Just two and a half months ago the Minnesota Wild were written off for dead as a Western Conference Playoff contender and their head coach, Mike Yeo, was considered a dead man walking. The Wild entered Buffalo having lost six consecutive games in a span that included 12 losses in 14 games.
The major problem was goaltending. The Wild didn’t have any. Now enter Devan Dubnyk.
The Savior
Dubnyk arrived in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes. At the time, the trade appeared to be a case of Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher throwing spaghetti against the wall hoping some would stick.
Dubnyk was hardly dominant at Arizona with a save percentage of .916 but did have a 9-5-2 record.
The Dubnyk trade caused no real attention when it was executed. The trade has since proven to have saved the season of the Wild and Yeo’s job.
Dubnyk has a record of 26-6-1 with a dominant .939 save percentage since joining Minnesota and has posted five shutouts. He has permanently solved the goaltending position that has been in a flux for several years in Minnesota. His play has sparked excellence from the rest of the team with inspired and confident play.
Show Me a Good Goalie and I’ll Show You a Good Coach
Yeo had a total meltdown during the January slump and publicly admitted that he feared for his job. His tirade at a Minnesota practice looks absurd and ridiculous at the time, but has since been looked at as a potential turning point. Minnesota has been one of the best teams in the NHL since Yeo’s tantrum and the arrival of Dubnyk.
All of a sudden, a team that was a clear afterthought is now being considered a bona fide Stanley Cup contender. And that respect goes beyond Dubnyk and Yeo.
Big Investment Pays Dividends
In the summer of 2012, Minnesota backed up the truck to acquire left wing Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter, who were free agents that gave Minnesota much needed cache and credibility beyond simply being a team of drones.
Parise is Minnesota’s leading scorer with 30 goals, 28 assists to go with a plus-19. Suter has 34 assists with a plus-10 against the top lines in the game.
Thomas Vanek, a free agent signing from last summer, has finally started to click after a terrible start. Vanek has reached the 20 goal mark to go with 30 assists and has displayed the skill that he has long been celebrated for.
Under the Radar
Minnesota still rarely gets mentioned in the same sentence with established Western Conference powers such as the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks. Yet they have developed into a team that nobody wants to face in the playoffs.
With Dubnyk, improved scoring, a dependable blue line, and Yeo’s structured coaching, Minnesota may give their fans a Wild ride this spring.
