The NHL this week witnessed a rare moment when the Minnesota Wild signed a 51-year-old goalie as the team’s backup.
After learning that starting goalie Nik Backstrom couldn’t play in tonight’s game the team called up a minor league goalie but weren’t sure he would make it via plane to the teams game. Realizing the need for a backup for their backup goalie Josh Harding they contacted the embroidery store owner and had him suit up.
Jim Deutsch skated out onto the ice for team warmups where he blocked shots from Wild players while his daughters youth team cheered him on.
After warm-ups the minor league player’s plane arrived and Deutsch’s NHL career came to an end.
In the meantime Jim won’t be experiencing any of that big time professional pay, he signed onto the team with a nonpaying contract to be an “amateur tryout.”
After the game Jim Deutsch revealed on his NHL contract signing:
“I actually was shaking while I was signing it, and it was pretty cool.”
I can already see the stories he’ll be telling to his grandchildren 20 years from now “did you kids know grandpa was a professional hockey player?”
Kidding aside it’s pretty cool to see a 51-year-old guy live out his dream, even if only for a brief passing moment during team warm ups.
[via Minneapolis Star Tribune ]
