Minnesota Wild sign 51-year old Paul Deutsch as emergency back up goalie for tonight's game

SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled goaltender Matt Hackett from the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Wild also signed goaltender Paul Deutsch to an Amateur Tryout contract and placed defenseman Marek Zidlicky on Injured Reserve.

Hackett is 7-2-3 with a 2.23 goals against average (GAA), a .924 SV% and one shutout in 13 games with the Aeros this season. He went 23-16-4 with two shutouts, a 2.37 GAA and a .916 SV% in 45 regular season games for Houston in his rookie season of 2010-11. Hackett helped lead the Aeros to the Calder Cup Finals, going 14-10-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .903 SV%. The 6-foot-2, 179-pound native of London, Ont., was Minnesota’s third-round pick (No. 77 overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

51-year-old Deutsch is a native of Minneapolis, Minn. and will wear #33 tonight. The team signed Deutsch on an emergency basis in case Hackett’s flight does not arrive to the Twin Cities as scheduled due to the uncertainty of air travel today.

Courtesy: Aaron Sickman/Minnesota Wild