Wild All Time Top 10: #7 Niklas Backstrom

Niklas Backstom

Seasons With The Wild: 6

W-L-OT-SO: 160-109-42-26

GAA: 2.42

Save Percentage: .918

In the summer of 2006, the Wild signed little known Finnish goaltender Niklas Backstrom, to: 1. Fill the vacant roster spot left by Dwayne Roloson and 2. Back up Manny Fernandez. Backstrom had put up solid numbers playing for Oulun Karpat of the Finnish SM-liiga league (32-9-10-10, 1.68 GAA in his final season there), and decided to come play alongside the world's best players.

Following a Manny Fernandez knee injury in late January of 2007, Backstrom was thrown into the Wild's net as their number one goalie. He helped lead the team to their second playoff appearance, and earned his spot as the Wild's number one goalie. Its a position he still holds this day.

To date, Backstrom holds the following records for a Wild goaltender: Wins (160), Save percentage (.918), and Saves (9,213). His best season in the NHL, was by far, his first. He went 23-8-6-5 with a GAA of 1.97 and a save percentage of .929 in just 41 games. He has not come close to touching those in the seasons since.

But despite a bit of a fallback on the numbers, Backstrom has been a rock for the Wild in net (Except for maybe shootouts...). He has done a good job in keeping the Wild in games, especially in the ultra fierce Northwest Division.

Niklas Backstrom had some very tough holes to fill, when he followed Fernandez and Roloson between the pipes. But, he did far better than any of us had hoped, and he has cemented himself, as the best goalie in the franchise's short history.

Check back tomorrow to see who comes in at #6!
#7-Niklas Backstrom
#8-Brent Burns
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez


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Wild All Time Top 10: #8-Brent Burns

Brent Burns

Seasons With The Wild: 7

Goals: 55

Assists: 128

Points: 183

Brent Burns checks in as the only defenseman on this list. It took him a few seasons (Rotating back and forth between forward and defenseman), but he finally broke through as the big scoring d-man the Wild needed, in 07-08 when he notched 15 goals and 28 assists. In the combined 3 seasons prior to 07-08, Burns notched 12 goals and 35 assists.

Burns had injury riddled seasons in 08-09 (8-19-27 in 59 games) and 09-10 (3-17-20 in 47 games), but still had decent numbers in those seasons before bouncing back in 2010-11 with 17 goals and 29 assists, while once again anchoring the Wild's top d-man unit.

Burns was also a big physical presence (6'5", 225 pounds), and was not shy to throw his body around. In fact in 2 seasons (07-08, 10-11), he registered over 80 minutes in the penalty box, but more of that was due to his sometimes poor play in the defensive end, rather than his physical play.

There aren't many other defenseman who can even come close to cracking this list (Nick Schultz, Filip Kuba, Marek Zidlicky?). But Burns was the only one out of the bunch who stood out. 

Luckily for us, the Wild were smart to trade Burns while his value was high and he was traded at the 2011 NHL Draft in St. Paul for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and the 28th overall pick (Zack Phillips). So not only was Burns good for us when he played for us, he is still doing wonders for us now that he is gone. 

By all means isn't the best defenseman ever. But he did enough to crack this top 10 list, despite the injuries taking his best seasons away.

Check back tomorrow to see who comes in at #7!

#8-Brent Burns

#9-Pavol Demitra

#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez

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Wild All Time Top 10: #9-Pavol Demitra

Pavol Demitra

Seasons With The Wild: 2

Goals: 40

Assists: 78

Points: 118

In the 2006 draft, then Wild GM Doug Risebrough decided to give up :s #17 overall pick and top prospect Patrick O'Sullivan to get the veteran forward Pavol Demitra away from Los Angeles (It was the #2 Draft Moment in Wild History, as ranked on this blog this past June). It instantly boosted a stale Wild offense, giving them a former 30 goal and 90 point scorer in Demitra. Oh...and he was going to play on the same line as his countryman Marian Gaborik.

From the opening puck drop of the 2006-07 season, Demitra was the man Gabby needed. But, he was also what the team needed. During that season, Demitra finished 2nd (Behind Brian Rolston) in points on the team, putting up a 25-39-64 line. He instantly became a fan favorite, helping the Wild to their 2nd playoff appearance in team history.

