Maple Leafs officially sign new goalie

The Toronto Maple Leafs added Brendan Bonello to their roster as the team's new emergency backup goaltender for the 2026-27 NHL season.

Bonello, 27, does have some minor professional experience as he spent three games with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL - Toronto's affiliate in that league, though given the new rules and restrictions surrounding emergency goaltenders, he could only have a handful of pro games under his belt.

He was seen taking the ice for Toronto's first training camp practice on Wednesday, skating alongside both Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz:

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Toronto's EBUG has a long history with the team

It's much easier this year to separate who is an EBUG and who is a regular contracted player, as all emergency backups need to be wearing the 00 jersey. It's also not Bonello's first time as an EBUG, as he stepped in during a game for the San Jose Sharks when they were in Toronto:

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He was also a member of both the Saginaw Spirit and Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, and did spend time as a Marlies backup once, as well as just a general practice goaltender who stepped in as an extra body.

Why NHL teams are signing their own personal EBUG's

Now this signing follows in the footsteps of several others around the league thanks to the NHL's new rules regarding emergency goaltenders.

This season, instead of scrambling to find replacement at the last minute, such as signing an amateur goalie to a PTO on game day in order to bring him in, teams will already have the proper personnel in place in case of...well, emergency.

This rule was meant to prevent teams from becoming short-handed in net and at least eliminating the risk of not being able to find a player in time. It's rare we see EBUG's play but they do find themselves in those situations from time to time - it's better to be safe than sorry.

At least the Maple Leafs are confident that if anything goes wrong with Sergei Bobrovsky or Anthony Stolarz and they can't call up someone in time, they'll have a familiar face between the pipes ready to help them in their time of need.

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