Wild to let 3 goalies battle for starting job in training camp
The Minnesota Wild will head into training camp with their starting goalie position up for grabs.
Minnesota was ravaged by injuries in the crease a year ago, forcing it to use five different netminders throughout the course of the season. The Wild will break camp in September with Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper dueling for the starting job; 30-year-old John Curry will also attend camp, but is expected to spend the season in the AHL.
"We're going to let training camp sort everything out," head coach Mike Yeo told John Kreiser of NHL.com. "We were pretty confident that at a minimum two or three of those goaltenders will be able to step up and play well for us.
"Hopefully all three will. Hopefully we'll have three healthy and productive goaltenders and we'll have to make some hard choices. All three have proved over the past two seasons that when they're healthy they can play extremely well in this League. We have no reason to believe they won't be healthy this year."
2013-14 statistics:
| Name | GP | W-L-OTL | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harding | 29 | 18-7-3 | 1.65 | .933 |
| Kuemper | 26 | 12-8-4 | 2.43 | .915 |
| Backstrom | 21 | 5-11-2 | 3.02 | .899 |
Harding was exceptional last season but was limited to 29 games due to his battle with multiple sclerosis. The 30-year-old is expected to be healthy for the start of training camp after not playing since Dec. 31, though the team will have to monitor his condition on a daily basis.
Backtrom's best days appear to be behind him as he posted a career-worst 3.02 GAA and .899 save percentage last season. The 36-year-old, who underwent season-ending hip surgery after suffering an injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, is still under contract for two more seasons at $3.4 million per.
Kuemper, 24, filled in admirably last season when the Wild were forced into a goaltender-by-committee approach, but the restricted free agent remains without a contract. The 161st overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft could be Minnesota's goalie of the future due to Harding's condition and Backstrom's regression.