The following season, Demitra saw a drop off in goals (only scored 15), but carried the same number of assists (39), while being a driving force behind Gaborik's (42-41-83 +17) and the Wild's (Division Champs) season.

But unfortunately for Demitra and the State of Hockey, he could not help the team get that elusive Stanley Cup (Lost to the Ducks in 5 in 2007, and lost to the Avs in 6 in 2008), and the team let him leave via free agency following 07-08.

Following his tenure with the Wild, Demitra played a season and a half with Vancouver before he was released. He then played in the KHL for Lokomotiv Yarolsavl in the 2010-11 season.

Just prior to the 2011-12 season, Demitra was set to play for Lokomotiv once again, but he was killed along with the rest of his team as their jet crashed just as it was about to take off.

Pavol Demitra was one of the more underrated players in the NHL during his time. He was a 30 goal scorer 3 times in his career, and was consistently good at putting up at least 65 points in a season. He didnt quite have that type of success here, but, his contributions to the State of Hockey will never be forgotten.

Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #8. 
#9-Pavol Demitra
#10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez 


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Wild All Time Top 10: #10-Dwayne Roloson/Manny Fernandez

Dwayne Roloson                                                       Manny Fernandez

4                        Seasons With The Wild                       6

62-71-26-17                     W-L-T-OT/SO                   113-102-20-20

.917                          Save Percentage                          .913

2.39                     Goals Against Average                      2.47

Never in the brief history of the franchise, has Minnesota been blessed with a better tandem of goalies (With all respect to current tandem of Backstrom/Harding).

They are counted as one, because at the time, you never singled out one goalie as better. You always referred to the Wild goaltender as Roloson and Fernandez.

Fernandez was a Wild original. He was on the team from the very first game until his trade to Boston following the 06-07 season, when he was replaced by Niklas Backstrom. Roloson joined the Wild in their second season, and left them at the trade deadline of 05-06, when he went on to help Edmonton reach their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990.

Together, the pair registered 132 wins and averaged a 2.45 Goals Against Average between them in 4 seasons (Would of been 5, but the lockout of 04-05 happened).

But perhaps, there was no better shining moment for the both of them during the Wild's run to the conference finals in 2003. Yes, the Wild won both series in 7 games, but during those series, there was a goalie switch, that helped turn the momentum to the Wild's favor, enabling to come from behind from a 3-1 deficit both times.

Thats how the tandem worked, one would be in, then when he would start to fall off a bit, the other would step in and pick up the slack.

Roloson did earn an All Star appearance for the Wild in 2004, when the game was held here in St. Paul. During that season Roli posted a line of 19-18-11 with a meniscule 1.88 GAA. Manny's best year came in 05-06 when he went 30-18-7-1 with a 2.29 GAA.

Both goalies could of/should of been a #1 during there time here. But instead, they split the time, and shared the rewards.

The Wild weren't a very successful team during the duo's time together (Lack of offense...). But, they always gave the team a chance to win. Every night.


Check back tomorrow and see who comes in at #9.


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More Cancellations

Today, the NHL announced the cancellation of all its games through November 30th. The cancellation brings the total of NHL games canceled this season to 326. This situation just gets more infuriating with each passing day. Also take in the fact that the NHL and NHLPA hardly speak, and that adds more fuel to the rage fire.

If no agreement can be reached by sometime next week, the NHL will have to cancel with Winter Classic and the All Star Game.

The fact is, is that this is a crucial juncture for the league and its players, and yet, no talks are scheduled. So unless a miracle happens, the Winter Classic (Which was set to be played in the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan) and the All Star Game (Set to be played in Columbus) will fall victim to this lockout.

Well done NHL and NHLPA. You represent this game so well.

Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Emptiness

Saturday was slated to be opening night for the 2012-13 season. Instead, Xcel Energy Center was open for the few season ticket holders willing to come on out for an open house and skate around.

It seemed more like a graveyard. "Come on out and take a look at something that has been taken from us", should of been the slogan for this event. The locker rooms were empty. The concession stands were closed down. And there were no pee wee hockey players yelling "programs!" as you entered the arena. It was almost as if they were trying to push us to the brink of insanity.

