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The Wild are in a tough spot with their goaltending situation

Darcy Kuemper

Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper makes glove save of shot against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period of the Wild’s 3-0 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

AP

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is denying he has interest in acquiring Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth.

We’ll see if that changes anytime soon, as Fletcher is coming under increasingly intense pressure to do something about his team’s leaky goaltending. After 37 games, Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom have combined to give Minnesota the NHL’s second-worst team save percentage (.895), ahead of only Edmonton (.889).

While goaltending hasn’t been the sole reason the Wild are currently outside of a playoff spot with an 18-15-4 record, it’s at or near the top of the list.

On top of that, fixing it is no easy task. Kuemper and Backstrom would both require waivers in order to be sent to the AHL. The problem with the former is that he might get picked up. And while the latter would certainly not, he apparently has a no-move clause that makes it possible for him to block a demotion to Iowa.

All of which is to say, if the Wild went out and got another goalie -- assuming they could even find one worth getting, and for a reasonable price -- they might have to carry three of them, which isn’t something teams generally like to do.

One possible solution would be to use Kuemper, a 24-year-old with potential, as a trade chip. But that wouldn’t exactly be selling an asset at its highest value.

Oh, and by the way, here’s what’s coming up for the Wild:

Wild