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Wild GM has no interest in trading Backstrom -- “None”

Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom

Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding, left, comes onto the ice to replace goalie Niklas Backstrom, of Finland, right, after Backstrom gave up three goals during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

AP

Just because the Minnesota Wild signed goalie Josh Harding to a three-year contract doesn’t mean Niklas Backstrom is on his way out of town.

“We have no interest in trading Backstrom. None,” Wild GM Chuck Fletcher told the StarTribune this afternoon. “When we were on top of the league [in the first 30 games] last year, a big part of the reason was our goaltending tandem. There’s no reason for us to want to change that up. Why not bring them back? The future will be the future. Everything will work itself out. When Josh indicated he was willing to stay, we worked quickly to get it done.”

Backstrom has a year left on his contract ($6 million cap hit) before he can become an unrestricted free agent.