Trade Our All-Star?

I have come across an increasingly number of pieces written on a subject that, at first glance, seems absolutely ridiculous to me...and that is for a call to trade goaltender Niklas Backstrom. I guess trading an All-Star player is not a new concept as even The Great One was traded a few times in his career. But for some reason from the get-go, I cannot grasp this idea and imagine unloading one of the teams few big assets, let alone one that was our single representative and just participated in his first All-Star game. And when assessing the play of our team so far this season, a team that is going to be fighting to the end to make the playoffs, the one true consistent bright-spot has been the solid play in our defensive zone. And Backstrom can take a ton of credit for that as he has been simply brilliant.

But the cases I have seen have put up some pretty good arguments for making a deal. First however, I would like to discount one that has been bothering me for some time now. The Lemaire 'system', as it's called, has given credence to the idea that you can plug anyone into the net and get the same stifling results, or so it has been uttered. I cannot disagree more with this notion. It really gives zero credit to Backstrom or the solid goaltenders that have graced our young franchise. A quick look will show you that, yes indeed, our Wild have had pretty good goaltending from the beginning. In fact, our Wild have had league-leading goaltending at times. However, upon further review, the fact is our past goaltenders have seen success beyond the 'system'. And lets face it, all teams play the same or a different variety of the 'system' (a blog for a later time).

It started with Manny Fernendez, who has yet to convince me that he is a legitimate season-long #1 guy, then was bulked-up by the addition of Dwayne Roloson a few years later. The Fernandez-Roloson duo peaked when they carried the team to the 2003 Western Conference Finals. Enter Niklas Backstrom. The Backstrom-Fernandez team compiled a league leading 2.24 GAA combined, while virtually splitting the season in half. Fernandez, after having some lost time due to a knee injury, is having a very solid season in Boston, going 14-3-1. Roloson has had a decent career after leaving the Wild, playing on a mostly ordinary Edmonton Oilers team. His play in the 2006 playoffs, where he went 12-5, carried the Oilers to the finals before they eventually lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. So, looking at what has come and gone in nets for the Wild, it seems to me that the two main players have recorded some very decent numbers since their departures. And other than the three above mentioned netminders, the team has not inserted another goalie of any significance. But according to these 'trade Backstrom' pieces, waiting in the wings is that guy of 'significance' and what folks think is the 'plug-in guy', Josh Harding.

The argument takes shape and make sense to me when you address the issue of why we sit, yet again, with a premier player being allowed to play out the final year of a contract. In other words, General Manager Doug Risebrough has waited too long to get Backstrom signed. Our GM fumbled with Gaborik and now it looks as if he has painted himself into a corner with Backstrom. Some think that the price, now that his All-Star status has been solidified, will be too much for the Wild to take on (something I question). So the obvious thing for Risebrough to do to gain some credibility back would be to unload him while the price is high. The problem I have with that notion is that Doug's track record with the Wild has not been too good when it comes to making an NHL trading deadline move.

The question that has to be addressed before a deal is made however, is whether or not the team feels Josh Harding is a capable goaltender. After all, the team is still in the race for a playoff spot and without good goaltending, teams seldom go deep into the post-season. I don't care who the Wild pick up on the scoring end in a Backstrom trade (assuming they go after points), it is not going to out-weigh bad goaltending. So far this season Harding has only seen action in 10 games, starting 7, and has 1-5-1 record. His two key goaltender numbers are good, as he has a 2.17 GAA and a .929 SV%. But only starting 7 games is hardly a comfort, especially for a player who would be expected to backstop the defense. On the career side, Hardings experience is not much deeper. He has started a total of 39 NHL games over the past 4 seasons, and holds a record of 17-23-0-4. For his career, he has a 2.53 GAA and a .929 SV%. Unfortunately he should be considered an unknown, with his lack of experience, and one that cannot be looked to steal games as Backstrom has done so far this season...at least as far as we know.

There are a few wild-card factors that should be mentioned when discussing a possible Backstrom trade. First off, Backstrom seems to enjoy his team and has stated publicly that he would like to stay. Whether or not that desire would equate to him taking that 'home-town' discount, who knows. Even though he is only in his 3rd NHL season, he is not young by league standards, as he has plenty of professional experience in Europe and may be at a point in his career where he wants to stay put. The second factor could throw this whole idea into a spin and is not likely, but the Wild could swap goaltenders in a deal. The decision to make a move such as this would be strictly a financial one and would probably be geared for the future. The final factor would be to abandoned any notion of a playoff run this season and mold a deal that would be solely for the future. And truth be told, any one of these factors could play out as this management team is hard to figure out. But short of keeping Backstrom or dealing him for some proven players, our faithful fans will be outraged and vocal.

In the end, I really don't know what the best move might be. On one hand you have a proven asset that if traded, would command a lot in return. On the other hand, I am not sure that Risebrough has it in him to pull the trigger on a big deal. What's left is absolutely the unthinkable, and that would be to let him walk at seasons end.