Playing career

Aebischer was drafted 161st overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He moved to North America in 1997 and spent the 1997-98 season in the ECHL, first with the Chesapeake Icebreakers and then with the Wheeling Nailers. He spent the next two seasons with Colorado's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears, with whom he compiled a 46-33-7 record. When the Avalanche traded back-up goaltender Marc Denis to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2000, Aebischer became the full-time back-up to starting goaltender Patrick Roy.

Aebischer played 26 games during his rookie season with Colorado. Aebischer made his NHL debut, and first NHL start on October 18, 2000 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus for his first NHL victory. On October 26, 2000 in his second career start, Aebischer shut out the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago for his first NHL career shutout. The year would prove a successful one, as Roy backstopped the Avalanche to their second Stanley Cup championship, defeating the New Jersey Devils in a seven-game final series. With the win, Aebischer became the first Swiss hockey player to win the Stanley Cup.

Following two more seasons as the Avalanche's back-up, Aebischer became Colorado's starting goaltender following Roy's retirement in the summer of 2003. He played 62 games and posted 32 wins during the 2003-04 season. That season, he started his first career playoff game for the Avalanche and led Colorado to the second round, where they lost to the San Jose Sharks in six games. The following season, due to the NHL lockout, Aebischer returned to Switzerland and played for HC Lugano in the Nationalliga A.

Aebischer returned to the Avalanche for the 2005-06 season. He was unable to duplicate his pre-lockout form and his inconsistent play led to his being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goaltender José Théodore on March 8, 2006, a day before the NHL trade deadline.

That summer, Montreal re-signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.9 million. He served as Cristobal Huet's back-up for the 2006-07 season and posted a 13-12-3 record. The Canadiens failed to make the playoffs and Montreal opted not to re-sign Aebischer.

On July 19, 2007, Aebischer signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with the Phoenix Coyotes. However, he lost the goaltending battle in training 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, 2007, Aebischer was loaned to HC Lugano to make room on the San Antonio roster for goaltender Alex Auld.

In August, 2011, after four seasons back in his native Switzerland, Aebischer was invited to the training camp of the Winnipeg Jets for the 2011-12 season on a tryout contract. On October 5, 2011, it was announced that Aebischer will play with the Jets' AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps.

On July 1, 2012, Aebischer again left North America and signed a one-year contract with the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League A.

In the 2014-15 season, Aebischer played five games with HC Thurgau of the National League B before announcing his retirement from his playing career to focus for a coaching role on January 25, 2015.

International play

Medal record
Representing Switzerland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	1998 Helsinki

Aebischer has represented Switzerland internationally on many occasions. His first international experience came in the 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, hosted by Switzerland. The Swiss finished in 7th place. Aebischer returned as Switzerland's starting goaltender the following year at the 1998 World Juniors and led the team past the quarterfinal round and to a bronze medal finish, defeating the heavily favoured Czech Republic in the bronze medal match. Aebischer has also appeared for Switzerland in five IIHF World Championships and two Winter Olympic Games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T/OT	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1996-97	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	NLA		10	—	—	—	577	34	1	3.54	—		3	1	2	185	13	0	4.24	—
1997-98	HC Fribourg-Gottéron	NLA		1	1	0	0	60	1	0	1.00	—		4	0	4	240	17	0	4.25	—
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		3	1	2	152	6	0	2.37	.925
1999-00	Hershey Bears	AHL		58	29	23	2	3259	180	1	3.31	.902		14	7	6	788	40	2	3.05	.917
2000-01	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		26	12	7	3	1393	52	3	2.24	.903		1	0	0	1	0	0	0.00	-
2001-02	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		21	13	6	0	1184	37	2	1.88	.931		1	0	0	34	1	0	1.79	.929
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		11	6	5	662	23	1	2.08	.922
2004-05	HC Lugano	NLA		18	13	2	3	1019	41	0	2.41	.932		4	1	3	240	10	0	2.50	.938
2005-06	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		43	25	14	2	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		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	San Antonio Rampage	AHL		5	2	3	0	302	13	0	2.58	.898		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	HC Lugano	NLA		26	12	14	0	1576	69	2	2.63	.920		5	4	1	301	14	0	2.79	.892
2008-09	HC Lugano	NLA		49	27	22	0	2953	140	2	2.84	.922		7	3	4	452	26	0	3.45	.894
2009-10	HC Lugano	NLA		46	23	22	1	2751	139	2	3.03	.908		4	0	4	237	22	0	5.57	.835
2010-11	HC Lugano	NLA		36	12	24	0	2088	108	3	3.10	.885		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011-12	St. John's IceCaps	AHL		31	15	12	2	1722	82	1	2.86	.895		1	0	0	26	2	0	4.56	.833
2012-13	Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	NLA		40	15	24	0	2257	147	2	3.91	.896		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2013-14	Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	NLA		43	12	31	0	2365	148	0	3.76	.872		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014-15	HC Thurgau	NLB		5	0	5	0	268	22	0	4.94	.856		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				214	106	74	17	12229	513	13	2.52	.912		13	6	5	697	24	1	2.07	.922

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SA	SO	GAA	SV%
1997	Switzerland	WJC		5	3	1	1	300	10	—	0	2.00	—
1998	Switzerland	WJC		6	4	2	0	379	10	—	0	1.58	—
1998	Switzerland	WC		7	2	4	1	376	18	—	0	2.87	—
1999	Switzerland	WC		4	1	3	0	173	13	—	1	4.51	—
2002	Switzerland	Oly		2	1	0	0	81	6	31	0	4.44	.806
2005	Switzerland	WC		1	0	0	1	60	3	31	0	3.00	.903
2006	Switzerland	Oly		4	1	0	2	200	7	117	0	2.10	.940
2006	Switzerland	WC		6	2	2	2	359	16	136	0	2.67	.882
2007	Switzerland	WC		1	0	1	0	60	6	29	0	6.00	.793
Junior totals				11	7	3	1	679	20	—	0	1.76	—
Senior totals				25	7	10	6	1309	69	—	1	3.16	—

[ Source: Wikipedia ]