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Brian Elliott
Brian elliott
Born April 9, 1985 (1985-04-09) (age 39)
Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams
Calgary Flames
Ottawa Senators
Colorado Avalanche
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2006–present

Brian Elliott (born on April 9, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the ninth round (291st overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and has also played for the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues.

Playing Career[]

Early Playing Career[]

Brian grew up in Newmarket, Ontario, playing minor hockey for the Newmarket Redmen AA and the York-Simcoe Express AAA teams in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. While attending Newmarket High School, he took the school's boys hockey team to the championship, winning it in 2000.

Brian was not drafted by an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team in 2001 and he returned to York-Simcoe for Major Midget the following season.

After a solid season in the Eastern AAA Hockey League, Brian was signed by the Ajax Axemen of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League in 2002–03.

Ottawa Senators[]

After a standout season with the Ajax Axemen in 2002–03, Brian was drafted in the ninth round (291st overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

The second-last player selected in the draft, he was not expected to progress to the NHL. After being drafted, Brian would spend four seasons with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, serving as a backup for his first two seasons before securing the starting goaltender position in the 2005–06 season.

For his efforts, Brian was selected as a finalist for the 2005–06 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, collecting eight shutouts in 33 appearances, and leading the Badgers to the 2006 NCAA National Championship.

Brian was then signed by the AHL's Binghamton Senators (an affiliate of the Ottawa Senators) on March 23, 2007 where he played in eight games with Binghamton near the end of the 2006–07 season.

Brian was invited to the Ottawa Senators' 2007–08 training camp, but he was ultimately assigned to Binghamton on September 25, 2007. He was recalled to Ottawa four days later to back up Martin Gerber as the starting goaltender Ray Emery was recovering from wrist surgery.

On October 10, 2007, Brian played in his first NHL game and earned the win against the Atlanta Thrashers. Upon Emery's return, he was sent back to Binghamton, where he played in 44 games that season.

On January 9, 2009, Brian was recalled by Ottawa after being named the AHL's Goalie of the Month for December.

He had been a standout in Binghamton, posting an 18–8–1 record with a 2.31 goals against average (GAA) and .926 save percentage. His play earned him the starting position for the Canadian team in the 2009 AHL All-Star Game.

Brian made an immediate impact in Ottawa.

The team had struggled all season with inconsistent goaltending being an issue. Craig Hartsburg, Ottawa's head coach at the time, said of the move, "We need some saves, some big saves, and he's done it down there [in Binghamton]." He would finish the season in Ottawa, sharing goaltending duties with veteran Alex Auld.

Brian's emergence effectively made Martin Gerber expendable to the team, and he would later be claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He was nominated for the NHL's Rookie of the Month award for March 2009 even though he would lose out to St. Louis Blues forward T.J. Oshie.

In January of 2010, he was awarded the NHL's First Star of the Week for January 18–24, and named the League's Second Star of the Week for January 25–31.

Colorado Avalanche[]

Prior to the trade deadline of the 2010-11 season,Brian was traded as a part of Ottawa's rebuilding process to the Colorado Avalanche on February 18, 2011 in exchange for goaltender Craig Anderson.

After winning just two of his 12 starts with the Avalanche, combined with a sub-par 3.83 GAA, he was released as a free agent after Colorado declined his qualifying offer.

St. Louis Blues[]

On July 1, 2011, Brian signed a one-year contract worth $600,000 with the St. Louis Blues.

Forming a formidable goaltending tandem with Jaroslav Halak, He revitalized his career, posting a 23–10–4 record while sporting a 1.56 GAA. He was also chosen to participate in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa.

On January 18, 2012, Brian signed a two-year contract extension with the Blues. The deal carried an average annual value of $1.8 million. He will reportedly earn $1.7 million in 2012–13 and $1.9 million in 2013–14.

After taking over for the injured Halák during the first round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Brian led the Blues to a series victory over the San Jose Sharks before ultimately being swept in round two by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings.

