Alex Auld Alexander Auld ( born January 7 , 1981 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Auld has also played for the New York Rangers , Vancouver Canucks , Florida Panthers , Phoenix Coyotes , Boston Bruins , Montreal Canadians and Dallas Stars of the NHL . He has appeared internationally for Team Canada on three occasions – the 2001 World Junior Championships , the 2004 Spengler Cup , and the 2006 World Championships . Playing career . Minor Hockey . Auld played most of his minor hockey in his hometown of Thunder Bay , Ontario with the Thunder Bay Kings program . He was a minor hockey teammate of future NHLers Taylor Pyatt and Jason Jaspers and their Kings team was runner - up in the All Ontario Bantam AAA championships in 1997 played in Richmond Hill , Ontario . Junior career . Auld started his junior career with the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) at the tail end of the 1997 – 98 season , appearing in six games without registering a win . After appearing in 38 games the following season , Auld was selected in the second round , 40th overall , of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft , by the Florida Panthers . Auld would finish out his junior career with the Centennials , spending two more seasons as their starting netminder . In his final season , Auld was named to Team Canada for the 2001 World Juniors , where he backed up Maxime Ouellet . Later that same season , Auld was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and a compensatory pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft . Professional career . Auld turned professional in the 2001 – 02 season , joining the Canucks ' American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Manitoba Moose . An ankle sprain sidelined Auld during training camp , however , and upon his return he was assigned to the Columbia Inferno of the East Coast Hockey League . Solid play in six games at that level returned Auld to the AHL , where he showed steady improvement , despite competition for playing time from veterans Alfie Michaud and Wade Flaherty . Following injuries to Canucks goaltenders Dan Cloutier and Peter Skudra , Auld got a start at the NHL level , a 4 – 2 victory over the Dallas Stars on January 23 , 2002 , after which he returned to the AHL . The 2002 – 03 season afforded Auld more opportunity for growth , although he again split playing time at the AHL level , this time with Tyler Moss . With Cloutier and Skudra entrenched at the NHL level , Auld still managed to appear in seven games as an injury - replacement , and even played one playoff game in relief . Most importantly , he received extensive playing time , and improved his statistics considerably . During the off - season , backup Pēteris Skudra signed with a Russian team , raising the possibility that Auld might claim the backup role for the Canucks . As the 2003 – 04 season approached , however , Canucks GM Brian Burke traded a draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Johan Hedberg , all but ensuring Auld another season in the minors . Again , Auld began the season sharing netminding duties with Tyler Moss . Auld again saw brief NHL action , appearing in six games . However , during the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs , Dan Cloutier was injured early on in the Canucks ' first round series with the Calgary Flames . Hedberg , who had been shaky as a backup , failed to impress coach Marc Crawford in two appearances , and Auld claimed the starting role in Game 5 , pushing Calgary the distance in the series , eventually losing in the seventh game . Auld spent the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout back with the Manitoba Moose , this time pairing with veteran netminder Wade Flaherty . Despite holding on to the starting role for much of the season , Auld disappointed in the playoffs , and Flaherty took over as starter , helping the team reach the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs . He also appeared for Canada at the Spengler Cup in December 2004 , carrying the team to a third place finish . Auld returned to the NHL when play resumed for the 2005 – 06 season , initially as the backup to Dan Cloutier . However , on November 20 , 2005 , Cloutier injured an ACL in a collision with Mighty Ducks of Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer . The hope initially was that the injury would heal during the season , but on December 15 , Cloutier opted for surgery , leaving Auld as Vancouver ' s starting goaltender . He would not play in another game for the Moose , leaving the AHL team as its franchise leader in wins and shutouts . As the Canucks ' starter , Auld was re - united with former World Junior teammate Maxime Ouellet , who was one of three goaltenders the Canucks used to back him up ( Mika Noronen and Rob McVicar were the others ) . Filling in admirably , Auld went on to capture the Cyclone Taylor trophy as team MVP , although the Canucks would miss the playoffs . Auld then joined Team Canada again , this time at the 2006 World Championships , where Canada finished a disappointing 4th , losing the bronze medal game to Finland . In June 2006 , Auld was involved in a multi - player trade that sent him , Todd Bertuzzi , and Bryan Allen to Florida for Roberto Luongo and Lukáš Krajíček , and a sixth round draft pick . Initially , Auld was expected to be the undisputed starter in Florida . However , the July 25 signing of Ed Belfour introduced some competition , and Belfour eventually won the job as starting goalie . Controversially , in October , Auld was hospitalized while " horsing around " with Belfour , with suspicions that Belfour had assaulted him . After an unsuccessful season with Florida , Auld signed a one - year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes on August 13 , 2007 . However , on a team with already with a wealth of goaltenders — Auld would compete for a job with David Aebischer and Mikael Tellqvist at the beginning of the season — Phoenix would pick up Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks , leaving Auld as one of the odd goalies out . After nine appearances with Phoenix , on December 6 , 2007 , Auld was traded to the Boston Bruins for right winger Nate DiCasmirro and the Bruins ' 5th round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft . Playing backup to Tim Thomas for the majority of 2007 – 08 , Auld would post the best statistics of his career ( excluding his first few seasons with the Canucks , in which he appeared in no more than seven games in a season ) with a personal - best 3 shutouts . On July 1 , 2008 , Auld signed a two - year , $ 2 million deal with the Ottawa Senators as an unrestricted free agent . He came within one second of recording a shutout in his Senators debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm , Sweden , surrendering a powerplay goal in the final moments of the game . Though Senators ' management expected him to serve primarily as a backup to Martin Gerber , Auld ' s strong play combined with Gerber ' s struggles resulted in Auld assuming the starting position early in the season . As the season progressed , Gerber was placed on waivers and ultimately was claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs , while rookie Brian Elliott would split the goaltending duties with Auld in Ottawa . He was expected to challenge for the starting position in 2009 – 10 with Pascal Leclaire , acquired by Ottawa from the Columbus Blue Jackets late at the 2008 – 09 trade deadline , but was traded in the off - season on July 8 , 2009 , to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 6th round draft pick in 2010 . On February 27 , 2010 Auld was claimed off of re - entry waivers by the New York Rangers of the NHL . On July 1 , 2010 , Auld signed a one - year $ 1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens . On July 1 , 2011 , Auld re - joined the Ottawa Senators , signing a one - year , $ 1 million contract . Personal life . Auld was born in Cold Lake , Alberta when his father was stationed out of Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake ; however , he spent the majority of his adolescence in Thunder Bay , Ontario . Auld ' s wife is celebrity handbag and jewellery designer Melanie Auld . The couple ' s first son , Sam Alexander Auld , was born on January 5 , 2008 in Boston , Massachusetts . The couple owns a home in the Thunder Bay area . International play . Played for Team Canada in :