The Minnesota Wild are special when it comes to players. They are known for building a core and running with a group of players for long periods of time. Almost a quarter of the 300ish players that have ever suited up for the Wild have played in at least 200 games for the club. With the kind of dedication, does that make players harder to remember?
Number 5: Anton Khudobin
Khudobin developed a nice little niche for himself as one of the more solid backup goaltenders in the league during his career. His nearly 15-year NHL career started when he was drafted by the Minnesota Wild 206th overall in 2004. Splitting his first two professional seasons between the ECHL and AHL, Khudobin finally made his NHL debut on February 4, 2010. He suited up for two games before he was sent back down to the minors for the rest of the season. After starting the following season in the AHL yet again, he returned to the NHL for four more games in mid-January of 2011, though failed to hold onto a spot as Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore had the two NHL spots nailed down. At the 2011 trade deadline Khudobin was shipped to the Boston Bruins for a pair of prospects.
Number 4: JJ Daigneault
Best known for his time with the Montreal Canadiens throughout the 1990’s where he won a Stanley Cup, J.J. Daigneault was a veteran of 898 games as the 2000-01 season rolled around. He signed with the Wild in the summer of 2000, but only played a single game for Minnesota on January 12, 2001. Daigneault spent the rest of the season with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL and retired at the end of the season.
Number 3: Ilya Bryzgalov
After his disastrous fall from grace with the Philadelphia Flyers, Bryzgalov found himself with the Edmonton Oilers early in the 2013-14 season. He played 20 games, even managing to supplant Devan Dubnyk as the starting goalie. At the trade deadline, Bryz was shipped to the Minnesota Wild for a fourth round pick, and he continued his hot play, going 7-1-3, though his lackluster playoff performance saw him get benched on favor of Darcy Kuemper. At the end of the season Bryzgalov became a free agent and signed with the Ducks midway through the 2014-15 season before retiring the following summer.
Number 2: Owen Nolan
Best known as the longest reigning captain in San Jose Sharks history, and a five year stint with the Nordiques beforehand, Owen Nolan moved around the league late in his career. A free agent in the summer of 2008, Nolan signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. His debut season in 2008-09 was great, as he posted his best numbers since the 2001-02, scoring 25 goals and 45 points in 59 games. The following season, Nolan played in 73 games, but he only managed to score 16 goals and 33 points. At the end of the season, he didn’t drawn any NHL interest and retired in early 2012 after 1,200 NHL games.
Number 1: Jose Theodore
The longtime Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender had stints with a few different teams later in his career, and the team he spent the least amount of time with was the Minnesota Wild. Theodore entered the 2010-11 season without a contract, but thanks to Wild backup goalie Josh Harding destroying his knee in a preseason game, Theodore was inked to a one-year deal to backup Niklas Backstrom. He suited up for 32 games, winning 15 of them (among them the 250th win of his career), and recording a 2.71 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
His rising stock made him a commodity during the 2011 offseason and he signed a two-year deal with the Panthers, where he’d ultimately retire at the end of the contract.
Honorable Mention
Matt Read
This one is more for the Flyers’ continent among us. Read spent seven seasons with the Flyers, most notably leading the rookie goal scoring race in 2011-12 season with 24, finishing fourth in Calder voting. He signed a two-way deal with the Wild in the 2018 offseason. He played just 12 games with the Wild scoring a single goal, spending 61 games in the AHL. He played one more season with the Toronto Marlies before retiring.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: si.com
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