Minnesota Wild Offseason: The Top Five Wild Stories of the Summer

1) The Wild Inked Devan Dubnyk to a 6 year deal

Apr 26, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) makes a save during the third period in game six of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Blues 4-1 advancing them to the second round of playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

The first and most pressing issue for GM Chuck Fletcher was to establish the Wild’s goal-tending situation. Knowing how great Devan Dubnyk was down the stretch, it was only logical that the Wild looked to secure his services long term.

They made his signing the priority, but it was obvious that they wanted to do it at a certain price point in order to facilitate some other re-signings, most notably Michael Grandlund. It seemed for a brief minute that Dubnyk might slip away into free agency, but his desire to stay in Minnesota and Fletcher’s desire for him to stay made sure that a deal was done in a number that each side could live with.

The $4.3 million price tag per season is a fair number.

After all, Dubs is coming off a season where he won the Masterton Trophy, was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, and was the single biggest reason that the Wild were the NHL’s best team in the second half.

Those who say that $26 million over six years is too much would point to Dubnyk’s record before becoming a member of the Wild and say he could regress back there. To that I’d answer simply that when he played in Edmonton and Arizona he did not have anywhere near the defensive support like he has here in Minnesota. If Dubnyk plays his game and the defense does its job he’ll certainly be proven well worth the money.