Overview
- Multiple outlets reported on Friday and Saturday that the Calgary Flames will name 35-year-old Dusty Nickel as their full-time emergency backup goaltender for 2026‑27.
- Under the CBA mandate, Nickel is expected to attend all 84 regular-season Flames games as a traveling EBUG and will wear jersey number 00 under the league’s rules.
- The new league-wide EBUG requirement applies to all 32 teams beginning in 2026‑27 and was introduced to standardize emergency coverage and reduce last-minute local call-ups.
- PuckPedia and team reporting summarize eligibility limits for EBUGs that bar recent NHL standard-contract players, players with more than 80 pro games, and those who played pro hockey in the prior three seasons.
- Nickel is a Calgary native who runs a construction business, has served as the Flames’ on-call EBUG and dressed as a backup in 2023‑24, and the change will shift EBUGs from folkloric one-off moments to a steady, managed team role.