Ever since the decline of Niklas Backstrom back in the 2012-13 season, the Minnesota Wild have had problems in net.
Josh Harding, once heralded as the Wild’s Goalie of the Future™, had his career derailed by multiple sclerosis. The Wild had two prized goaltending prospects in Darcy Kuemper and Matt Hackett, but neither worked out in Minnesota. Kuemper struggled immensely when given the full-time job, and left the Wild organization this summer. Hackett was traded, but his poor play in the AHL suggests his fate would not have been different had he remained with the Wild.