It was just a painful reminder that NHL hockey is very far away. In fact, the reason there has been no posts on this blog for the past month is that there is just simply no desire to write about something that does not exist for the moment. I do have a lot of content ready to be blogged up, but as I said, there is just no desire to write about hockey at this point.

Maybe my mind will change on this at some point.

But for now, its just an empty feeling...

Wild Rank 87th In Ultimate Standings

Yesterday, ESPN released its annual ultimate standings for 2012. The "Ultimate Standings", are an in depth ranking of all 122 professional sports teams between the four major sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL).

The rankings take into account the following factors: Bang for the Buck, Fan Relations, Ownership, Affordability, Stadium Experience, Players, Coaching, and Title Track.

The Wild were ranked 87th (3rd out of the 4 Minnesota pro sports teams. Timberwolves-71st, Twins-83rd, and Vikings-100th) out of the 122 teams.

Their factors were rated as follows (Again, out of 122 teams):

Bang for the Buck: 102

Fan Relations: 61

Ownership: 70

Affordability: 93

Stadium Experience: 6

Players: 95

Coaching: 70

Title Track: 103

Ross Marrinson of ESPN.com offered this explanation for the Wild's ranking: "Even the beautiful Xcel Energy Center -- ranked by fans as creating the best stadium experience in the NHL -- can't hide the mediocre product skating on its rink, as the Wild continue to wither away in the doldrums of hockey irrelevance: 78th overall in 2010, 92nd in 2011 and 87th in 2012. Fans don't feel that the team demonstrates a commitment to winning (the Wild haven't eclipsed 90 points since the 2007-08 season) or gets enough from the money it spends. They voted the team in the bottom third of the NHL in seven of the nine categories. The excitement of getting a team after the North Stars bolted to Dallas has faded, and fans are left with an organization that's charging too much -- at $62.63, the average ticket price is ninth highest in the league -- and providing too little success (only three playoff appearances in 11 seasons). The Wild made a huge splash in free agency this year, signing the homegrown Zach Parise and former Predators defenseman Ryan Suter, which should help in the players and ownership categories, ranked this year at 95th and 70th, respectively. But for now, the Wild are where they've always been: searching for a talented team to match their state-of-the-art arena."

Hopefully, in the next few years, the Wild can move further up the ranking chart now that they should have a solid future ahead of them.

A New Face In The State Of Hockey: Zach Parise

Zach Parise

Forward

5'11"

195 lbs

Shoots: Left

Born: July 28, 1984

Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota

No free agent was more coveted in the NHL this summer than Zach Parise. And for the first time in...well...ever, a top free agent chose to sign in Minnesota. The Wild signed Parise to a 13 year contract worth $98 million on July 4th, giving him one of the longest and highest paying contracts in the NHL (Ryan Suter got the exact same deal).

In his 7 seasons in the NHL, Parise has been an offensive force, scoring at least 30 goals in 5 of those 7 seasons (He only played 13 games in 2010-11 due to a torn meniscus in his right knee). In 08-09, he set career highs in most major offensive categories when he put up a line of 45-49-94 and registered a +/- rating of +30. Parise is coming off a 31 goal, 38 assist season, helping the Devils reach the Stanley Cup Finals (Parise scored 8 goals and 7 assists in the Devils' run to the finals).

But there is much more to Zach Parise than his offensive skills. He is a very skilled defensive forward, making one of the better two way players in the game. He was an anchor on the Devils PK, leading them to the #1 PK ranking (89.6%) this past season. He set a career high with 3 shorthanded goals last year, making him all the more dangerous when his team is on the PK.

Additionally, Parise is a proven team leader. In 09-10, he was named alternate captain of the Devils, before being named their captain in 2011-12. Now that Parise is on the Wild he will serve as one of the team's alternate captain to Mikko Koivu (Please, don't think for a second Parise will be captain while Mikko still wears the Wild sweater. This is Mikko's team.).

Parise is a fierce competitor and plays the game very hard. Adding his skills to his desire to win every night makes him one of the game's best players.

