Manny Fernandez (ice hockey)

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Emmanuel L. Fernandez (born August 27, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and the Boston Bruins. Fernandez was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, but grew up in Kirkland, Quebec.

Fernandez was drafted in the third round, 52nd overall, of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. Before playing in the NHL, he was traded to the Dallas Stars in 1994 for Tommy Sjödin and a third-round pick.^[1]

In June 2000, Fernandez was traded with Brad Lukowich to the Minnesota Wild for two draft picks, a 2000 third-round pick and a 2002 fourth-round pick.^[2]

During the 2002–03 NHL season, Fernandez shared netminding duties with Dwayne Roloson as the Wild made their first appearance in the postseason, defeating the Colorado Avalanche in the first round and the Vancouver Canucks in the second before falling to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the NHL Western Conference final.^[3]

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Fernandez played for Luleå HF of Sweden's Elitserien.^{[citation needed]}

In his earlier years, Fernandez was often criticized for having confidence and discipline issues and being inconsistent. In a 2006 interview, Fernandez credited his improvement to gaining maturity, becoming the Wild's number one goaltender after the departure of Dwayne Roloson, and a switch to the butterfly style of goaltending.^{[citation needed]}

On June 30, 2007, Fernandez was traded to the Boston Bruins for forward Petr Kalus and a 2009 fourth-round pick.^[4] An injury plagued 2007–08 NHL season saw Fernandez play in only four games for the Bruins, recording a 2–2 record. However, during the 2008–09 NHL season, Fernandez and fellow Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas formed a goaltending duo, which earned them the William M. Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders playing for the team with the fewest allowed goals (196). Fernandez had a 16–8–3 record with a 2.59 goals against average (GAA).

Fernandez's contract with Boston expired after the 2008–09 season. With the Bruins preferring to proceed with Thomas and Tuukka Rask as their goaltenders, Fernandez became a free agent, but unsigned by any other team, retired from active play, although he made no formal retirement announcement.

Fernandez is the nephew of former Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild head coach and Hall of Famer Jacques Lemaire, whom Fernandez played for from 2001 to 2007.^[5]

• Notable families in the NHL

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database