Wild Fans Exhale: Devan Dubnyk Re-Signs with the Wild

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Crosses fingers. I think we don't have to worry about backup goalie Niklas Backstrom being in the mix next season., unless there's a lot of injuries. Or at least I hope we don't. The Wild have re-signed Devan Dubnyk. Wild fans can now exhale.

Per Michael Russo:

After three days of heavy-duty negotiation, the Wild has agreed to terms with the goaltender on a six-year, $26 million deal, sources say. That's a $4.33 million cap hit, making Dubnyk the 21st-highest paid goaltender in the game. He makes $5 million each of the first four years, $3.5 million and $2.5 million the last two. There is a limited no-trade clause for part of the deal.

"Like I said from the outset, he’s been very clear that he wanted to remain in Minnesota and we’ve been adamant about trying to keep him," GM Chuck Fletcher said. "We’ve been chasing stability in the goaltending position and we’re hopeful that Devan can be a steadying influence back there."

The deal almost certainly makes young goalie Darcy Kuemper expendable at some point. But at a $1.25 million salary and the Wild in the need of a backup this year, the time to trade Kuemper could come later in the season or next summer.

Update on Dubnyk contract: It's $26M for 6 for a 4.33M AAV. 20th highest-paid goalie. $5M per 1st 4 years, $3.5, $2.5 last 2

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) June 27, 2015

Dubnyk's deal will have a limited no-trade for part of contract.

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) June 27, 2015

Minnesota Wild: Goalie Devan Dubnyk Stops Justin Schultz (video)

Check out this amazing save by Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk as he stops former Wisconsin Badger and current Edmonton Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz. I guess if I was the Wild general manager, I would be looking for a way to Cut Niklas Backstrom and signing Dubnyk.

Mike Yeo: Wild starting job in goal wide open

#462660157 / gettyimages.com

As we make our way towards the NHL season there's more hockey news starting to emerge. The Wild are going to have a stable of goalies this season. According to Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo, the position is wide open.

NHL Insider -- The Minnesota Wild will enter training camp next month with three goaltenders, Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper, competing for the starting job. Wild coach Mike Yeo said each will have a chance to win the No. 1 job.

"I have to say we're kind of open right now, to be honest with you," Yeo told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune on Wednesday during an appearance at the Minnesota State Fair. "We're going to have some scrimmages … but we're going to have to pretty quickly determine who we want to give a greater workload to after that. That's going to be a good challenge."

Obviously, they Wild are going to  need to sign Darcy Kuemper who remains an unsigned restricted free agent. There's also many questions about Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding's health. Neither has been able to play a full season the last two years.

Related articles

• Trib: Leave the hockey coverage to Russo

Wild still trying to re-sign Kuemper

#184718888 / gettyimages.com

The Minnesota Wild are having a tough time getting their top goalie prospect signed. Eventually, he's going to have to sing, because he's a restricted free agent. I don't think the Wild want this to drag out  much longer.

Michael Russo, Star Tribune --- A path toward a possible arbitration date would have at least guaranteed a settlement on a one- or two-year contract and would have assured that Kuemper would be signed by the commencement of camp Sept. 18. Now, a holdout — or at least the threat of one — is a possibility.

“Darcy has great potential and played very well in stretches for us [last] season, but at the end of the day I think he’s played around 30 games in the NHL,” Fletcher said. “Usually this isn’t the time to fight for the big contract. We feel Darcy right now is trying to establish himself in the league, and once he does that it’ll be a little simpler to come up with terms.

“Our focus right now is on getting good deals with both [Kuemper and Niederreiter]. If we can get the right deal for the player and for the team, then it’ll give us a chance to be competitive. If we spend too much money on players before they’re ready to get the money they feel they deserve, it impacts a lot of other things down the road. If we can get a deal done tomorrow, great. If it takes even into training camp, it’s really not a big deal. We’ve got great depth, we got lots of players. We’re going to have to do what’s right financially to keep this thing going forward.”

Kuemper, 24, went 12-8-4 last season with a 2.43 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. He came to the Wild’s rescue when goalies Niklas Backstrom (abdominal injury) and Josh Harding (multiple sclerosis) were sidelined. Kuemper’s camp, which battled the Wild three years ago before Kuemper signed his entry-level contract, appears to feel it has leverage because the Wild again plans to rely on Backstrom and Harding to be healthy next season.

