Jesper Vikman scored a goal for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. Yes, you read that right

The Tahoe Knight Monsters have been the better minor league affiliate for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2024-25. They're third in the ECHL's Western Conference with 43 points and sit in second place in the Mountain Division behind the Kansas City Mavericks (44 points). The Henderson Silver Knights could learn a thing or two about being a good minor league team for the Golden Knights.

But that's not the main thing to talk about today. No, it's Jesper Vikman, who's having a decent season for the Knight Monsters. He has a GAA of 3.17 and a save percentage of .897 in 17 games with the ECHL club. That's better than the three games he's played with the Silver Knights, where he has a GAA of 4.02 and a save percentage of .887. Still, the Silver Knights could use such a... goal scorer?

Yes, you read that right. The native of Stockholm scored a goal on Sunday against the Maine Mariners. He fired a puck towards the empty net in a 4-2 game, sealing the deal and a big victory over the Boston Bruins's ECHL club. There's no doubt his achievement is a big deal, especially since goalie goals are rare. However, there's more history to the feat, specifically at the NHL level. Let's dive into the most notorious goaltender goals and see who's channeling their inner Wayne Gretzky from the net.

The history of the goalie goal

On November 28, 1979, Billy Smith of the New York Islanders scored the first goaltender goal in NHL history. Ironically, he was given credit on an own goal against the Colorado Rockies from Rob Ramage instead of firing the puck towards the empty net. So who was the first to do this?

That would be none other than Ron Hextall, who scored via direct shot on December 8, 1987, against the Boston Bruins. The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender would score a second goal in the 1989 playoffs (April 11, 1989) against the Washington Capitals. That would be a short-handed goal that secured an 8-5 victory for the Flyers.

But who has the most goals by a goaltender? Who's the Wayne Gretzky (or in this modern case, Alex Ovechkin)? That would be Martin Brodeur, formerly of New Jersey Devils fame. The Hall of Fame netminder had three such goals during his career, with two coming during the regular season and one during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Fans might remember him for his legendary hybrid play and steering away from the traditional butterfly style. However, he's "Goalie Gretzky", even if it's by means of another player.

The most recent goaltender goal in the NHL was by Filip Gustavsson on October 15, 2024. He scored in a 4-1 victory against the St. Louis Blues, scoring on the power play. It must be why the Wild are playing so good this season, eh?

Anyway, Vikman has something to show the Vegas Golden Knights if he wants to be called up. Kelly McCrimmon might be so impressed with how he scores goals that he might consider calling him up from the Tahoe Knight Monsters if Adin Hill or Ilya Samsonov get hurt. But seriously, scoring a goal as a goalie is a cool feat, even if it's in an empty net. Well done, Vikman.