David Ayres

David Ayres (/eɹz/; born August 12, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former head coach of the Port Perry Lumberjacks of the Provincial Junior Hockey League. Ayres is also the oldest NHL goaltender to win his regular-season debut.

While working as a building operator and Zamboni driver for the Toronto Marlies, Ayres became the Carolina Hurricanes' emergency goaltender during a 2020 game against the Maple Leafs. Despite having never played in the NHL and being 42 years old, he and Carolina emerged victorious. Although it was widely reported that Ayres was the first emergency backup goaltender to record a National Hockey League (NHL) win, several amateur goaltenders did so in the days before teams carried two goaltenders, including Bill Dickie in 1942, André Binette in 1955, and Len Broderick in 1957. However, those players were all playing minor league hockey at the time they were called up to replace an injured player, and started and completed their NHL games. They were not mid-game emergency backup goaltenders as Ayres was, and (unlike Ayres) they were playing hockey at a professional level at the time of their addition to an NHL roster. Ayres remains the only mid-game emergency backup goaltender to record an NHL win.