- Niklas Bäckström
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This article is about the Finnish goaltender. For the Swedish forward, see Nicklas Bäckström.
Niklas Bäckström 
Born February 13, 1978
Helsinki, FinlandHeight 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) Position Goaltender Catches Left NHL team
Former teamsMinnesota Wild
SM-liiga
HIFK
SaiPa
Kärpät
Elitserien
AIKNational team 
FinlandNHL Draft {{{draft}}}Undrafted Playing career 1996–present Medal record Men's ice hockey Competitor for FinlandWinter Olympics Silver 2006 Turin Ice hockey Bronze 2010 Vancouver Tournament World Championships Bronze 2008 Quebec City Ice hockey World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Gold 1998 Finland Ice hockey Niklas Oskar Bäckström (born February 13, 1978) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has won both William M. Jennings Trophy and Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award.[1] He also has won both Urpo Ylönen trophy and Jari Kurri trophy twice. Bäckström is a Swedish-speaking Finn.
Contents
Career
Niklas Bäckström won the 1998 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as a backup goaltender for the Finnish national team, along with players like Olli Jokinen, Niklas Hagman, Mika Noronen, Niko Kapanen, Toni Dahlman and Eero Somervuori. Bäckström was the third goaltender for Team Finland in the 2006 Winter Olympics, but did not play any games. In the Finnish SM-liiga he played for HIFK, SaiPa and Kärpät. Bäckström led Kärpät to two consecutive league titles in 2004 and 2005. Bäckström signed a one-year contract with the Wild on June 1, 2006.[2]
At the beginning of the 2006–2007 season, Bäckström was the backup for the Wild's starting goaltender, Manny Fernandez. Fernandez suffered a knee injury mid-season and Bäckström was forced into the starting position. Bäckström played exceptionally over the second half of the season, finishing first in the league in both goals against average (GAA) and save percentage, while tying Dwayne Roloson's team record with five shutouts in just 36 starts.
Upon the trade of Fernandez in 2007, Bäckström became Minnesota's starting goaltender. He recorded 33 wins in the 2007–08 NHL season, and was the starter for Minnesota's first round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, which Colorado won in six games.
Though he was due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009, Bäckström signed a four-year, $24 million contract on March 3, 2009 to remain with the Wild.[3] Despite Bäckström's 37 wins and strong goaltending, the Wild ultimately did not qualify for the playoffs in 2009. In that season, Bäckström was the second runner-up for the Vezina Trophy.
Awards
- 1997-98: Gold Medal, World Juniors (U-20) Championship
- 1997-98: Silver Medal, SM-liiga
- 2002-03: Silver Medal, SM-liiga
- 2003-04: All-Star Team, SM-liiga
- 2003-04: Urpo Ylönen trophy (Best Goaltender), SM-liiga
- 2003-04: Jari Kurri trophy (Best Player, Playoffs), SM-liiga
- 2003-04: Kanada-malja trophy, as a member of Kärpät, SM-liiga
- 2004-05: All-Star Team, SM-liiga
- 2004-05: Urpo Ylönen trophy (Best Goaltender), SM-liiga
- 2004-05: Jari Kurri trophy (Best Player, Playoffs), SM-liiga
- 2004-05: Kanada-malja trophy, as a member of Kärpät, SM-liiga
- 2005-06: Olympic Silver Medal, as a member of Team Finland
- 2005-06: Bronze Medal, SM-liiga
- 2005-06: Bronze Medal, World Championship, as a member of Team Finland
- 2006-07: William M. Jennings Trophy (best goals-against average), as a member of Minnesota Wild (shared with Manny Fernandez), NHL
- 2006-07: Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award (best save percentage), NHL
- 2007-08: Bronze Medal, World Championship
- 2009-10: Olympic Bronze Medal, as a member of Team Finland
Minnesota Wild franchise records
- Most wins: 141 (as of completion of 2010-11 NHL season)
- Most wins in a season: 37 (2008–09)
- Most shutouts in a season: 8 (2008–09)
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OT SO GA SA SV% GAA MIN 1996–97 HIFK SM-liiga 2 — — — — — — — .824 5.85 — 1997–98 HIFK SM-liiga 3 — — — — — — — — — — 1998–99 HIFK SM-liiga 16 9 5 1 — 1 26 — .932 1.69 — 1999–00 HIFK SM-liiga 4 — — — — — — — .785 6.58 — 2000–01 SaiPa SM-liiga 49 — — — — — — — .924 2.55 — 2001–02 AIK SEL 40 — — — — 1 111 1,073 .897 3.05 2,186 2002–03 Kärpät SM-liiga 36 16 8 9 — 4 77 1,080 .929 2.16 2,136 2003–04 Kärpät SM-liiga 43 24 8 8 — 7 87 1,353 .936 2.03 2,572 2004–05 Kärpät SM-liiga 47 27 10 10 — 7 102 1,387 .927 2.17 2,819 2005–06 Kärpät SM-liiga 51 32 9 10 — 10 86 1,422 .940 1.68 3,077 2006–07 Minnesota Wild NHL 41 23 8 — 6 5 73 1,028 .929 1.97 2,226 2007–08 Minnesota Wild NHL 58 33 13 — 8 4 131 1,629 .920 2.31 3,408 2008–09 Minnesota Wild NHL 71 37 24 — 8 8 159 2,059 .923 2.33 4,088 2009–10 Minnesota Wild NHL 60 26 23 — 8 2 158 1,632 .903 2.72 3,489 2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 51 22 23 — 5 3 158 1,566 .916 2.66 2,978 NHL totals 281 141 91 — 35 22 653 7,914 .917 2.42 16,190 International play
Tournament Year GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% EHT 2004–05 3 2 0 1 180 7 1 2.23 .928 IHWC 2005 5 1 1 3 310 12 1 2.32 .902 EHT 2005–06 2 0 2 0 124 3 0 1.45 .956 Totals 10 3 3 4 614. 22 2 2.14 — Notes and references
- ^ http://www.hockeyworldblog.com/tag/roger-crozier-saving-grace-award/
- ^ "”Minnesota Wild - Team: Niklas Backstrom Official Player Page”". National Hockey League. 2008. http://wild.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8473404&service=page&tab=bio. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- ^ Wild Signs Goalie Backstrom ESPN, March 3, 2009
External links
- Niklas Bäckström – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
- Niklas Bäckström's NHL player profile
- Niklas Bäckström's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
Preceded by
Jussi MarkkanenWinner of the Urpo Ylönen trophy
2003–04, 2004–05Succeeded by
Juuso RiksmanPreceded by
Esa PirnesWinner of the Jari Kurri trophy
2003–04, 2004–05Succeeded by
Miika WiikmanPreceded by
Miikka KiprusoffWinner of the Jennings Trophy
2007 (with Manny Fernandez)Succeeded by
Chris Osgood and Dominik HasekPreceded by
Cristobal HuetWinner of the Crozier Award
2007Succeeded by
Dan EllisCategories:- 1978 births
- Living people
- People from Helsinki
- Swedish-speaking Finns
- AIK IF players
- Finnish ice hockey goaltenders
- Finnish expatriates in the United States
- Expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- HIFK players
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- Kärpät players
- Minnesota Wild players
- Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
- Olympic ice hockey players of Finland
- Olympic silver medalists for Finland
- SaiPa players
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
- William M. Jennings Trophy winners
- Olympic medalists in ice hockey
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