Throwback Thursday: Devan Dubnyk's Home Debut

Almost any Wild fan will remember Jan. 14, 2015. If not, that was the date Minnesota acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk from Arizona for a third-round draft pick. Minnesota was in desperate need of a goaltender, as neither of their in-house options -- Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper -- were doing anywhere close to well as the Wild were in one of their trademark swoons.

The next day, Dubnyk made his debut with the Wild in Buffalo, and the team responded with a 7-0 rout over the Sabres.

Two nights later, Dubnyk made his home debut for the Wild against his former team -- the Coyotes.

First off, Dubnyk was able to successfully get his masked taped over with Wild logos. In his debut in Buffalo, Dubnyk still had his Coyotes mask visible. Goalie trades are fun because you have instances like this where masks and gear is differently colored/designed from what the new team is.

[caption id=attachment_46338" align="alignnone" width="3200] Credit: Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports[/caption]

The maroon gear sticks out, but Dubnyk went on nonetheless. As Wild fans fondly remember, Dubnyk would go on to lead an incredible charge by the Wild that resulted with him winning the Masterton Trophy and a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.

The box score for the Wild nearly looks like something you would see present day, as the team has gone under very minimal changes over the past four years.

If you are a Wild fan who is advocating for change, that boxscore sure cries change, doesn't it?!

In his first two games for the Wild Dubnyk had only allowed one goal -- which came in this game with Arizona. But in the two prior starts before being traded to the Wild, he had allowed nine goals. A stat that gets lost considering the body of work Dubnyk has put in in the four years since his trade to Minnesota.

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