Minnesota Wild: Top 10 Goalies in Franchise History

The Minnesota Wild have had 17 goaltenders play at least one game since entering the league in 2000. Today, we’re counting down the Top 10.

I have researched each goalie, primarily their time with the Minnesota Wild but any time spent elsewhere has also been considered. Accomplishments achieved away from the Wild were given a smaller bearing on overall ranking.

I have gathered and reviewed all statistical information in regards to number of games started, save percentages, win percentages, and regular season vs playoff success, and ranked each as objectively as I could.

Each goalie has been ranked comparatively to each other, with the primary requirement being that the goalie must have been on ice for at least 1 minute of regular season game time at some point in a Minnesota Wild jersey.

This eliminates former Stanley Cup Champion and the 2nd Expansion Draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, Mike Vernon, as he was traded without ever playing a game. Likewise, Andrew Hammond has been excluded as he has not yet played a game for the Wild.

A subjective look was also taken at the skaters available during each goalie’s tenure with the team, as defense can inflate or deflate a goaltender’s overall statistics, and offense can affect win/loss records and overall team success.

Player awards, franchise records, and major accomplishments have also been considered and added to each goalie’s overall success. Conversely, team and player worsts resulted in negative rankings for each player.

Most importantly, these rankings are purely my opinion, and I welcome any friendly debate in the comments. Tell me if you think someone else should be on the list, or if someone deserves to be higher/lower. With that, let’s get to it.

#10 – Ilya Bryzgalov (2014)

In the spring of 2014, The Minnesota Wild were riding deep into the depth of their goaltending rotation due to the losses of Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom. Looking for a #1 guy to step in as the starter, with the team looking ahead to a playoff berth and lacking confidence in Darcy Kuemper to carry a playoff series, they made a trade for a proven NHL Starter.

The Wild traded a 4th round Draft pick to the Edmonton Oilers to acquire Ilya Bryzgalov, as it’s insurance policy behind Kuemper. Though much maligned in the recent years leading to his arrival in Minnesota, Bryzgalov brought a proven NHL calibre of goaltending to an otherwise shaky depth chart.

Bryz had 7 wins in 10 starts to finish the season, achieving 17 of a possible 22 points over his 11 starts in goal. His 2.12 GAA and .911 Sv%, along with 3 shutouts, were exceptional for a late season acquisition who had a 3.08 GAA and .908 Sv% over 19 starts in Edmonton prior to the trade.

In Round 1 of the 2014 Playoffs, Bryzgalov was dubbed the starter ahead of Kuemper. Following 2 subpar performances, including 3 goals on 14 shots in Game 2, Bryzgalov got the hook and was relegated to bench duty.

Late in Game 7, misfortune struck Kuemper and Bryz was thrust back into action with less than 10 minutes remaining in a tie game. The Minnesota Wild defence stifled Colorado, allowing only 1 shot through to Bryz over 13 minutes of play in the 3rd period and overtime before Nino Niederreiter sent the team to the second round for the first time in 10 years.

Bryzgalov would struggle again to start the second round, but with no backup to take his spot he found his game to force the series to 6 games. Unfortunately, that was the end of a short run in Minnesota for the former Stanley Cup winning goaltender.

Though his time in Minnesota was short, Bryzgalov left his mark with the franchise. His contributions getting the team into the playoffs, as well as leading them to their second longest playoff run in franchise history will always have a mark on the team.

#9 – Alex Stalock (2016-Present)

The 2016 Offseason saw the Minnesota Wild look to add depth to a shallow goaltending situation. Behind Dubnyk and Kuemper, the team had no NHL ready goalies should a scenario arise. This resulted in the team signing veteran career backup Alex Stalock.

Stalock was brought in on a two-way contract to compete with Darcy Kuemper for the backup goalie spot, but also to be a veteran leader for the young Iowa Wild in the AHL.

In 2017-18 we saw Stalock ascend to the backup role after the departure of Kuemper. It was a roller coaster year for Stalock, as he saw highs (first career shutout against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his former team), and lows (7 goals against on 28 shots in an early season start against Winnipeg).

In December, Devan Dubnyk went down with an undisclosed injury which resulted in Stalock being named the starter in Doobie’s absence. Dubnyk would miss 7 games, and Stalock started all of them, going 3-4-0 including the aforementioned Toronto game.

Stalock struggled through the year to establish himself when given opportunities, only once managing to record consecutive victories. Despite this, when he was on his game it was enough to bring attention from the Wild faithful, as fans are excited at the prospect of him growing within the organization

It’s still early in his Wild career, and Stalock is still young enough (by goalie standards) to have a breakout year ahead of him. Keep a close eye on him, because there is a chance we could see him climb these rankings in the coming years.