NHL & College Hockey: Monday Links

ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun interview executive director of the NHL Players' Association. There’s some interesting things in this interview that are worth looking at. (Click to read)

LeBrun: All 700-plus NHL players are not here in the Olympics. What's always intrigued me is the idea of how rank-and-file players who never get to play in the Olympics really feel about shutting down the game for the Olympics and whether their input is heeded.

Fehr: We do, we do [ask them]. It's no secret, there are three things that go on: There are players who play; there are players who, even if they're not playing, hope that in the future they will, or players who did in the past and think it's a good opportunity for current ones to have. The second thing is, guys like the time off; they like to see their families; they like to do that. And the third thing is, there's at least the opportunity for some nagging injuries to heal. That's not so bad. But to answer your question more directly, as far as the players' association is concerned, this decision will be made by all 720 to 750 players -- it's not made by a small group.

Apparently, David Backes and T.J. Oshie have adopted some stray dogs from Russia.

More on the Niklas Bäckström doping case... ESPN: Backstrom victim of testing debacle

Scott Burnside, ESPN.COM – He's an innocent victim of circumstances," added Dr. Mark Aubry, the IIHF's chief medical officer. "There is no doping in this instance."

Well, technically it is doping, though, isn't it? The acceptable level for the substance pseudoephedrine in an athlete's body for in-competition testing is 150 micrograms per milliliter, and officials said Sunday that Backstrom's level was around 190. But there is a precedent for players being allowed a test again if that threshold is breached

Check out this gamer from the new beat writer for the UMD Bulldogs Rick Weegman. (click to view)

The trophy, awarded to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular-season champion, is making a tour of all the conference home sites.

After North Dakota’s 6-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth tonight, it’s undoubtedly the last time that the trophy will show up in Duluth this season.

It may find an out-of-season home in Grand Forks, N.D., however.

According to Michael Russo, Wild winger Jason Zucker will miss the upcoming road trip to Edmonton and Vancouver.

Next time you're drinking a Tim Horton's coffee, think of this article by Andrew Forbes from the Hockey Writers: A Common Ground: Where Hockey Meets Coffee

Sweden's Niklas Bäckström Banned from the Gold Medal Game for Using Banned substance

English: #19 Nicklas Backstrom (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This has to be one of the most asinine things that I have ever seen. Nicklas Backstrom of Sweden was banned from the gold medal game against the Canadians for failing a drug test. Must have been performance enhancing right? Nope! According to Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy, the banned substance in question was Zyrtec-D. In my humble opinion, that has to be one of the most moronic things I have ever seen. It makes no sense what-so-ever. How is Zyrtec-D a PED? Why is this banned?

New York Times --- A Swedish Olympic Committee spokesman told The Associated Press that Backstrom, 26, had tested positive for a substance found in an allergy medication he has taken for seven years. Backstrom, a top-line center, had four assists over Sweden’s first five games.

The N.H.L. and the Capitals indicated in statements that Backstrom’s doping violation would not affect his status in the N.H.L. because the substance he tested positive for is not considered a banned substance by the league. Athletes competing in the Olympics are subject to tougher antidoping rules than those of the major professional leagues like the N.H.L.

The league’s deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, said, “We do not anticipate there being any consequences relative to Nicklas’s eligibility to participate in games for the Washington Capitals.”

Backstrom’s is the sixth known doping offense of the Sochi Games. The other athletes who failed drug tests were the cross-country skiers Johannes Duerr of Austria and Marina Lisogor of Ukraine; the men’s hockey player Vitalijs Pavlovs of Latvia; the biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle of Germany, who as a cross-country skier won two gold medals and three silver medals at previous Olympics; and the bobsledder William Frullani of Italy.

Did the IOC expect him to suffer and not have him take his allergy medicine? Being a person that suffers from seasonal allergies, I would be miserable if I couldn't take my over-counter medication for my allergies. This is a rule that has to be looked at and then nuked.

Amazing save by Josh Harding: Avoidance of the subject

You should never get to high or too low. Josh Harding is a perfect example of this. Last year, Harding was diagnosed with M.S. and ended up missing most of the season. He came back and played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks.  Now, this year, he's the Minnesota Wild starter. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Harding could be an All-Star.

