| Jim Carey | |
| Position: | Goaltender |
| Catches: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lb: | 190 |
| Played For: | Washington Capitals Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues |
| Birth Date: | 31 May 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Dorchester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Career Start: | 1994 |
| Career End: | 1999 |
| Draft: | 32nd overall |
| Draft Year: | 1992 |
| Draft Team: | Washington Capitals |
James Michael Carey (born May 31, 1974), is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, and St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Vezina Trophy for the NHL's best goaltender in 1996.
Carey made his college hockey debut with the Wisconsin Badgers in 1992. He was the highest drafted goalie in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, taken in the second round, 32nd overall by the Washington Capitals. Before coming to Washington, Carey played in the IIHF World U20 Championship in 1993 and played in the AHL with the Portland Pirates. In Portland, he took home numerous individual awards, including the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie in the AHL and the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award for top netminder in the AHL. He was also selected to the First All-Star Team.
In 1994–95, Carey made his NHL debut in Washington and went undefeated in his first seven games. He would finish the season with an 18–6–3 record and was selected to the NHL All-Rookie team. This early success promoted him to Washington's starting goalie the following season – his best in the NHL. He played in 71 games, won 35, recorded nine shutouts, and finished with a GAA of 2.26. Carey won the Vezina Trophy for his efforts and was selected to the NHL first All-Star team.
The next fall, Carey was the backup to goalie Mike Richter on Team USA in the World Cup of Hockey. The United States would win the championship by beating Team Canada in three games.
In 1996–97 NHL season, Carey was traded midway through the season to the Boston Bruins in a blockbuster deal. Carey would never find his true form again in Boston and was sent down to the minors a year later with the Providence Bruins in the AHL. He signed on as a free agent at the end of the season with the St. Louis Blues and played four games before retiring at the end of the 1998–99 NHL season.
Due to the similarity of his given and surname to that of actor Jim Carrey, his nicknames were "The Mask", "Ace", and eventually "Net Detective", which were a play on Carrey's 1994 films, The Mask and .
Carey is the President and CEO of OptiMED Billing Solutions, Inc., a medical billing company, based out of Boston and Sarasota, Florida.
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 1992–93 |
| All-WCHA Second Team | 1992–93 |
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston College High School | High-MA | 20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1200 | 20 | 0 | 1.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | High-MA | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 840 | 20 | 6 | 1.66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1991–92 | Catholic Memorial Knights | High-MA | 21 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 940 | 34 | 8 | 1.63 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | WCHA | 26 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1525 | 78 | 1 | 3.07 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | WCHA | 40 | 24 | 13 | 1 | 2247 | 114 | 1 | 3.04 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 55 | 30 | 14 | 11 | 3281 | 151 | 6 | 2.76 | .909 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 28 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 1604 | 57 | 4 | 2.13 | .913 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 358 | 25 | 0 | 4.19 | .834 | ||
| 1995–96 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 71 | 35 | 24 | 9 | 4069 | 153 | 9 | 2.26 | .906 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 97 | 10 | 0 | 6.19 | .744 | ||
| 1996–97 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 40 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 2293 | 105 | 1 | 2.75 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 19 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1004 | 64 | 0 | 3.82 | .871 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 605 | 40 | 0 | 3.97 | .878 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 496 | 24 | 2 | 2.90 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Cincinnati Cyclones | IHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 2 | 0 | 1.00 | .962 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 30 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 1750 | 68 | 3 | 2.33 | .919 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 202 | 13 | 0 | 3.86 | .829 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 172 | 79 | 65 | 16 | 9,668 | 416 | 16 | 2.58 | .898 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 455 | 35 | 0 | 4.62 | .816 | ||||