The NHL Invented a Job for Goalies Who Will Never Play, and the Tallest One Ever Debuted

The job nobody wants to need

The NHL's new collective bargaining agreement created a brand-new roster job: every one of the league's 32 clubs must now carry a designated, full-time emergency backup goaltender. The eligibility rules read like a definition of almost-but-not-quite — no previous NHL games under a standard player contract, fewer than 80 games of professional hockey experience, and no professional appearances in the previous three seasons. m:…6727

In Detroit, the job belongs to Mason Kucenski, 24, a native of Gill, Mass., who started playing hockey at age five. "It's honestly a dream come true," Kucenski said of the role, adding: "It's a lifetime goal of mine to be in the NHL, and it's all just surreal." His job is to be available every night for a game he is hired almost never to play — the position exists so a team is never caught without a goaltender. m:…6727

For anyone who manages hockey labor — agents, AHL front offices — the rule quietly creates 32 defined slots with unusual eligibility. That is a new, narrow market: goalies in the exact band of almost-good-enough, valuable precisely because they have never quite made it. m:…6727

The tallest netminder ever

At the other end of the goalie spectrum, the Florida Panthers recalled Cooper Black from the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, where he was 2-1-0 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Black is 6-foot-9, which will make him the tallest goaltender in NHL history — four others have reached 6-foot-7, but none taller. He is set to make his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins. m:…0047

Panthers coach Paul Maurice is not selling the novelty alone. "That's a big lad, and he moves like an athlete," Maurice said, adding: "He didn't look like he was solely relying on his size to make saves." Black signed a two-year, two-way contract extension on June 8, 2026. m:…0047

The old path still works

Black's debut opponent is fitting: the Pittsburgh Penguins, who made their own roster move this week. Pittsburgh recalled Pietila, 22, for his first NHL call-up. Drafted 111th overall in 2024, he signed his entry-level contract on March 9, 2025, played two seasons at Michigan Tech, then 66 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last year plus 14 Calder Cup playoff games. Coach Dan Muse said Pietila had an outstanding training camp; teammate Rutger McGroarty, also recalled, praised his character and trust in the development process. Kirk MacDonald informed Pietila of the recall. m:…1625

Put the three moves together and they describe the full strange range of how NHL rosters get filled now: a league-mandated job for a goalie who must legally be unqualified to have played, a record-breaking physical outlier finally getting his shot, and a fourth-round pick grinding through the normal development ladder. The formalized EBUG slot is the tell — hockey has now institutionalized its strangest roster position. m:…6727 m:…0047 m:…1625

There is a through-line here beyond the novelty: the crease is the one position a team cannot improvise, and the league has now formalized that fact at both ends — a mandated backup slot for emergencies, and a record-breaking debut that shows how far clubs will reach for an edge in net. m:…6727 m:…0047