The news isn't particularly of the "breaking news" variety, as Backstrom has been struggling with his return from off season sports hernia surgery and has been effective only in brief bursts throughout the season, as qualified by a dismal stat line.
In 21 games played, the 35-year-old Backstrom sports a record of 5-11-2 with a .899 save percentage and a 3.02 goals against average - a far cry from his career numbers .916 and 2.46.
Obviously, the soreness that Backstrom has been dealing with was affecting his performance, and after consulting with the surgeon that performed his hernia surgery, the team decided the best thing for everyone was to just shut him down.
"Our goal for Nik is to get him healthy for next year," Fletcher said on Thursday. "Needless to say, he's disappointed."
Of course, the Wild knew this was coming, but were already in the market for a rental with both Backstrom and Josh Harding on the shelf - finding that value in a trade deadline deal for Edmonton Oiler backup Ilya Bryzgalov, who has fared just as poorly between the pipes for Edmonton, but comes relatively healthy and with an expiring contract.
"Breezy", who earned the nickname not just from his surname but also from his flighty personality that rubbed the Philadelphia Flyers so raw that they bought him out of his contract last summer rather than deal with his quirky behavior, will back up Darcy Kuemper, who has been the bell cow in net for Minnesota, going 11-3-2 and posting an impressive stat line of .924/2.19.
"We’re going to keep giving him the opportunity to get out there and show what he’s done." Coach Mike Yeo said Friday morning. "We’re in large part where we are right now because of the job that he’s done.”
Speculation is that Backstrom will have to have another surgery, though it's not quite certain how invasive the procedure will end up being.
http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/2014/03/rangers-mats-zuccarello-hobbit-returns.html#.UxkQQIUcq58
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