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San Jose Sharks

Kiprusoff moved to North America in 1999, joining the Sharks American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades. He finished fourth in the league with a 2.48 GAA and was the starting goaltender for team PlanetUSA at the 2000 AHL All-Star Game as he helped Kentucky win its first division title.[2] He began the 2000–01 season with Kentucky where he posted a record of 19–9–6 with two shutouts in 39 games.[1] He started his second consecutive AHL All-Star game before earning a recall to the Sharks on March 5, 2001.[2] He earned his first NHL win on March 29, 7–4 over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, in relief of starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.[4] He made his first start on April 8, again against Anaheim, and earned his second win.[2]
The flu sidelined Nabokov for game four of the Sharks 2001 Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues. Making only his second career start, Kiprusoff made 39 saves in a 3–2 victory.[5] In doing so, he became the first Finnish born goaltender to win an NHL playoff game.[2] Kiprusoff struggled to start the 2001–02 NHL season and was sent to the Cleveland Barons on a conditioning assignment after playing in only four of the Sharks first 21 games.[6] He was named the AHL player of the week during the assignment after winning all four games he played in Cleveland.[2] He finished the season with a 7–6–1 record for the Sharks,[1] and recorded his first NHL shutout in a 6–0 win over the Florida Panthers on January 5, 2002.[7]
Nabokov entered the 2002–03 season as a holdout player without a contract, giving Kiprusoff a chance to become the starter.[8] Kiprusoff struggled, losing his first three games and posting a 5.65 GAA in that time, forcing the Sharks hand as they quickly agreed to terms with Nabokov.[9] Relegated to the backup role, Kiprusoff continued to struggle, winning just five of 22 games played before his season ended with a knee injury.[10] Despite his poor season, the Sharks offered him a new contract for one year at US$800,000.[11]

Just want to point out that Kipper was a decent goalie when he first broke into the league. Decent record with a 7-6-1. Irving maybe in the same boat as when Kipper first played in the NHL except on two totally different teams.