Arturs Irbe was the small Latvian goalie in battered gear who stole a playoff series from Detroit for San Jose in 1994 and took Carolina to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002. He played his last NHL game in April 2004. The crease never let him go, and neither did the Latvian flag.
Where is Arturs Irbe now?
Arturs Irbe is the goaltending coach of Latvia’s men’s national team. He held the job at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where NHL.com’s preview of Team Latvia named him as goaltending coach in February 2026, and Elite Prospects lists him on the Olympic staff. Latvia beat Germany 4-3 in the group stage before Sweden ended their tournament.
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He was also on the bench in May 2023, when Latvia beat the United States 4-3 in overtime for the country’s first IIHF medal ever. A month later, he told TVNET’s Hokeja anatomija that he had told the players before the game he would trade every medal of his career for that one, and that he meant it.
He did not work the 2026 World Championship. Edgars Lusins took over the goaltenders for that tournament, LSM reported in April 2026, still calling him the national team’s goaltending coach.
| Arturs Irbe: then and now | |
|---|---|
| Known for | 1994 upset of Detroit with San Jose, 2002 Stanley Cup Final with Carolina |
| Position | Goaltender, catches left |
| Born | 2 February 1967, Riga, Latvia (then USSR) |
| Drafted | 1989, 10th round, 196th overall, Minnesota North Stars |
| NHL career | 13 seasons, 568 games, 218 wins, four teams |
| Last NHL season | 2003-04, Carolina Hurricanes |
| Current role | Goaltending coach, Latvia men’s national team, as of April 2026 |
| Latvian name | Artūrs Irbe |
Arturs Irbe and the Sharks: the 1994 upset of Detroit
Arturs Irbe made his name in San Jose. In 1993-94, he played 74 games for a Sharks team that finished 33-35-16, then faced a Detroit side that went 46-30-8. San Jose won the series in seven. In Game 7 in Detroit on 30 April 1994, Irbe stopped 28 of 30 shots, and Jamie Baker scored the winner at 13:25 of the third period for a 3-2 win, according to the Hockey-Reference box score. He also represented the Sharks at the 1994 All-Star Game.
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Arturs Irbe’s stats and the 2002 Stanley Cup Final
Carolina was where Irbe played the most hockey. In 309 games for the Hurricanes, he won 130 and posted 20 shutouts, second in franchise history in all three, and the NHL named him to the Hurricanes’ second Quarter-Century Team in January 2025, TVNET reported.
In the 2002 playoffs, he posted a .938 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average in 18 games. Carolina won Game 1 of the Final against Detroit 3-2 in overtime and then lost four straight. That same season, he told Latvian Television that he phoned NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and offered to give up his salary to play the entire Salt Lake City Olympics for Latvia, but Bettman turned him down, TVNET reported in February 2026.
| Season | Team | GP | W | L | T | SV% | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | San Jose | 13 | 2 | 6 | 3 | .868 | 4.46 | 0 |
| 1992-93 | San Jose | 36 | 7 | 26 | 0 | .886 | 4.11 | 1 |
| 1993-94 | San Jose | 74 | 30 | 28 | 16 | .899 | 2.84 | 3 |
| 1994-95 | San Jose | 38 | 14 | 19 | 3 | .895 | 3.26 | 4 |
| 1995-96 | San Jose | 22 | 4 | 12 | 4 | .860 | 4.59 | 0 |
| 1996-97 | Dallas | 35 | 17 | 12 | 3 | .893 | 2.69 | 3 |
| 1997-98 | Vancouver | 41 | 14 | 11 | 6 | .907 | 2.73 | 2 |
| 1998-99 | Carolina | 62 | 27 | 20 | 12 | .923 | 2.22 | 6 |
| 1999-00 | Carolina | 75 | 34 | 28 | 9 | .906 | 2.42 | 5 |
| 2000-01 | Carolina | 77 | 37 | 29 | 9 | .908 | 2.45 | 6 |
| 2001-02 | Carolina | 51 | 20 | 19 | 11 | .902 | 2.54 | 3 |
| 2002-03 | Carolina | 34 | 7 | 24 | 2 | .877 | 3.18 | 0 |
| 2003-04 | Carolina | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | .899 | 2.45 | 0 |
| Total | 568 | 218 | 236 | 79 | .899 | 2.83 | 33 |
Figures are from Hockey-Reference.
Arturs Irbe won 23 NHL playoff games, and 10 of them, 43 percent, came in the single spring of 2002. The other 13 came in four postseasons with San Jose and Carolina.
Arturs Irbe’s pads, gloves and the oldest gear in the NHL
Arturs Irbe was known for equipment that looked older than anyone else’s, and it was. During Carolina’s 2002 playoff run, he told The Globe and Mail that his pads and gloves were five years old and had been through “alterations and changes”, and that he would retire them after the playoffs. At 5 foot 8, he was one of the smallest starters of his time, and the worn gear became part of the look.
Arturs Irbe as a coach: Capitals, Latvia and the Sabres
Arturs Irbe started coaching with Dinamo Riga before the Washington Capitals hired him as goaltending coach in August 2009, The Washington Times reported. He left Washington in June 2011 to spend more time with his family.
His first spell with Latvia’s national team ended in November 2013, after he said he could not work with federation president Kirovs Lipmans, who had questioned his coaching licence, LSM reported. In 2014 he joined Ted Nolan in Buffalo. On 18 November 2014, after Michal Neuvirth was hurt against San Jose, Irbe signed a tryout contract and dressed as the Sabres’ backup. He did not play. “Once a goalie, always a goalie,” he said, LSM wrote. New coach Dan Bylsma did not keep him in June 2015, Buffalo Hockey Beat reported. Head coach Harijs Vitolins brought him back to Latvia’s staff for the 2023 World Championship in Riga.
Is Arturs Irbe in the Hall of Fame?
Yes, the IIHF Hall of Fame. Arturs Irbe was inducted in 2010 and named to the IIHF All-Time Latvia Team in 2020, the IIHF wrote. He was named best goalkeeper of the 1990 World Championship, won by the Soviet Union, was a two-time NHL All-Star, and backstopped Latvia to the top division in 1996 before eight more World Championships and two Olympics. He has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
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