ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild traded for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on Tuesday in conjunction with their decision to shut down ailing veteran Niklas Backstrom. The Wild sent a fourth-round draft pick to Edmonton to complete the deal one day before the NHL trade deadline. General manager Chuck Fletcher said the team must assume that neither Backstrom nor Josh Harding will be healthy enough to mind the net again this season. Rookie Darcy Kuemper has been stellar in their absence, but with a finishing stretch of 20 games in 37 days starting Saturday, hes not enough. "We have a lot of work ahead of us to get where we want to get to, but clearly having two quality goaltenders was very important," Fletcher said. Kuemper has started 15 straight games, so Bryzgalov is more for insurance, though hes certain to have his time, too. The Wild are 14-4-2 in 2014 and in firm control of the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race. "I will do my job as best I can. Making the decisions on who is supposed to play is not my job," Bryzgalov said on a conference call. He added: "I look at this as a great opportunity for me to play, and yeah its like a new challenge." Backstrom has been bothered by injuries all season, most notably to his midsection that will probably prompt surgery, and the 36-year-old has a career-worst 3.02 goals-against average over 21 games. Fletcher told him Monday of their preference to hold him out until training camp. "His pain threshold is tremendous," Fletcher said. "Hes a competitive guy and I know hes really disappointed because the team has taken a really strong step the last couple months. Hes been through some of the lean times, and I know he wants to be a part of it but our goal for Nik is to get him healthy." Harding was superb early in the season, but the 2013 Masterton Trophy winner -- for sportsmanship, dedication and perseverance -- has not played at all in 2014 due to illness related to medication for multiple sclerosis. With not much more than a month left in the regular season and Harding not yet ready to resume skating, Fletcher said hes probably finished until the fall, too. The search for a replacement intensified in the last couple of days. Martin Brodeur and Jaroslav Halak also were potentially available via trade, but their price was far higher than what it took to nab Bryzgalov. The 33-year-old Russian has a 5-8-5 record in 20 games for the Oilers this season, with an ugly 3.01 goals-against average. Hes on an expiring contract, a requirement for the Wild. This is a rental, plain and simple. Thats largely because Kuemper has tied a Wild rookie record with 11 wins and since Jan. 7 has a 1.70 GAA with two shutouts and a .939 save percentage. "Weve always felt hed be a very good No. 1 goalie down the road, and we just didnt realize down the road would mean this January and February," Fletcher said. The pick sent to Edmonton was originally acquired last year from Buffalo in the trade that brought first-line right wing Jason Pominville to Minnesota. Bryzgalov has 38 games of playoff experience over five postseasons with Anaheim, Phoenix and Philadelphia, including three stellar starts against the Wild in the Western Conference quarterfinals in 2007. He stopped 73 of 77 shots in the first three games of that series, all Ducks victories. Bryzgalov struggled in defeat in the next game, Jean-Sebastien Giguere replaced him thereafter and the Ducks went on to win the Stanley Cup. Bryzgalovs career record is 213-157-50, including a 42-20-6 mark for the Coyotes during the 2009-10 season, his best in the NHL. He had a 2.29 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Then came his ill-fated time in Philadelphia. The Flyers signed him to a $51 million, nine-year contract in 2011 and used a salary-cap compliance buyout to release him last June, just two seasons into the megadeal. General manager Paul Holmgren said then the contract was "a costly mistake." Bryzgalov didnt sign with the Oilers until last November. After signing goalie Ben Scrivens to a two-year contract extension last week, the Oilers took their first step away from Bryzgalov. Then they acquired goalie Viktor Fasth from Anaheim on Tuesday for a fifth-round draft pick this summer and a third-round selection in 2015. Blackhawks Jerseys China . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday. Duncan Keith Jersey . The International Ice Hockey Federation says Pavlovs avoided a two-year sanction because he acted "without significant negligence in failing to verify the safety of the supplements he was taking. https://www.cheapblackhawks.com/ . - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed. Brandon Saad Jersey .S. routed Sweden 7-0 Sunday to win its fourth straight title and seventh overall under-18 world championship. Olson earned his third shutout of the tournament and the Americans allowed only four goals in six games to set an International Ice Hockey Federation under-18 record. Connor Murphy Jersey . The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart. Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins said in a release Friday that Clifford is "resting comfortably" in the hospital but its too early to know when hell return to work. Higgins says Clifford checked himself into the hospital Thursday night because he was suffering from chest pains. Clifford, 52, joined the Bobcats this off-season after spending last year as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bobcats are off to a 3-2 start under Clifford. Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing will serve as Charlottes acting head coach against the New York Knicks Friday night. Clifford becomes the second professional coach to check himself into a Charlotte hospital in the last week. Denver Broncos coach John Fox, who used to coach the Panthers and still owns a home in Charlotte, was admitted last Saturday with chest pains after experiencing pain while on the golf course. Rookie Cody Zeller said he didnt find out Clifford was in the hospital until he reported to shoot-around on Friday morning. "I just textted him and said I was keeping him in my prayers but I dont know much past that," Zeller said.dddddddddddd Clifford joined the Bobcats on May 29, replacing Mike Dunlap, who was fired after the Bobcats went 21-61. The Bobcats have been thrilled with Cliffords approach thus far, saying he has the right makeup to deal with professional players. He spent 13 seasons as an NBA assistant coach for the Knicks, Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets and Lakers. Ewing, the teams associate head coach, addressed the media before the game and said hes "a little nervous" about coaching his first game, particularly on such short notice. But he said his biggest concern right now is with Clifford. "Coach Clifford and I have been friends for a lot of years -- weve worked together for over 10 years now -- and this is definitely not the way I wanted to start my head coaching career with him being in the hospital," Ewing said. Ewing, a member of the Professional Basketball Hall of Fame, played 15 seasons for the Knicks from 1985-2000. The former Knick said, "Its ironic that my first chance to be a head coach will be against a team I played with for 15 years." ' ' '