A Foot in the Crease

I've spent a lot of time discussing the local teams, delving into specific players and situations, but there is one team that I haven't dove too deep into, and that team is the Wild and their current situation in net is worth of spending a couple paragraphs on, at least.
A few weeks back, Manny Fernandez, who has been a member of the squad since the teams inception, and was given the reins at the beginning of the year, suffered a knee injury, and Niklas Backstrom was thrown into the mix. Backstrom played extremely well while Fernandez sat, and that's the crux of the debate. Does the Wild revert to the original starter from the beginning of the year, or do they stick with the hot goalie?
Let's look at the goalies for a second. Manny Fernandez has a couple of things going for him, of course, namely that he was the starter at the beginning of the year. The general unspoken rule in most sports is that players don't lose their starter's job just because of injury. They can come back and reclaim their role, unless it is proven through their play that the backup is a superior player. Second, Fernandez has been a netminder for the team for half a decade, and done a good job while sharing the duties in goal with Jamie McClennan and Dwayne Roloson. Using Fernandez in net for a full season hasn't been tried yet, and this was to be a good judgement of his quality as a true #1 goalie. Lastly, and this shouldn't be discounted, he is head coach Jacques Lemaire's nephew. There is nepotism everywhere in hockey. Just ask the Sutters.
Niklas Backstrom has an impressive resume himself, having won the Finnish goalie of the year, and Playoff MVP awards before immigrating to the NHL. He has a silver medal from the Olympics, suggesting he's one of the top Finn goalies in any league, second only, perhaps, to Mikka Kiprusoff. His unshakable personality as well as his big game history have helped him guide the squad in Fernandez' absence.
Now, the situation the team finds itself in at present is a good, to be sure. They are perched in a tough battle with Vancouver for the third seed in the Western Conference, and the title in the Northwest Division. The team is playing well right now, and so much of hockey relies on momentum, it's generally a bad idea to mess with a good thing. The Wild took this mentality at the trade deadline, adding only a checking line center in Dominic Moore. This, of course, is why Lemaire is making the logical decision and sticking with Backstrom. If the Wild weren't in such a tenous situation, I'm certain that he would have gone with Fernandez, and I wouldn't have been in any position to argue with him.
But what, then, for next season? Backstrom should almost certainly be resigned. It would be a shame to lose him for nothing. But then Fernandez is looking at the prospect of sharing the load in net once again, all the while keeping gifted prospect Josh Harding in Houston for another season. So, as a result, the glut of goaltending means that one should probably be sent off, hopefully for high draft picks, an offensive defensman, or more depth on the wing, and for my money, I think Fernandez should be that guy.
It's nothing against Manny, you see, its just that his time with the Wild has seemed starcrossed. Every time he seems poised to take over as the top goalie, someone unexpected slips in and wins the right for increased playing time, like, for example, the heretofore undesirable Dwayne Roloson. Fernandez is a good locker room presence and an undeniably gifted athlete, and he deserves a shot at leading a team. After Ed Belfour moves on, Florida would be a good fit. Boston needs a good veteran influence to help the gang focus. There are several more teams that would jump at the chance to acquire a front line stopper.
Let's just hope the situation in net doesn't rattle the team too much down the stretch.