He came within 2 wins of the Stanley Cup this past summer. He could of easily stayed in New Jersey so he could of given it another try to win it all with the only team he has ever played for. But he chose an alternate route. He believed the Wild had a greater future and gives him a better shot to win the Stanley Cup at some point than the Devils do. And that's ultimately why Zach Parise chose to sign with the Wild.

Welcome to the Team of 18,001 Zach Parise!

This was the fifth post in a five post series on the Wild's free agent signings. We have previously looked at Jake Dowell, Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell, and Ryan Suter. 

A New Face In The State Of Hockey: Ryan Suter

Ryan Suter

Defenseman

6'1"

198 lbs

Shoots: Left

Born: January 21, 1985

Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin

Since he came into the league in 2005-06, Ryan Suter has been just about as solid as you can get in terms of defenseman in the NHL. He has played no less than 70 games a season. He has 5 straight seasons of scoring at least 30 points. And he carries a career +/- rating of +43. He is clearly, the right man to anchor the Wild blueline in the next decade.

Suter is not known for being a goal scorer (career high in goals in a season is 8). But that could be in part due to playing with an even better defenseman in Shea Weber all his years in Nashville. So now that Suter is free of Weber, you could perhaps see an increase in goal scoring now that his defensive partner will be Tom Gilbert.

Suter, as before mentioned is an iron man. He will play no less than 90% of the team's games. And last year, he was 3rd among all defenseman in time on ice by averaging 26:30 per game. Take into account his likely partner, Gilbert, averaged 31 shifts last year, you will see plenty of the two on the ice in the upcoming season.

Last year, the Wild seemingly shuffled a few players out there as the quarterback of their powerplay (Matt Cullen got the most time), due to lack of offensive defenseman (A big reason, in my opinion, that the Wild PP was atrocious in 11-12). Suter will now be stepping into that role, and moving whatever forward Mike Yeo wanted to put on the blue line, back to forward, and giving the Wild two bold power play lines. 

In addition to his skills, Suter is a proven leader. He served as alternate captain in Nashville the last few seasons, and will serve in the same capacity here in Minnesota. 

Ryan Suter is just about everything the Wild need in terms of a defenseman. And I for one am glad, he chose to take up residence in the State of Hockey for the next 13 years.

Welcome to the Team of 18,001: Ryan Suter


This is the fourth post in a five post series on the Wild's free agent signings this offseason. We have previously looked at Jake Dowell, Zenon Konopka, and Torrey Mitchell. Tomorrow will be our final installment in this series by taking a look at Zach Parise.

A New Face In The State Of Hockey: Torrey Mitchell

Torrey Mitchell

Forward

5'11"

190 lbs

Shoots: Left

Born: January 30, 1985

Birthplace: Greenfield Park, Quebec

Mitchell was signed by the Wild just a few hours after free agency opened on July 1st. He signed a 3 year, $5.7 million deal (Cap hit of $1.9 million per year) to be a stronghold on the team's 3rd line.

You may remember Mitchell, as the Sharks player who checked Kurtis Foster into the boards in San Jose and broke Foster's femur, just a few weeks prior to the 2008 playoffs (That was a huge blow to the Wild).

Mitchell does not jump off the page statistically (30-43-73 line in 260 career games). But if you watch him closely, he brings speed and gritty play to the table, something Mike Yeo is always looking for to add to the squad. He also will add some depth to the lower lines, something the Wild did not have much of in 2011-12. Mitchell is also a pretty decent penalty killer, so look for him to help bolster a pretty decent PK unit from 2011-12.

(Mitchell doesn't score often, but when he chooses to do so, he can make it look pretty)

He had played his entire 5 year career with San Jose to this point, so in addition to his gritty play, he will also bring some valuable postseason experience to the Wild. He has played in 55 playoff games thus far in his career, and that puts him up there with Dany Heatley (66), Matt Cullen (63), and Zach Parise (61) as team leaders in the playoff games category.

Torrey Mitchell has the characteristics to fit the Mike Yeo system perfectly, so look for him to be a valuable part of the Wild for the next three years.

Welcome to the Team of 18,001 Torrey Mitchell!


This is the third post in a five post series on the Wild's free agent signings this offseason. We have previously looked at Jake Dowell and Zenon Konopka. Tomorrow, we will take a look at Ryan Suter.