Joey MacDonald Joseph MacDonald ( born February 7 , 1980 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender in the Detroit Red Wings organization who currently plays with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) . He has previously played for the Boston Bruins , New York Islanders , and the Toronto Maple Leafs . He plays in the butterfly style of goaltending . Early life . MacDonald was born on February 7 , 1980 , in Pictou , Nova Scotia . His favorite television program growing up was Hockey Night in Canada . Playing career . Junior hockey . MacDonald began his goaltending 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 . 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 after being noticed and signed up by the Detroit Red Wings scouting team . Professional career . MacDonald struggled on the weak ECHL team and recorded only 12 wins in his 38 games . The Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL decided to call up MacDonald for their 2002 – 03 AHL season as backup to Marc Lamothe . MacDonald proved to be a 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 Lamonthe 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 . 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 . 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 . On August 10 , 2009 , MacDonald was signed to a one - year contract by the Toronto Maple Leafs . 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 backup Vesa Toskala . He would later get his first ever start with the Maple Leafs on October 13 , 2009 . On March 3 , 2010 , MacDonald was traded by the Leafs to the Anaheim Ducks for a 7th round pick . As the Ducks have no AHL affiliate farm club , MacDonald remained with the Marlies after the trade . On July 2 , 2010 , MacDonald returned to Detroit when he signed a one - year two - way contract with the organization . He recorded a 4 - 4 - 1 record in 11 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 .