#8 – Darcy Kuemper (2012-2017)

Darcy Kuemper was a late round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2009 Draft. Kuemper excelled in his Junior Career, and continued his run of impressive goaltending into Houston of the AHL.

Despite impressing at every level outside the NHL, Darcy never seemed to gain the full trust of the coaches in Minnesota. He was stuck as the 3rd goaltender behind Backstrom and Harding to start his career, and whenever the crease fell to be his responsibility due to injuries the team found alternatives through trades.

In 2013-14, Backstrom and Harding both went down with injury and Kuemper was the de facto starter. Trust in the young goalie was extremly low, and despite winning 5 games in a row after Backstrom’s injury the team still sought out a replacement to lead them into the playoffs.

Kuemper’s legacy will stand as the 2014 playoff run, where he took the net back after Brygalov struggled in the opening series and led the Wild back from a 2-0 series deficit, putting them in a position to win Game 7 before a leg injury forced him out for the remainder of the playoffs.

The 2014-15 season was meant to be the year of Kuemper, Harding was struggling with his MS treatments, and Backstrom’s game was showing his age. Despite this, Darcy still could not earn the patience of his coach, only playing more than 3 consecutive games twice over the entire season.

His spot would be lost to Devan Dubnyk in January, and he would spend 2 more seasons as primary backup to Dubnyk before leaving in free agency when his contract expired.

Kuemper’s timing was unfortunate, as he got stuck deep in the goalie depth chart and when he finally found his way to the top he was faced with a coach desperate for wins with no patience for a young goalie trying to gain confidence in the NHL

This season, Kuemper will find himself as backup goalie in Arizona waiting for another chance to try to prove he can become a starting goalie in the NHL. His time in Minnesota proved he can win, when he has confidence in his game, but he was never able to spend enough time on-ice to secure his spot at the top.

#7 – Jose Theodore (2010-2011)

Way way back, in 2001-02, Jose Theodore won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s league MVP while he was a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Dominik Hasek are the only other goaltenders to accomplish that feat in the last 50+years.

You may be asking what this has to do with the Minnesota Wild, well, in 2010-11 Theodore tried to replicate that success as a backup for the State of Hockey. Theodore played in 32 games for the Wild, and put up his best statistical season in 8 years.

Theodore recorded 15 wins over 29 starts, posting a .916 Sv% and a 2.71 GAA while serving as the primary backup to Niklas Backstrom. Unfortunately, the Wild missed the playoffs in Theodore’s only season, but at no fault of his (or Backstroms’s) goaltending.

Theodore helped the team to finish the season with only 233 Goals Against, the lowest among Western Conference non-playoff teams, and good enough for 16th lowest in the league on the year.

Clearly, I hold Theodore to a high placement due in large part to his being a former league MVP. His performance in a single season as a backup with Minnesota may not have been spectacular, but it was enough to earn Jose a massive pay raise when he signed with Florida that offseason.

He has since retired, but his place among Wild goalies will always be written in that one fateful season he came to play for the red, green, and wheat.

#6 – Anton Khudobin (2007-2011)

If there was ever a goalie in the Minnesota Wild system who truly deserved better than what he was given, it would have to be Anton Khudobin. The 2004 7th Round Draft pick, who worked hard to get his chances in the NHL, could never seem to secure a spot.

After 3 years in Russia, his first 2 seasons in America saw him struggle to get playing time even in the AHL, as he was even stuck as the 3rd man down there. He ended up mostly in the ECHL just to get regular playing time under his belt.

In 2009-10, when he finally clawed his way to the 3rd string spot, he caught some breaks with injuries to Backstrom and Harding which saw Khudobin thrust into action. He played 9 minutes of perfect hockey in his NHL debut, coming in relief for Harding.

Khudobin’s performance earned him the start in the next game, in which he was nearly perfect turning away 38 of 39 shots in a winning effort. Unfortunately, despite allowing only 1 goal on 48 shots faced through 2 game, Khudobin did not get another chance to play in Minnesota that year.

2010-11 appeared to be the year Khudobin could finally shine in a backup role when Harding injured his knee in the pre-season. Rather than giving Dobby a chance, though, the Minnesota Wild opted to sign Jose Theodore and relegate Anton back to Houston in the AHL.

Khudobin would get one more chance, when both Backstrom and Theodore went down with injury in January 2011. His first start was a rare shaky appearance as Khudobin allowed 3 goals early and took the L. He Bounced back with a shutout win and then a 32 save win, but again found himself in Houston when the Top 2 got healthy.

