Dubnyk Earns Honor, Plus My Opinion on the Wild’s Trades

Dubnyk Earns NHL Player of the Month Honors

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Around the all-star break, I would have felt a lot better about the Wild’s playoff chances if someone would have told me the 1st star of the month of February was on the way to save the season.

Devan Dubnyk has barely played a month between the pipes for Minnesota and he just won that very award for the first time in franchise history. It could not have come at a better time.

Per Michael Russo of the Star Tribune:

"Devan Dubnyk … got the honor after going 11-2-1 in February with a 1.64 goals-against average, .939 save percentage and three shutouts while starting all 14 Wild games last month.Dubnyk is 24-8-3 (2.15 GAA, .926 SV%, 6 SO) in 39 appearances this season, establishing career highs in wins and shutouts while ranking in the top five in the NHL in shutouts (t-2nd), goals-against average (3rd) and save percentage (5th). The 28-year-old Regina, Sask., native has started all 20 games since his arrival in Minnesota Jan. 14, posting a 15-3-1 record with a 1.64 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and five shutouts in that span. He has allowed 32 goals in 20 games."

In the middle of January, the Wild had about a 20% chance of making the playoffs according to hockey-reference.com. They were an underperforming team with no confidence in their net-minder, which led to costly mistakes.

Now, the script has flipped entirely, thanks to Dubnyk. They’ve got an 81.2% chance of reaching the postseason.

We’ve seen what lowly seeded teams can do with confidence and goaltending. There is still a lot of work to do, but the Wild are shaping up to be a team no one is going to want to face in the first round. Better yet, Devan Dubnyk is turning into a goalie no one is going to want to face in the first round.

The Wild’s New Faces

Sep 22, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Jordan Leopold (33) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Blues 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

A few hours before the 2:00 PM NHL trade deadline, Chuck Fletcher brought home Jordan Leopold for a 2016 fifth-rounder. Leopold grew up in Golden Valley before winning a national championship with the Gophers in 2002. He has since played for 7 different NHL franchises, but never for Minnesota. He has played a whopping 677 games in the big leagues, amassing 213 points as a defenseman.

Even though it’s obvious, some will say Leopold is past his prime. He is well past his prime, but I still love the move.

With Spurgeon and Scandella scheduled to return in the next week or so and solid recent play from Prosser and Folin, Leopold will not play a huge roll barring new injuries. Instead, he’ll bring a positive attitude and leadership to the locker room. He’s already got relationships with some Wild players and you can bet he’ll be happy to be home. When needed, I trust that someone who has played almost 700 games in an NHL jersey will deliver.

Jan 9, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Chris Stewart (80) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Much closer to the trade deadline, the Wild acquired 27-year old forward Chris Stewart from Buffalo, the NHL’s rental center, for a 2017 second-rounder. The 6-2 right-winger out of Toronto has racked up 253 points in 443 career NHL games, including 25 this year.

The knock on Stewart has been questionable fitness, work ethic and defensive reliability. Oh, and even though it has been with Buffalo, his -30 on the current season is just a little eye-opening as well.

But I believe in what Fletcher and Yeo are doing. If Stewart isn’t going to bring it, he’s isn’t going to play. Not to mention, going from the Buffalo Sabres, who probably started getting their golf clubs ready around the all-star break, to the surging Minnesota Wild should have him fired up about playing hockey again.

Remember Wild fans, In Chuck Fletcher we trust.

Feb 28, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) during a second period timeout in the game against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. The Wild defeated the Avalanche 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports