ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -All-Star goalie Niklas Backstrom has signed a four-year, $24 million contract extension with the Minnesota Wild.
The deal announced Tuesday runs through the 2012-13 season. The 31-year-old Backstrom would have been a free agent at the end of the season. He brought a record of 28-18-4 with a franchise-record six shutouts, a 2.24 goals against average and a .925 save percentage into Tuesday’s game at Vancouver. Backstrom is the only current goalie whose statistics rank in the NHL’s top five in each of those four categories.
Originally signed out of Finland in 2006, Backstrom has been a success story since making the team in his first training camp and taking over as the regular goaltender later that first season.
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