At the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline, a promising start to his Wild career was cut short when Khudobin found himself traded to Boston. Now 7 years later, and having bounced through a couple teams back to Boston last year, Dobby finds himself the clear cut #2 to Ben Bishop in Dallas.

He is coming off a 16 win season last year over 29 starts. The Wild let this one get away too soon, as Khudobin is now 32 years old and still has time to establish himself as a reliable veteran for a team in need of goaltending help.

#5 – Josh Harding (2005-2014)

If Khudobin was the goalie who couldn’t catch a break in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, then Josh Harding is the goalie who couldn’t catch a break in life.

Harding started his NHL career with high expectations as a 2nd round draft pick in 2002. He won the WHL’s Top Goaltender and Most Outstanding Player Awards the following season. Despite his outstanding WHL Performance, he spent the next season in the WHL again.

Harding made the jump to the AHL during the 2004-05 NHL lockout season, and impressed with a 2.01 GAA, .930 Sv%, 4 shutouts, and 21 wins through 42 games. Even still, 2005-06 he was back in the AHL as he could not find a spot among Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez on the depth chart.

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In March 2006, Harding finally got his opportunity when Roloson was traded. At the time, he was 27-8 in the AHL, with a .923 Sv% and appeared ready for the jump to the next level. He would go 2-1 including 1 shutout in 3 starts that season, and primed to take on the Wild’s top backup role in 06-07.

Fortune, however, did not favour Harding. In the 2006 offseason, the Minnesota Wild took a chance and signed a 28 year old Finnish goalie to a one year tryout contract ,who impressed in camp and took the 2nd goalie job from Harding.

Harding finally caught his break in January 2007, when a knee injury forced Fernandez to the sidelines and opened the door for Harding to take on a larger role. Harding excelled, yet again, with a 1.16 GAA and a .960 Sv% through 7 games, going 3-2-1 with another shutout.

Fernandez asked for a trade in the offseason, and Harding was poised to take on the Wild’s backup role again. Over the next 3 seasons, Harding had his worst years as a pro recording only 23 wins over 48 starts. It only got worse in 2010 when Harding tore his ACL and MCL in a preseason game and was forced to miss the entire season.

Where Harding earns his place as #5 on this list, is his career post-2012. In September 2012 Harding was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and his NHL career was considered deeply in jeopardy.

Harding put forward one of the most inspiring stories in the NHL, as he battled and fought through his degenerative disease to start all 5 NHL Playoff games that season for the Wild. Then, in 26 starts in 2013-14 while battling his disease, Harding was on pace for one of the best statistical seasons in NHL History.

Harding had 18 wins in 26 starts, a 1.66 GAA, a .933, and 3 shutouts between October to December. A change to his MS treatment resulted in health complications, that unfortunately led to the end of his career.

Through all of this, Harding is a picture of the heart and spirit of the Minnesota franchise. Refusing to let anyone (or anything) hold him back, he fought through all the adversity and ended up leaving his mark as one of the best goalies to ever play for the franchise. He now continues to give back to the Minnesota fans, as a high school goalie coach in Edina, MN.

#4 – Manny Fernandez (2000-2007)

Before his NHL career even started, Manny Fernandez was faced with numerous challenges on his way to being an NHL starting goalie. Drafted in 1992 by the Quebec Nourdiques (now the Colorado Avalanche), Fernandez was traded to the Dallas Stars in 1994 before he ever made the move out of the CHL.

Fernandez was a member of the 1998-99 Dallas Stars roster that won the Stanley Cup, but as the 3rd goalie he did not play in enough games to warrant his name being etched on the championship. In 1999-00 Dallas went back and lost in the Stanley Cup Final with Fernandez as the primary backup to Ed Belfour.

Following the consecutive runs to the Cup Finals, Fernandez found himself on the move again as he became one of the first official members of the Expansion Minnesota Wild. Traded in June 2000, Fernandez was immediately viewed as a competitor for the starting position.

Fernandez would compete primarily with Jamie McLennan to start the year, and despite McLennan earning the first NHL Start and (eventually) first NHL win for the new franchise it was Fernandez who secured himself as the uncontested #1 by the end of the year.

With the arrival of Dwayne Roloson, Manny would continue to find himself in a platoon goalie system for the entirety of his career in Minnesota, but that never slowed him down. He was always a reliable piece on the backend for the Wild.

His career highlight is easily the 2002-03 NHL Playoff run, where he started the playoffs as Roloson’s backup. When the team fell to a 3-1 series deficit to start the first round, it was Fernandez who saved the year and rattled off 3 consecutive wins (including 2 in OT) to get the Wild through to the second round.

