Niklas Backstrom, the former Minnesota Wild goalie and franchise leader in numerous statistical categories at that position, is on his way back to Finland.
Now 38 years old, Backstrom still leads the Wild franchise with 409 games played, 194 regular season wins and 28 shut outs. He was traded from the Wild to the Calgary Flames, who absorbed his contract, at the deadline this year.
In March, with his new team, Backstrom recorded his first win in a 15-month period.
Pending UFA Niklas Backstrom has signed a one-year deal in Finland with HIFK (Liiga)
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) June 10, 2016
This has been in the works for awhile. Good NHL run for Backstrom https://t.co/RaAFlLM2Va
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 10, 2016
His best season with the Wild was in 2008-09, when he had 37 wins and a .923 save percentage.