The McIntyre Monster

It isn't often that a player with NHL experience finds himself accepting a contract offer from an ECHL team, but we've seen a few players turn what some believe to be a "last-ditch effort" to make their way back to the NHL into a long-term residence with their new team. Goaltender Zane McIntyre is in that situation now as he signed a standard player's contract today with the Tahoe Knight Monsters after Jordan Papirny was recalled by the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights. McIntyre's return to North America after a year in Germany might have led some teams to look past his name when looking for goaltending help, but McIntyre has never been afraid to work hard to earn his spot on the roster. The Knight Monsters will offer that.

Zane McIntyre hasn't spent a lot of time on NHL ice surfaces, and his eight-game totals of a 3.97 GAA and an .858 save percentage aren't entirely accurate of the type of goalie McIntyre is. He was excellent in the NCAA with North Dakota where he played 92 games, posting a 2.10 GAA and a .926 save percentage are slightly elevated when looking at his body of work, but it's clear that he can stop pucks.

His AHL numbers are what should be considered, and we can point to his 153-97-45 record as the first reason he might be a good signing for Tahoe. He has only posted a losing record in one of his nine seasons in the AHL, and that was in 2022-23 with the Iowa Wild. Statistically, that has been his worst season in the AHL across the board, so his consistency between the pipes when it comes to winning should be what's highlighted here. He wins hockey games at the AHL level.

His 2.61 GAA and .908 save percentage at the AHL should have had a few teams calling his agent about a potential AHL job, but that didn't happen. McIntyre went 15-12-0 with the Straubing Tigers in the DEL last season, and his 2.67 GAA wasn't far off his AHL numbers. However, his .889 save percentage was down from what he posted in the AHL, and it was the third-straight season where he didn't crack the .900 level for save percentage. That could be due to how the Iowa Wild play, but his work in the DEL turned in the same results.

So what can be taken away from this analysis?

Well, the 33 year-old is likely looking for place where he can take one more run at an AHL job, and getting started in the Vegas Golden Knights' system isn't a bad idea. Adin Hill is currently out week-to-week in Vegas, and Carl Lindbom is backing up Akira Schmid. The radioactive Carter Hart has yet to see a puck this season, so he's not anywhere close to being NHL-ready, and both Cameron Whitehead and Jesper Vikman are playing in Henderson. With Jordan Papirny being recalled by Henderson today, that left goaltender Zach Borgiel with the Knight Monsters as their lone netminder, and he has yet to log a second in the crease at any level of hockey professionally.

In short, Tahoe needed a netminder that had some experience, and Zane McIntyre certainly has that covered. We'll see how McIntyre fares in the ECHL behind the Knight Monsters' defence, but Tahoe is hoping he can catch fire quickly to help the Knight Monsters climb the standings in the ECHL's Mountain Division. I'm guessing his first test will be tomorrow against the division-leading Idaho Steelheads, so McIntyre will get thrown into the fire almost immediately.

There's no telling how long Zane McIntyre will be around the Tahoe Knight Monsters moving forward, but his two-game ECHL totals will have more games added to it after he signed in Nevada today. He is 0-1-0 in those two games with the Atlanta Gladiators dating back to the 2016-17 season, so we'll see if the Grand Forks native can come up big and turn into the McIntyre Monster for the Knight Monsters!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!