Niklas Backstrom’s NHL career didn’t start until the age 28 after becoming an established élite talent in Finland for ten seasons. Even in Finland it took him five seasons before he got a regular starting job. His two best seasons there were his last two with Karpat where he backstopped them to two straight SM-liiga titles in 2004 and 2005. It was that last season where he posted an incredible stat-line of 32 wins, .940 SV%, and a 1.97 GAA that caught the eye of the Wild who signed him to a one-year deal.
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His first year in the NHL in 2006-07 he finished the regular season at the top of the league in GAA (1.