TwinCities.com's Marino Eccher reports that Devan Dubnyk is returning to Arizona as a member of the Minnesota Wild this evening, and while Dubnyk will be opposing his former team in the nets, Dubnyk is very grateful for his time spent with the Coyotes:
"I attribute a lot of (my) success last year to the way the guys there, the coaches, the organization, brought me in and were excited to have me there," Dubnyk said. "I wasn't a damaged project that they were trying to resurrect."
For most players, half a season as a pretty good goalie for a pretty bad team would be nothing to stick in the scrapbook. For Dubnyk, coming off a year in which he teetered on the brink of minor league oblivion, "that's exactly what I needed."
He got his mind and his pads right, with the aid of goaltending coach Sean Burke. He made friends; a handful of teammates, including fellow netminder Mike Smith, spent a week in the offseason playing golf with him in Europe.
"It just felt like I'd been part of that team for a long time," he said.
The good vibes aren't lost on Wild coach Mike Yeo -- nor is the running start Dubnyk got on his stunning finish in Minnesota last season.
"I know he's grateful to them and what they did for him," Yeo said. "Clearly, he was on top of his game before he came to us last season. Certainly he elevated it to a new level, and what he did with us was very special. But he had a good start to the season and played good hockey for them last season."
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