Manny Fernandez was also rewarded for his accomplishments behind the stifling Minnesota defense of coach Jacques Lemaire (who happens to be his uncle). In 2006-07, Fernandez was half of the top defensive team in the NHL and was co-awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed by a team over an NHL Season.

In between those accomplishments, Fernandez became a picture of stability on the backend, and in 05-06 he became the first Wild goalie in history to record a 30-win season.

After leaving the Wild, he won a second Jennings trophy as a member of the Boston Bruins before quietly retiring from active play. His Wild career spanned 7 years, and finished with 113 wins over 260 games, and 12 shutouts. As a member of 2 teams to make deep playoff runs, a 2 time Jennings winner, and the first Wild Goalie with a winning record, Manny earned his spot in the Top 5.

#3 – Dwayne Roloson (2000-2006)

Dwayne Roloson, or more affectionately known as “Roli the Goalie” by fans, barely edges out Fernandez for third place on this list.

Roloson took a more indirect route to his role on the Wild, serving 2 seasons in the 90s as a primary backup in the Calgary Flames organization, and then another 2 as primary backup to Dominik Hasek in Buffalo (including the 98-99 Stanley Cup Final opposite Fernandez).

Roli was actually taken in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft by the Wild’s co-expansion team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, but rather than reporting to the Jackets he signed an AHL contract for 1 season.

In the summer of 2001 Roli signed a contract to join the Minnesota Wild organization, and immediately established himself as Fernandez’s equal on the expansion franchise. He and Fernandez would form a formidable 1a/1b and share the glory of the 2002-03 Conference Championship appearance.

When Roloson struggled in the first round, Fernandez came to the rescue. In the second round, when Fernandez struggled, Roloson returned the favor with 3 consecutive wins of his own to vault the Wild to the Conference Championships.

The following season, Roloson was rewarded for a fantastic year with an NHL All Star Game selection. He finished the season with a 1.88 GAA, .933 Sv%, and 5 shutouts for the Wild, cementing his spot as starter.

When the 2004-05 season was lost to lockout, Roli struggled to find his game again the next season, and was firmly supplanted by Fernandez for the 1a role. In March 2006, in the midst of an extremely poor year, Roloson was sent on his way to Edmonton in exchange for a 1st round draft pick.

Roloson found another gear in Edmonton, leading a miracle playoff run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and a front runner the Playoff MVP. Many in Edmonton will tell you that had Roloson not been injured, they are convinced the Oilers would have been 2006 Stanley Cup Champions.

He also led a miracle run in 2011, taking the Tampa Bay Lightning to Game 7 of the East Conference Finals. His edge over Fernandez is ever so slight, but enhanced by his all-star game appearance and his role among 4 deep playoff runs in his career.

#2 – Devan Dubnyk (2015-Present)

The Minnesota Wild eventually got their return from the Edmonton Oilers for the Roloson trade, in a roundabout way, in the form of Devan Dubnyk. A former first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, who was chased out of town after 5 mediocre seasons, Dubnyk bounced around and almost out of hockey before finding his way to Minnesota.

In a midseason trade, the Wild brought in Dubnyk (then an Arizona Coyote) the same way they sent Roloson to Edmonton. Dubnyk would light the league on fire, going 27-9-2 through 39 starts, a .936 Sv%, 1.78 GAA, and 5 shutouts, carrying the Wild to the Playoffs.

He would be recognized, with a Vezina and Hart Trophy nomination, the winner of the Bill Masterton trophy, and named as a 2nd team all-star. He continued his impressive start to his Wild career, by winning the first round in 6 games. The first time in Wild history to win a series in less than 7.

Since then, it’s been more of the same from the man nicknamed “Doobie.” His second season with the Wild finished with his first All-Star Game appearance, another solid statistical year, another 5 shutouts, another playoff appearance, but another early exit.

Year 3 came complete with another Vezina and Hart trophy nomination, another all-star game appearance, another 5 shutouts, and yet again, an early playoff exit. If you are sensing a trend, you are not alone. Dubnyk has been an excellent regular season goalie, but hasn’t seemed able to steal a playoff series as of yet.

2017-18 did not come with all the same accolades, despite similar stats, as Dubnyk’s performances are becoming so common and consistent at this point it is not as critically recognized as it was early in his Wild career.

Despite his playoff disappointments, Dubnyk is still the second best goalie in Minnesota Wild history. His regular season performances have resulted in 4 consecutive playoff appearances, which is more than any other goalie in franchise history.

With 2 Vezina nominations, 2 all-star game appearances, 2 Hart trophy nominations, and 4 playoff seasons he is head and shoulders above everyone else on this list so far. At this point, a long playoff run would easily move Dubnyk into top spot, but for now he is still slightly behind this next man.