Florida Panthers goaltending coach Robb Tallas signed a 1-day contract and suited up to play Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs in an emergency situation.
Starting goalie Roberto Luongo was hit by a puck in the neck area in the first period and did not come out after the first intermission. Backup Al Montoya took his place and allowed three goals on 15 shots before leaving in the third period with an injury. That led center Derek McKenzie to leave the ice and dress as the team’s emergency goalie. Montoya re-entered the game, but this is where things got interesting.
Rather than have McKenzie serve as emergency goalie, the team decided to have Tallas sign a contract to serve as the emergency goalie.
Robb Tallas will earn $500 for suiting up tonight for #FlaPanthers. Here is the contract he signed tonight: pic.twitter.com/qEcXxIfzgp
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 4, 2015
Keep in mind that Tallas last played goalie in an NHL game over 14 years ago. But this situation wasn’t foreign to Tallas; two years ago — also on March 3 — he suited up as the team’s emergency goalie, leading him to send this funny tweet after the 3-2 loss:
Next March 3rd I will be nowhere near a hockey rink #coincidence
— Robb Tallas (@robbtallas) March 4, 2015
Luongo, who changed into street clothes during the game, changed back into his uniform and actually finished the game in net. Between this story and this crazy one in 2011, we’ve seen it all when it comes to emergency goalies.
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