The Product of Boredom: The Wild’s Top 5 Goalies

So the lack of just about anything happening during the off season usually leads to one or two posts that are either ill-advised, or really stretching for ideas.  My next three posts will, hopefully, fall in the latter rather than the former.  I will be taking a look at the top five players that the Wild have had in their respective positions (defense, forward, goaltender).  They always say that you should build a franchise from the back out, so let’s start in nets.

5) Jamie McLennan – De-Fault…The two sweetest words in the English language.  That’s also the reason why McLennan makes this list despite his less than stellar statistics for the Wild in their inaugural season.  Splitting time with Manny Fernandez, “Noodles” posted just five wins in 38 games played…But also may have been the victim of playing for an expansion team that had a hard time scoring goals, as he had a decent GAA of 2.64 and a Save Pct of .905.  He also notched two shutouts during the season as well.

4) Josh Harding – Harding is really so far down on this list only because of the fact that he doesn’t have the body of work that the “Big 3” of the Wild goalies do.  Harding has performed admirably over the last few seasons being relegated to a mostly back-up role with the team and has posted career numbers that many back-up goalies would be envious of.  He was supposed to slide in to start for the team this season before the emergence of Niklas Backstrom, so we’ll see how long he remains with the team.  For now, though, he’s definitely a name to be mentioned on this list.

3) Manny Fernandez – Fernandez has always been a polarizing figure among Wild fans.  Some love him.  Some hate him.  But he is certainly deserving of being on this list.  He was a key part to the Wild’s big playoff run in the ’02-’03 season and he was a big reason why the Wild were above .500 in the ’05-’06 season.  His athleticism was absolutely dazzling at times and the biggest thing that worked against him and prevented him from being a truly elite goalie is the fact that you could fit a sperm whale through his five-hole.

2) Dwayne Roloson – Roloson was another big part of the Wild’s ’02-’03 playoff run and, to be honest, the reason why he is up higher than Fernandez is his consistency.  He always remained a consistent backstop for the Wild and was well liked by both fans and players alike.  He also was the Wild’s lone goalie to make the all star team until last season and performed marvelously for the Wild during his tenure with the team. 

1) Niklas Backstrom – This was really a no-brainer.  The only of the Wild’s goalies to make it as a finalist in an award and probably a top-ten goalie (if not top-five) in the entire league.  Backstrom gives the Wild a calming presence in net and is always level headed, no matter what the situation.  He has backstopped the Wild to two playoff appearances and was the sole reason that the Wild were even sniffing the playoffs last season.  He has never had a season below a .920 Save Pct or above a 2.33 GAA and has notched at least 30 wins in his past two seasons and 23 in just 41 starts in his rookie season.

Up Next: The Defensemen