Miikka Kiprusoff |
Wiki |
Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff (Finnish pronunciation: ; born October 26, 1976) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played with the San Jose Sharks before being traded to Calgary. He captured the 2006 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender, and is widely considered among the league's elite at the position.
Kiprusoff won the SM-liiga gold medal in 1995 and 1999 in TPS and won the Urpo Ylönen trophy for best goaltender in 1999. He also played in the Swedish Elitserien before he made his NHL debut in 2000 with the San Jose Sharks. He was drafted 116th overall in the 5th round at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.
After spending three years as a reserve goalie with the Sharks, Kiprusoff was traded in 2003 to the Calgary Flames. He ended the regular season with a GAA of 1.69, a modern NHL record. Kiprusoff was nominated for the Vezina Trophy. Kiprusoff earned his first playoff shutout on April 13, 2004, at the Pengrowth Saddledome, blanking the Vancouver Canucks. The game finished 4–0 and Kiprusoff stopped all 20 shots he faced, and was named the first star of the game. Completing the playoffs with 5 shutouts in total, Kiprusoff then backstopped the Flames to series victories over the Detroit Red Wings and his former club the San Jose Sharks to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, where the Flames were narrowly defeated in seven games by the Tampa Bay Lightning.