Report: All NHL EBUGs required to wear number 00 this season

It appears we still don’t know everything about the new emergency backup goalie rules.

As the new rules regarding the EBUGs takes affect with the new collective bargaining agreement for the 2026-27 season, we got our first announcement regarding a team signing an EBUG as the Minnesota Wild signed hockey operations analyst Peter Thome to the position.

But as the Wild also announced that Thome would wear the number 00, with that came an interesting detail regarding EBUGs which hasn’t been reported: all EBUGs will be required to wear the number 00 for their team. The report comes from The Athletic and TSN insider Chris Johnston.

So far in NHL history, only two players have worn the number 00, both goaltenders. Martin Biron did so for the Buffalo Sabres in 1995-96, while John Davidson did so for the New York Rangers in 1977-78. Davidson wore the number briefly when Phil Esposito encouraged him to try out double-digit numbers, but changed it back after he was heckled by fans. Biron wore the number during a three-game stint in 1995-96, but had to change it when returning to the NHL in 1998 because the NHL banned the number due to it causing software glitches in their digital database and statistical tracking.

The single-digit 0 hasn’t gotten much action either, with only Neil Sheehy wearing it for the Hartford Whalers in 1988 and Tyson Gross for the Calgary Flames in 2026.

This is one of many adjustments made to the EBUG position for the 2026-27 season, as the NHL has turned it into a full-time position for NHL teams so that they can travel with the team. However, these goalies can’t have any NHL experience, only 80 professional games in their career (and none in the past three seasons) and not be on a reserve list for an NHL team.