On May 19, 2014, Brian signed a three-year contract extension to remain in St. Louis. The deal has an average annual value of $2.5 million.

On January 22, 2015, he was named to the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, replacing Columbus Blue Jackets' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who had pulled out due to injury.

On March 12, 2015, Brian tied Jaroslav Halák for the Blues' franchise record in shutouts. Five days later, on March 17, 2015, he surpassed Halák for the Blues' shutout franchise record.

A 23–8–6 record during the 2015–16 NHL season earned Brian the starting role for the Blues for the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

He led the Blues to a first round victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. He made 31 saves in the deciding Game 7 victory on April 25, 2015.

Brian and the Blues would then move on to face the Dallas Stars, who had been the Western Conference's number one overall team. Again, the Blues prevailed in seven games.

Brian's only faltering occurred in Game 6 of the series, when he was pulled in favor of Jake Allen after allowing three goals on seven shots.

He would rebound the next game, making 31 saves in a decisive 6-1 victory that propelled St. Louis to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2001.

Calgary Flames[]

During the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Brian was traded to the Calgary Flames for a 2016 second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Career Statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T\OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2003–04 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 6 3 3 0 336 12 0 2.14 .912
2004–05 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 9 6 2 1 467 9 3 1.16 .945
2005–06 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 33 25 5 3 2008 52 8 1.55 .938
2006–07 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 36 15 17 2 2053 72 5 2.10 .923
2006–07 Binghamton Senators AHL 8 3 4 0 425 30 0 4.24 .886
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .966
2007–08 Binghamton Senators AHL 44 18 19 1 2394 112 2 2.81 .915
2008–09 Binghamton Senators AHL 30 18 8 1 1691 65 2 2.31 .926
2008–09 Ottawa Senators NHL 31 16 8 3 1667 77 1 2.77 .902
2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 55 29 18 4 3038 130 5 2.57 .909 4 1 2 203 14 0 4.14 .853
2010–11 Ottawa Senators NHL 43 13 19 8 2293 122 3 3.19 .894
2010–11 Colorado Avalanche NHL 12 2 8 1 690 44 0 3.83 .891
2011–12 St. Louis Blues NHL 38 23 10 4 2235 58 9 1.56 .940 8 3 4 455 18 0 2.37 .904
2012–13 St. Louis Blues NHL 24 14 8 1 1292 49 3 2.28 .907 6 2 4 378 12 0 1.90 .919
2012–13 Peoria Rivermen AHL 2 1 1 0 119 3 1 1.51 .946
2013–14 St. Louis Blues NHL 31 18 6 2 1624 53 4 1.96 .922
2014–15 St. Louis Blues NHL 46 26 14 3 2546 96 5 2.26 .917 1 0 0 26 1 0 2.31 .857
2015–16 St. Louis Blues NHL 42 23 8 6 2,263 78 4 2.07 .930 18 9 9 1058 43 1 2.44 .921
NHL totals 323 165 99 32 17,708 708 34 2.40 .914 37 15 19 2,120 88 1 2.49 .911

Accolades[]

Award Year
College
All-WCHA Second Team 2005–06
AHCA West First-Team All-American 2005–06
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2006
All-WCHA Second Team 2006–07
NHL
William M. Jennings Trophy 2011–12
All-Star Game 2012, 2015
Lowest GAA (1.56) 2011–12

Personal Life[]

Brian's father, Bill is a television director who has worked on numerous Canadian TV programs such as "The Red Green Show." He has one brother named Dan. During the off-season, he resides in Wisconsin.

Brian attended Newmarket High School with his former St. Louis Blues' teammate B.J. Crombeen.

Brian was taught the art of moose calling by the late Owen Scott, a champion moose caller. He paid tribute to him with a moose painted on the back of his goaltender mask. He also had Casey Jones from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" painted on his mask.

During the 2015–16 NHL season, he began wearing all blue pads as a tribute to former Blues goaltender Curtis Joseph and had his mask painted with the same design that Joseph wore.

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