Veteran goalkeeper Brian Elliott He appears to be ending his career after 16 seasons. general manager of the blues David Armstrong told reporters today that the team hired Elliott in a goalie development and scouting role, all but confirming that his playing days are over (via Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
After being selected by the Senators in the ninth round of the legendary 2003 Draft, Elliott embarked on a star-studded season at the University of Wisconsin. He led the Badgers to the 2006 national championship and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the NCAA’s top player. He turned pro with Ottawa after his college career came to an end, then made his NHL debut in 2007-08.
That was the last time we saw “limited” NHL action for Elliott, who broke onto the Sens’ roster full-time in 2008-09 as part of a rotation with Alex Auld and Martin Gerber. He didn’t earn any Calder Trophy love that year, but he put up solid numbers with a 16-8-3 record, .902 SV% and 2.77 GAA in 31 appearances for Ottawa.
Elliott took over as the Sens’ starter in 2009-10 and continued to hold the role into the 2010-11 campaign, but his level of play dipped. While the Senators’ underpowered offense in the early 2010s didn’t matter much, his .894 SV% that year was well below average for the time. Shortly before the 2011 trade deadline, Ottawa sent him to the Avalanche in a one-for-one trade for craig andersonone that would be very profitable for the Sens.
Unfortunately for Colorado, Elliott’s stay in Denver was brief. He won just two of his 12 games down the stretch and posted an SV% of .891, leading the club to let him leave as a free agent that offseason.
Armstrong, then in his early days in charge of the Blues, quickly turned him into one of the best value signings in the club’s history. After signing a one-year, two-way contract, Elliott broke into the Blues’ roster as a backup to Jaroslav Halák. However, he did not remain as a substitute for long. He worked his way into true tandem action with Halák that year thanks to his league-best .940 SV% and 1.56 GAA in 38 appearances, helping the duo take home the Jennings Trophy. Individually, Elliott also finished fifth in Vezina voting, one of two times he would earn consideration for the award.
Elliott spent the next four years in St. Louis, making 164 starts and 17 relief appearances. He compiled a brilliant 104-46-16 record behind one of the league’s best teams in the mid-2010s, with a .925 SV%, 2.01 GAA, and 25 shutouts in a Blues uniform. . The team made the playoffs every season he was there, including a run to the Western Conference finals in 2016, in which Elliott had a .921 SV% and 2.44 GAA in 18 postseason games.
The Blues had the youngest Jake Allen However, he was waiting in the wings and felt that Elliott could be expendable after a solid career. He was treated to flames for a couple of draft picks, one of which became Jordan Kyrou – bowing to his time in St. Louis.
Elliott’s only season in Calgary was the beginning of his decline. He wasn’t bad, but his .910 SV% was only around league average at the time and was well below his level of play with the Blues. The Flames let him walk into free agency the following summer, where he signed a three-year deal with the Flyers that yielded similarly lackluster results. In fact, in his seven years of service with Calgary, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay after the Blues traded him, Elliott only had one above-average season. This came in limited action as a backup for Andrei Vasilevskiy with the Bolts in 2021-22, posting a .912 SV% and 2.43 GAA in 19 appearances.
However, after struggling with a .891 SV% in his second and final season in Tampa, it was no surprise to many to see Elliott, now 39, out of the league this season. Now 39 years old, he will likely finish his career with a 279-167-54 record, 45 shutouts, a 2.57 GAA and a .909 SV% in 543 regular season games. He also had a 17-26 record and a .904 SV% in 48 playoff games.
PHR congratulates Elliott on a long tenure at hockey’s highest level and wishes him the best in his next steps in the sport.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
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