Niklas Bäckström

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Born	February 13, 1978 (1978-02-13) (age 31), Helsinki, FIN
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team F. teams	Minnesota Wild SM-liiga HIFK SaiPa Kärpät
Ntl. team	Finland
Pro career	1996 – present

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. He also has won both Urpo Ylönen trophy and Jari Kurri trophy twice. Bäckström is a Swedish-speaking Finn.

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.^[1]

In 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 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 6 games.

Though he was due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009, Bäckström signed a 4-year, $24 million contract on March 3, 2009 to remain with the Wild.^[2] 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

• Jari Kurri trophy for best player of the SM-liiga playoffs - 2004 and 2005
• Urpo Ylönen trophy for best goaltender of the SM-liiga regular season - 2004 and 2005
• William M. Jennings Trophy - 2007 (together with Manny Fernandez)
• Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award - 2007

International play

Medal record
Competitor for Finland
Winter Olympics
Silver	2006 Turin	Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze	2008 Quebec City	Ice hockey
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
Gold	1998 Finland	Ice hockey

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Career statistics

NHL

International play

Notes and references

1. ^ "”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. 
2. ^ 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