Niklas Backstrom News

When the Wild acquired Jason Pominville on April 3, the team seemed destined to use a compliance buyout this offseason on veteran Dany Heatley.

The Minnesota Wild are currently in talks with Niklas Backstrom who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 5th.

After what they've done in the past 12 months or so, we probably shouldn't expect the Minnesota Wild to make another Earth shattering move.

The number of teams looking for goalies might not be that big. If the Flyers are eyeing the possibility of a Bryzgalov buyout, this would be a good thing.

Harding revealed last November that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an incurable auto-immune disease where the body randomly attacks the protective lining of nerves throughout the body.

This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel.

OVER THE NEXT 2 days, the NHL will hand out its regular-season award winners for this season.

The Minnesota Wild made the playoffs for the first time since 2008, but were quickly sent packing by the Chicago Blackhawks in Round One.

A tall, blond man on crutches hobbled into a classroom at Centennial Sportsplex as 48 boys and girls ages 9-19 stared in awe.

If you take a look around the NHL trying to figure out who will be the best teams next season, there are a couple of teams that come to mind right away.

Red Wings 101 provides 24/7 obsessive sports coverage of the Detroit Red Wings as a part of Sports Media 101 .

May 5, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding makes a save against Chicago Blackhawks during the first period in game three of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cullen is set to become an unrestricted free agent come this July.

The Minnesota Wild currently owe $55.8 million to 17 players in 2013-14. With the salary cap reducing to $64.3 million next season, they are going to have to be economically efficient in their spending.

This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses "Russo's Rants" to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and can be heard weekly on KFAN radio and seen ... (more)

There's only one Finn in net for Minnesota, and his name is Niklas Backstrom. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports According to a tweet by Finnish hockey writer Jouni Nieminen, Minnesota may officially be out of the running for Finnish undrafted free agent netminder Antti Raanta.

This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses "Russo's Rants" to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and can be heard weekly on KFAN radio and seen ... (more)

Three weeks have passed since the Wild's season came to an end in Chicago. Since then, barely a peep has been uttered from the offices of Washington and Kellogg in St.

Apr 27, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom during the second period against the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center.

The second round of the 2013 NHL playoffs are nearing an end, and the conference finals could be set by the end of the weekend.