Montreal Canadiens Announce Two EBUGs for 2026-27 Season: Who Are They?

The topic of emergency backup goaltenders, aka EBUGs, has reemerged following some changes in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that went into effect on September 16th.

That new rule requires teams to employ a full-time third goaltender to travel with them on the road in case of an injury to one of their two netminders. With this rule, it'll eliminate situations like David Ayres', who was a former Zamboni driver for the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies. 

A then 42-year-old Ayres was forced into NHL action for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Toronto Maple Leafs in February of 2020 due to injuries sustained by James Reimer and Petr Mrazek. Ayres played a little less than half of the game, stopping eight of ten shots he faced and picked up the win as Carolina downed Toronto 6-3.

While it was a nice feel-good moment for Ayres and his family, along with the other handful of times it's happened in NHL history, it was time for a change to the rules and in recent weeks, teams around the league have been announcing their new EBUG for the 2026-27 season and on Monday, we found out who will be serving in that role for the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal Canadiens to Have Two EBUGs for the 2026-27 Season

In a post on X on Monday morning, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports revealed that the Montreal Canadiens will have two emergency backup goaltenders for the 2026-27 season. Reading between the lines, it sounds like one will serve as the EBUG at home due to them playing for McGill University, while the other will be their road EBUG as they're already a team employee.

Those emergency backup goaltenders are: Nicolas Ruccia, a 22-year-old in his second year with McGill University, and Daniel Harvey, who is currently a video coach for the Montreal Canadiens.

Nicolas Ruccia and Daniel Harvey are going to share the EBUG job for the @CanadiensMTL this season. Lavoie said on X.

Daniel Harvey

Let's start with Daniel Harvey. Harvey doesn't have any playing experience, according to Elite Prospects, but has been around the coaching scene across Quebec for a decade now.

He began his coaching journey in the 2015-16 season with the Montreal National Espoir (QMEAA). He spent the majority of the next four seasons in the QMEAA, along with brief stints in the QBAAA and QJHL before being hired by Concordia University as a video coach.

Harvey was then promoted to assistant coach at Concordia for the 2020-21 season, before making the jump to professional hockey the following year. In 2021, the Laval Rocket hired Harvey to become their video coach, but his time in the American Hockey League didn't last long.

After a one-year stint with AHL Laval, Harvey was promoted to the Montreal Canadiens to become their new video coach ahead of the 2022-23 season and has served in that role ever since.

While there's been no confirmation yet on how the EBUG situation will shake out in Montreal this season, as previously mentioned, I wouldn't be shocked if Harvey is in that role on the road since he's already with the club in the video room for all 84 games.

Nicolas Ruccia

If you're a fan of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) or follow the league in any capacity, you've heard the name Nicolas Ruccia. Ruccia broke into the QMJHL in the 2020-21 season with the Cape Breton Eagles, splitting the duties with William Grimard.

Ruccia then went on to serve as Cape Breton's starter for the next three seasons, including in his final year with the club ahead of Nashville Predators prospect Jakub Milota. With Milota returning to the club for the 2024-25 season, the Eagles decided to go with him as their starter and traded Ruccia to the Charlottetown Islanders.

In Charlottetown, which was his final season in the QMJHL, Ruccia sported a 15-20-3 record along with a 3.13 goals against average, an .892 save percentage and two shutouts in 40 games. He also made three appearances in the playoffs for the Islanders before his junior hockey career came to a close.

The Laval native is gearing up for his second season with McGill University and is coming off a pretty good freshman year, one that saw him put up a .919 save percentage in 24 games.

Given that Ruccia goes to school close by, has experience at a high level of junior hockey and is currently playing in USports, it makes him a solid candidate to be Montreal's emergency backup goalie for home games at the Bell Centre.

Montreal Canadiens News & Notes

After starting the season on the road, with a win in Toronto and an overtime loss in Pittsburgh, the Canadiens have returned to Montreal ahead of tomorrow night's home opener at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday evening in a rematch of the 2026 Eastern Conference Final.

There were some notable changes at practice in Brossard on Monday, including the absence of forward Ivan Demidov. The Canadiens announced just before practice began that Demidov is having a therapy day and would not be on the ice.

Demidov's place on the second line at today's practice was taken by Kirby Dach, while Florian Xhekaj slid in on the fourth line alongside Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. There's certainly a possibility that Xhekaj could make his season debut during tomorrow's home opener, but Martin St. Louis would not confirm when asked by reporters after practice.

There was also some good news on the injury front for the Canadiens on this day. Kaiden Guhle was on the ice in a full-contact sweater for the first time. Guhle underwent offseason surgery on his adductor muscle and could be back within a week or two, based on his recovery timeline announced by the team when training camp opened.

Oliver Kapenen was also on the ice this morning. The Finnish centerman has yet to play this season due to a lower-body injury, which has kept him out on a day-to-day basis, according to the club. Also on the ice on Monday was defenseman Alexandre Carrier, who left Saturday's game in Pittsburgh with an undisclosed injury.

Puck drop for tomorrow's home opener is set for 7 pm ET on TSN2 and RDS, but with it'll likely be closer to 7:20 pm ET following player introductions, etc.