Bruins acquire Fernandez from Wild

BOSTON-- According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Minnesota Wild have dealt goaltender Manny Fernandez to the Boston Bruins, in exchange for forward Peter Kalus and a future 4th round draft pick.

After a terrible start last season, Fernandez was replaced by Swedish import Nicklas Backstrom as the Wild's no.1 keeper. Backstrom proved he was worthy for the job, as he managed a 1.97 GAA in 41 games played. He had a 23-8-6 record, with a .929 SV%.

After such a consistent performance by Backstrom, Fernandez, and his US$4 million salary were a liability from a Minnesota Wild's point of vue, as they also needed to re-sign the 29-year old to a multi-year contract, which they did, on June 7th, to a 2 year pact, at a cost of US$6.2 million (US$3.1 per season).

With the increase of the salary cap, yesterday, going up to US$50.3 million, the Bruins had the money available to acquire the veteran netminder, and the Wild had their no.1 goalie re-signed. It was the perfect time to deal Fernandez. His time with his uncle (Jacques Lemaire) and the Wild had ended, an era which was once deemed to be "un-endable".