The Minnesota Wild won't win the Cup this year, here's why.
Have the Wild shot themselves in the foot with their trade deadline acquisitions?
The National Hockey League's history books sure seem to think so.
The NHL posted a by the numbers article prior to this season's trade deadline and it featured some interesting stats. One of the most notable ones was in relation to teams who have acquired a netminder at past deadlines and how they fared in the post-season afterwards.
The results are pretty mind-blowing.
Of every team who went out and acquired a goaltender on deadline day since 1980, none has ever seen that goaltender go on to win the Stanley Cup!
As a matter of fact, not only have goaltending acquisitions never gone on to lift the trophy after winning it themselves, but only three teams have ever won the Cup with a new masked man on their bench.
Here is the official stat reported by the NHL:
0 – Number of teams that have acquired a goaltender on deadline day since 1980 and had that goaltender earn the Stanley Cup-clinching victory later that season.
Only three champions in that time frame have acquired a goaltender on deadline day: the 1981 Islanders (Jari Kaarela), 1988 Oilers (Bill Ranford) and 2011 Bruins (Anton Khudobin).
Only three champions in that time frame have acquired a goaltender on deadline day: the 1981 Islanders (Jari Kaarela), 1988 Oilers (Bill Ranford) and 2011 Bruins (Anton Khudobin).
As you can see, the Bruins added their name to the small list when they landed Khudobin at the 2011 trade deadline and went on to win the Cup that year. However, it wasn't Dobby himself who led the B's to the series win, but now-retired Tuukka Rask instead.
With all those historical stats as a reference, do you think the Wild can go out and win the Cup after acquiring Marc-André Fleury at the deadline?
History sure doesn't seem to think so.
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