Information checked: November 6, 2026, at 8:01 p.m. UTC.
An EBUG is an emergency backup goalie: a goaltender a team can turn to when unusual circumstances leave it without enough available players at the position. The term drew attention in Edmonton after the Oilers activated Brett Epp to back up Matt Tomkins against the Anaheim Ducks on November 5, 2026, because Tristan Jarry was ill.
Epp dressed but did not enter the game at Rogers Place in Edmonton; Anaheim won 5–4. His appearance on the bench offered an early look at the NHL’s 2026–27 system, under which clubs have designated emergency goalies prepared for home and road games. The Oilers announced Epp’s activation, and the official game summary lists him without playing time.
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The Oilers said they signed Epp during the summer as their emergency backup. With Jarry unavailable, Epp filled the backup spot behind Tomkins for the November 5 game. Tomkins made 16 saves on 21 shots, according to Edmonton’s game recap.
Being activated and dressing are different from actually playing. Epp was available if needed, but the game summary records no ice time for him. That distinction matters when interpreting the headline: the Oilers used an emergency goalie to fill the backup position, not to replace Tomkins in the crease during the game.
An EBUG gives a club a way to keep playing when its usual goaltending options are unexpectedly unavailable and the league’s emergency conditions are met. The role is separate from that of a regular NHL backup, who is ordinarily part of the team’s playing roster and can replace the starter as a routine coaching decision.
The NHL’s regular-season emergency goaltender replacement policy requires each club to submit a candidate’s name and playing history for league approval. The club must have its approved emergency goalie prepared to enter its home and away games under the policy. The individual may also work for the club in another capacity.
For 2026–27, NHL.com’s team-by-team list identifies Epp as Edmonton’s designated EBUG and says emergency goalies practice and travel with their clubs. Before this season, the home team generally supplied an emergency goalie who could be called upon by either side. The current arrangement gives each club an identified option as it travels.
The policy describes three permitted situations. These are regular-season rules, and each comes with conditions:
The written policy also says a club cannot use an emergency replacement in consecutive games unless both goalies are injured during the second game. The policy’s salary-cap provision is more detailed than a simple claim that any club over the cap may use an EBUG; the precise recall and signing conditions matter.
The league must approve the candidate. Under the policy, an eligible emergency replacement cannot have played an NHL game under an NHL standard player contract, played more than 80 professional hockey games, or played professional hockey in the previous three seasons. The candidate also cannot be on an NHL club’s reserve or restricted free agent list, or have another current contractual obligation that prevents service in the role.
Those criteria do not mean the goalie must be a beginner. Many have significant hockey experience outside the NHL. They do mean a club cannot simply put any available professional goalie into the emergency role.
Yes. In January 2023, Matt Berlin entered an Oilers game against Chicago late in the third period and made one save. That happened under the earlier emergency goalie system, so it should not be treated as a precedent for every detail of the 2026–27 policy. The NHL’s account of Berlin’s appearance shows how an emergency backup can move from being available to actually playing.
Whether Edmonton needs another emergency arrangement depends on its goalies’ availability and the applicable roster and recall rules. Jarry’s illness explains the Ducks-game decision; it does not by itself establish when he will return or who will dress for a later game. Any future use of Epp would need to satisfy the league’s conditions at that time.
Emergency backup goalie, sometimes described in league policy as an emergency goaltender replacement.
No. Epp dressed as Edmonton’s backup on November 5, 2026, but the official game summary records no playing time for him.
No. The regular-season policy limits entry to specified emergencies and includes eligibility and consecutive-game restrictions.
Why did the Oilers dress Brett Epp against Anaheim? Learn what an EBUG does and how the NHL’s 2026–27 emergency goalie rules work.
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