Niklas Backstrom felt grateful to be back at Xcel Energy Center in good health, joining the Wild for the first practice of its training camp with a renewed body and spirit. Darcy Kuemper didn't arrive until Friday's on-ice sessions had ended, but he was relieved his contract negotiations did not delay him any longer. And Ilya Bryzgalov skated for the first time in four months, fresh off a summer that included a tour of Europe and exactly one invitation to an NHL training camp.

While those three goaltenders began working in earnest toward the season ahead, a fourth — the injured and suspended Josh Harding — was absent. All of that left coach Mike Yeo sorting through another muddled situation in net. With roughly three weeks and six preseason games to figure out a plan, Yeo said Friday he does not know how many goalies the Wild will carry and that the competition for playing time is wide open.

After the first day of camp, Yeo hadn't decided who will play in Monday's preseason opener at Winnipeg — or in any other preseason games. He was simply glad to have a full complement of goalies to audition after a chaotic week.

"We want to have a better sense of where everybody's at before we make those decisions,'' Yeo said. "We usually like to have more of a set plan in place as far as how many games they're going to play and who we're going with. But this is a different scenario that we have to treat differently.''

Kuemper signed a new two-year contract Thursday night, ending a protracted negotiation that created plenty of anxiety on both sides — particularly after Harding broke his foot earlier in the week. Harding will be out indefinitely, but Yeo said the goalie will not be shoved aside. Harding will do his injury rehab with the Wild, and Yeo is counting on him to play once he is healthy.

His absence creates opportunity for Kuemper, who skated throughout the summer with other NHL players in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Though he admitted growing a little anxious about his contract negotiations, Kuemper returned to Minnesota strong, fit and healthy and said he has experienced no lingering effects from two concussions suffered late last season. Yeo said Kuemper looks good physically, and he is eager to see him Saturday during a practice session and half of a scrimmage.

The only NHL door open to goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was a training-camp invitation from the Wild.

"It was a longer summer than I expected it to be,'' said Kuemper, who went 12-8-4 last season with a 2.43 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. " I didn't want to miss camp or miss parts of it. Fortunately, we got [the contract] done when we did. It would have been nice a few days earlier, but I'm here now, and I'm super excited and looking forward to getting back out there.''

Backstrom spent much of his summer in his native Finland, regaining strength and flexibility after recovering from core-muscle surgery in late March. His continuing struggles with abdominal injuries limited him to 21 games last season and forced him to sit out the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

After taking time to rest and heal, he began practicing in pads in July, getting back on track with lots of summer hockey.

"I feel pretty good,'' said Backstrom, 36, who was 5-11-2 last season with a GAA of 3.02 and save percentage of .899. "Probably the next couple of days, I'll find out more about how I feel and how the body will react.''

Bryzgalov said he was not stressing over the lack of calls from other teams. The free agent, who was traded to the Wild from Edmonton last March, was invited to the Wild's camp Wednesday after a largely idle summer.

Though Bryzgalov said he kept in shape, he could not find a place to skate in his native Russia, so he spent his time relaxing with family and traveling through Europe. "I was just enjoying my life,'' he said. "I just came here to help the team through the camp. ''

Yeo noted that Bryzgalov was tired after Friday's practice and said he would need to regain his form quickly.