| Position: | Goaltender |
| Catches: | Left |
| Image Size: | 225px |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 187 |
| Team: | HC Lugano |
| Former Teams: | Montreal Canadiens Colorado Avalanche Phoenix Coyotes |
| League: | Nationalliga A |
| Nationality: | Switzerland |
| Birth Date: | 7 February 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Fribourg, Switzerland |
| Career Start: | 1996 |
| Draft: | 161st Overall |
| Draft Year: | 1997 |
| Draft Team: | Colorado Avalanche |
David Aebischer (born February 7, 1978, in Fribourg, Switzerland), is a professional ice hockey goaltender for HC Lugano of Nationalliga A. He has also played for the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes.
Drafted 161st overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Aebischer was initially the third-choice goaltender for the Avs, but when Marc Denis was traded away to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Aebischer became the backup to Patrick Roy.
Aebischer became Colorado's starting goaltender following Roy's retirement, posting a 2.09 goals-against average in the 2003–04 season. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played for Hockey Club Lugano in the Swiss Nationalliga A.
Aebischer was traded to Montreal in exchange for goalie José Théodore on March 8, 2006, a day before the NHL trade deadline.
On July 12, 2006, the Montreal Canadiens re-signed him to a one year deal, worth $1.9 million. In his first season in Montreal, he posted a 13–12–2 record.
On July 19, 2007, Aebischer signed with the Phoenix Coyotes to a one-year, $600,000 contract. However, he lost the goaltending battle in camp to Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist, and was waived. He went unclaimed and was subsequently assigned to the Coyotes AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. On November 23, Aebischer was loaned to HC Lugano to make room on the San Antonio roster for goaltender Alex Auld.
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | Hockey Club Fribourg-Gottéron | Swiss A | 10 | -- | -- | -- | 577 | 34 | 1 | 3.54 | -- |
| 1997–98 | Gottéron | Swiss A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | -- |
| 1997–98 | Chesapeake Icebreakers | ECHL | 17 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 930 | 52 | 0 | 3.35 | .897 |
| 1997–98 | Wheeling Nailers | ECHL | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 564 | 30 | 1 | 5.54 | .858 |
| 1997–98 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 5 | 0 | 3.76 | .853 |
| 1998–99 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 38 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 1932 | 79 | 2 | 2.45 | .920 |
| 1999–00 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 58 | 29 | 23 | 2 | 3259 | 180 | 1 | 3.31 | .902 |
| 2000–01 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 26 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 1393 | 52 | 3 | 2.24 | .903 |
| 2001–02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 21 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1184 | 37 | 2 | 1.88 | .931 |
| 2002–03 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 22 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 1235 | 50 | 1 | 2.43 | .916 |
| 2003–04 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 62 | 32 | 19 | 9 | 3702 | 129 | 4 | 2.09 | .924 |
| 2004–05 | Hockey Club Lugano | Swiss A | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1019 | 41 | 0 | 2.41 | -- |
| 2005–06 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 43 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 2476 | 123 | 3 | 2.98 | .900 |
| 2005–06 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 418 | 26 | 0 | 3.73 | .892 |
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 32 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 1760 | 93 | 0 | 3.17 | .900 |
| 2007–08 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | .909 |
| NHL totals | 214 | 106 | 74 | 18 | 12229 | 513 | 13 | 2.52 | .912 | ||
| AHL totals | 98 | 56 | 33 | 8 | 5270 | 264 | 3 | 2.69 | -- | ||
| Swiss A totals | 29 | ? | ? | -- | 1656 | 76 | 1 | 2.62 | -- | ||
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | Gottéron | Swiss A | 3 | 1 | 2 | -- | 185 | 13 | 0 | 4.24 |
| 1997–98 | Gottéron | Swiss A | 4 | 0 | 4 | -- | 240 | 17 | 0 | 4.25 |
| 1998–99 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | -- | 152 | 6 | 0 | 2.37 |
| 1999–00 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 14 | 7 | 6 | -- | 788 | 40 | 2 | 3.05 |
| 2000–01 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2001–02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | -- | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1.76 |
| 2003–04 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 11 | 6 | 5 | -- | 662 | 23 | 1 | 2.08 |
| NHL totals | 13 | 6 | 5 | -- | 697 | 24 | 1 | 2.07 | ||
| AHL totals | 17 | 8 | 8 | -- | 940 | 46 | 2 | 2.70 | ||
| Swiss A totals | 7 | 1 | 6 | -- | 425 | 30 | 0 | 4.24 | ||
Played for Switzerland in:
| Year | Comp | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | WJC | 5 | -- | -- | -- | 300 | -- | -- | 2.00 |
| 1997 | WJC | 7 | -- | -- | -- | 368 | -- | -- | 1.68 |
| 1998 | WC | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 375 | -- | -- | 2.87 |
| 1999 | WC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 173 | -- | -- | 4.49 |
| 2002 | OLY | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 6 | 0 | 4.43 |
| 2006 | OLY | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 200 | 7 | 0 | 2.10 |
| OLY Totals | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 281 | 13 | 0 | 2.16 | |
| WC Totals | 11 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 743 | -- | 0 | ? | |
| WC Totals | 12 | -- | -- | -- | 668 | -- | -- | 1.84 | |