Niklas Backstrom RUMORS & NEWS

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom underwent successful sports hernia surgery Thursday in Philadelphia and is expected to be ready for the 2013-14 season, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher announced. Backstrom, however, will be a free agent. He was injured during pregame warmups for..." May 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press "When Matt Cullen won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006, the Hurricanes lost their starting goalie before the team played its first road game in the playoffs. They got "spanked," Cullen said, in Games 1 and 2. The starter, Martin Gerber, was sick and had played poorly. So they turned to..." May 09

CSN Chicago "Niklas Backstrom’s answers sounded tentative at best. The Minnesota Wild goalie was addressing the local media on Saturday afternoon, talking about his practice and the lower-body injury that made him a late Game 1 scratch. Backstrom is confident he’ll return. It just didn’t sound like he’s..." May 05

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Zach Parise stopped next to Josh Harding a few minutes before the puck dropped in the Wild's first playoff game in five years, and only a few minutes after Harding learned he would be starting. Parise wanted to share a few words with the goalie before his first start since January. "It's..." May 02

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Scoreboards don’t grade on a curve. We can. We can recognize that while Josh Harding will go down as the losing goaltender in the Wild’s 2-1 loss to Chicago at the United Center on Tuesday night, he was the most remarkable player on the ice. Three months since his last NHL start, at the..." May 01

NHL.com "Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin, Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom and Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending March 24. Ovechkin led the NHL with five goals and eight points in four games, stretching his..." March 25

NHL.com "Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty, Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron and Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending March 3. Pacioretty recorded at least one point in all four of his games, tying for the League lead in..." March 04

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who had planned to play in Belarus during the NHL lockout, will stay in Minnesota for now because of a minor ankle injury, he said via text message. Backstrom had surgery on his ankle after the 2011-12 season but injured his other ankle while getting ready for..." September 21

Pro Hockey Talk "Niklas Backstrom's Belorussian jaunt appears to be on hold, according to the Minnesota Star-Tribune. The Minnesota Wild's goalie injured his ankle during informal practices (or "professional beer league hockey"), putting his deal with the KHL's Dinamo Minsk in jeopardy. Russo reports that..." September 20

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Though Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom appears to be fully healed from a groin injury that has cost him 11 games, Josh Harding likely will remain the team's starting goalie for the team's game on Thursday, March 22, against Calgary at the Xcel Energy Center, Wild coach Mike Yeo said after..." March 21

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom is out two to four weeks with a strained groin, coach Mike Yeo said Friday, leaving his season in jeopardy while creating another opportunity for rookie Matt Hackett. Yeo said an MRI in the Twin Cities revealed Backstrom's injury was not as serious as initially..." March 03

Minneapolis Star Tribune "For two months, the Wild has sounded like a broken record. "We're not going to outskill teams." "We need to get to the net." "We need to score more dirty goals." Thursday night, the Wild did just that against the Florida Panthers, getting in former teammate Jose Theodore's kitchen and..." February 24

Minneapolis Star Tribune "If there has been one constant during Wild victories this season, it has been this: good goaltending. Execution between the pipes has to be above average to give the team a better-than-average chance to win. And that's why both head coach Mike Yeo and goaltending coach Bob Mason are cautiously..." February 23

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Earlier this week, Wild coach Mike Yeo said it was time for one of his two goaltenders - Niklas Backstrom or Josh Harding - to take over the No. 1 job on a consistent basis. If both are auditioning for the majority of the work, Backstrom has made a strong impression. He stopped 37 shots in the..." February 04

St. Paul Pioneer Press "After missing four games because of a virus that had left him ill for more than a week, Niklas Backstrom returned to the net for the Wild on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Backstrom said earlier this week that he started feeling sick during the Wild's loss in Calgary on Jan. 7,..." January 20

St. Paul Pioneer Press "With Josh Harding coming off one of the best games of his career - and Niklas Backstrom still recovering from a nasty virus he's had for 10 days - the Wild started Harding for the fourth straight game against the Flyers on Tuesday night. Harding, who made a career-high 47 saves in the Wild's..." January 18

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The big question now is who starts in goal Thursday in San Jose. The Wild has a goaltending controversy, but only because of an embarrassment of riches. After backup Josh Harding reeled off four victories in a row and was named the NHL's First Star of the Week, Niklas Backstrom made his..." November 09

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Josh Harding was named the NHL's No. 1 star of the week Monday for giving up three goals in three wins for the Wild last week. Good enough to remain the starting goaltender, right? Wrong. Harding will go back to the bench tonight to back up Niklas Backstrom when the Wild play the Flames..." November 08

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom played most of the season with a sore right shoulder, he revealed Monday. Backstrom, who finished with a 22-23-5 record, a 2.66 goals-against record and a .916 save percentage, said he met with doctors Monday and they believe no surgery will be necessary. He..." April 12

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Missing the playoffs has hit Niklas Backstrom harder than a puck to the facemask. It's evident in his body language. "You play for the team," he explained. "You don't make the playoffs, you can't leave the season with a smile on your face." The fifth-year goaltender from Helsinki,..." April 11

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Niklas Backstrom watched Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro get clocked in a one-punch knockout by Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Brent Johnson on Wednesday night and said, "That's why I don't fight." "I almost got into a fight once," the Wild goalie said, laughing. "It was the last game in Sweden in..." February 04

Minneapolis Star Tribune "At one point during Monday's practice, Todd Richards told his sunburned players to get their "minds and bodies" back into hockey mode. The Wild coach saw the rust that built during the All-Star break and tried to scrape it off. Tuesday night, even phosphoric acid wouldn't have eaten away the..." February 02