Related articles

• Fantasy Hockey: Josh Harding Makes it Look Easy (thehockeywriters.com)

Maple Leafs' Kadri suspended three games for Bush League hit (Video)

First, I was out of town and away from the computer, but this hit did get my ire. I don't like this hit one bit, it's a dangerous hit and it's unneeded. In my opinion, the headline should read, Maple Leafs' forward Kadri suspended five games for bush league hits. Second, why isn't there any supplemental discipline for the hit on Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund? That's a dirty hit in my opinion as well. I don't know, maybe I am not looking at this objectively because I am Wild fan? Thoughts on this?

But I digress.

Nazem Kadri's hit on Niklas Backstrom is a chicken wing elbow. Anytime a player extends the elbow like this, it's intentional. I don't care what the players says at his hearing. The NHL has suspended Nazem Kadri three-games for his elbow on Backstrom.  Also, watch the suspension video, it's utter crap. I would use another word, but it's now a word that is used on this blog.

Wild Hockey: Eric Nystrom Shootout goal sinks Wild

How @enystrom23 scored the @PredsNHL's game-winner on a penalty shot. Watch: http://t.co/ADSM9D34em #Preds
— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2013

This was the game winning goal from last night's Wild game against the Predators. Former Michigan Wolverine Eric Nystrom scores on the penalty shot. Personally, I thought this was a weak call, sure it was a penalty, but I am not sure if it was worthy of a penalty shot. Oh well, that's how the game goes sometimes. Wild head coach Mike Yeo wasn't happy about a few of the calls last night, either.

"That 5-on-3 was extremely frustrating for me," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said. "I don't want to get into complaining about calls or anything like that, but I thought that was very difficult and -- bang-bang -- two pucks go in the net right away. That was tough, too. That's what it comes down to right now for us to get a win. We need a play here or there. It could be a faceoff, it could be a blocked shot, it could be a save -- obviously, a goal. It's a matter of just finding a way to win."

(Video) Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom injured during warm ups.

Shall we say that the series is not starting out well for the Minnesota Wild, as their starting goalie Niklas Backstrom was injured during warm ups. The Wild's Backstrom was tied for first in wins with Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Niemi.

The backup goalie, Josh Harding has played in only five games all season long and only two games since January 30, 2013 and was unimpressive in relief against the Edmonton Oilers letting in three goals in the first four shots that he faced. The line on Harding, 1-1-0 .863 Save percentage and 3.20 GAA.

Did Jared Spurgeon dive on this play?

I am going to preface this post with, I am Minnesota Wild fan, but, I think there was some embellishment on this penalty. Steve Sullivan was given a two minute minor for tripping but it looks like Jared Spurgeon was a little light on his skates.

I am a Wild fan but that looked like a great Robbie Earl impersonation there.
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) March 1, 2013

Devin Setoguchi's epic fail.

Minnesota Wild forward Devin Setoguchi scored the game tying goal with ten seconds  remaining in the third period of last night's game against the Montreal Canadians. Setoguchi's goal tied the game to send the game to overtime. The Wild and the Canadians didn't score during the extra session.

Setoguchi was able to go from hero to goat in about ten minutes in time with this epic failure. Fast forward to the shootout, the Wild forward  Setoguchi has a chance to extend the shootout, but he falls flat on his face during his failed attempt in the shootout.

Related articles

• Devin Setoguchi Falls On His Ass In Season's Worst Shootout Attempt [Video] (deadspin.com)
• Minnesota Wild falls to Montreal Canadiens in shootout after Devin Setoguchi ... - Toronto Star (thestar.com)
• Minnesota Wild Video: Watch Devin Setoguchi's Epic Fail in Shootout vs Canadiens (bleacherreport.com)
• Wild Night in Montreal (insidehockey.com)

Pierre-Marc Bouchard

The Wild stopped a two game losing streak with this highlight goal from Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard. For the Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck is starting to get it going offensively and added another shorthanded goal tonight, if anyone is keeping track, that means that two out of last three goals that Clutterbuck has scored have been shorthanded goals. Cal Clutterbuck also has five points in his last five games.