just before the game started. Deutsch said the last time that he played organized hockey was in 1978 as a defenseman on his junior varsity high school hockey team. He first played goaltender at age 37 in a "beer league" in Minnesota.^[6]

On March 28, 2012, former University of Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick was signed to an ATO by the Columbus Blue Jackets after starting goaltender Steve Mason was injured during practice.^[7]

On February 28, 2014, the Buffalo Sabres signed their former video scout, Ryan Vinz, to an ATO after starting goaltender Ryan Miller was traded before warm-ups.^[8]

On February 15, 2016, the Arizona Coyotes signed emergency goaltender Nathan Schoenfeld, the son of former Coyotes coach and New York Rangers senior vice-president Jim Schoenfeld, to an ATO after backup goaltender Anders Lindbäck was injured in an off-ice activity before warmups.^[9]

On December 3, 2016, the Chicago Blackhawks signed emergency goaltender Eric Semborski, a former Temple University club goaltender,^[10] to an ATO after starting goaltender Corey Crawford presented acute appendicitis and underwent an appendectomy before a game in Philadelphia.

On December 31, 2016, the Carolina Hurricanes signed emergency goaltender Jorge Alves, who serves as the team's equipment manager, to an ATO after goalie Eddie Läck came down with food poisoning hours before face off for the game in Tampa Bay. Alves replaced starting goalie Cam Ward in net with 7.6 seconds remaining in the game and a faceoff at the other end of the rink, after the Lightning were called for icing the puck.^[11]

On March 29, 2018, Chicago Blackhawks signed emergency goalie Scott Foster, a former Western Michigan University goalie, to an ATO after Anton Forsberg injured himself playing soccer during warm up. During that night's game against the Winnipeg Jets, the starting goaltender Collin Delia (who also made his NHL debut that night) was injured early in the third period, and Scott Foster played, becoming the first emergency backup goaltender to be forced to play in the NHL due to injuries. He wore #90 and stopped all seven shots he faced in 14:01 ice time, including one powerplay shot to kill a one-minute power play, and was named the first star of the game.^[12]

On April 12, 2018, the San Jose Barracuda signed goaltender Nick Cafreli to an ATO after the San Jose Sharks recalled Antoine Bibeau for an out-of-town playoff game.^[13]

On November 14, 2018, the Washington Capitals signed goaltender Gavin McHale to an ATO after Braden Holtby sustained an upper body injury.^[14]

On February 22, 2020, the Carolina Hurricanes signed goaltender David Ayres to an ATO after both of the Carolina Hurricanes' goaltenders, James Reimer and Petr Mrázek, were injured during a game against the Maple Leafs.^[15],

On October 10, 2021, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Alex Bishop to an ATO after Petr Mrázek sustained a lower body injury.^[16]

On January 28, 2023, the Edmonton Oilers signed goaltender Matt Berlin of the University of Alberta Golden Bears to an ATO on an emergency basis, after regular goaltender Stuart Skinner was pulled from the lineup before game time due to illness. Berlin served as the backup to Jack Campbell and entered the game for the final 2 minutes in the Oilers' 7-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Berlin made one save on one shot.^[17]

On April 8, 2023, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Jett Alexander to an ATO. He played 70 seconds at the end of their game against Montreal that day.^[18]

On April 12, 2023, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Mathias Onuska to an ATO as a back up goaltender as Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray were both injured and unable to play.^[19] He plays for the Windsor Spitfires currently.

All of the goaltenders listed above served as backups to the team's remaining available goaltender. As of the 2022–23 season, only Scott Foster, Jorge Alves, David Ayres, Matt Berlin, and Jett Alexander have actually played in an NHL game. Ayres entered his game in the second period following an injury to goaltender Petr Mrázek and became the first emergency goaltender to record a win in NHL history.^[20]