Souhan: Dubnyk is one midseason trade that worked wonders

Devan Dubnyk isn't just glove-saving a season. He's becoming a first star of Minnesota sports history.

When Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher traded for Dubnyk, the Wild was 18-19-5. Even after a 3-2 loss to Washington on Thursday night, the Wild is 21-6-2 since. In the 25 games before Dubnyk's arrival, the Wild allowed a league-worst 3.52 goals per game. The Wild A.D. (After Dubnyk) had allowed a league-low 1.64 goals per game entering Thursday's game.

If he were a Coen Brothers creation, he could say, "The Doob Abides."

Thursday, Dubnyk played brilliantly again for most of two periods before Alex Ovechkin and the law of averages caught up to him. During one second-period sequence, Dubnyk made three quick saves, looking like a hipster in the park playing hacky sack, and then the Capitals scored two quick goals.

Playing one of the most important positions in all of sport, Dubnyk has made his teammates better even while learning their names. That doesn't happen often anywhere, and especially not in the land of 10,000 draft picks traded for Herschel Walker.

Before this winter, the most transformative trade made by a Minnesota team during a season may have occurred in 2003. The Twins, who had made it to the ALCS in 2002, were 44-49 at the All-Star break. General Manager Terry Ryan traded Bobby Kielty to Toronto for outfielder Shannon Stewart.

Stewart became an MVP candidate while the Twins went 46-23 after the break to win the division.

The most famous midseason trade in Minnesota sports history sent what seemed like dozens of assets to Dallas for Walker.

This season, the Timberwolves traded for Kevin Garnett, but he's more of a future owner or vice president than pivotal player.

In 1987, Twins General Manager Andy MacPhail traded Enrique Rios, who would never make it to the majors, to Boston for Don Baylor, who would go 7-for-18 with a homer and four RBI in the postseason. His game-tying two-run homer in Game 6 of the World Series was as important as any Twins hit in their championship season.

The Vikings traded for Josh Freeman in 2013, and he played so badly in his one start that he didn't see the field again.

In 1999, the Wolves, knowing that they couldn't keep Stephon Marbury long-term, made him part of a three-way trade that brought them Terrell Brandon.

When Zach Parise's father, J.P., passed away in January, former North Stars teammate Tom Reid gave his eulogy. The North Stars traded for Parise during the 1967-68 season, and he helped them win a playoff series before losing in a deciding seventh game to the Blue in the semifinals.

Midseason trades are rare and risky, often products of desperation, or delusion. Erase the Walker trade from his résumé, and Mike Lynn would look like a sharp operator. The Vikings acquired Freeman and Moss to revive what had been playoff teams, and instead those players helped get their head coaches fired.

The list of great, transformative, midseason trades in Minnesota sports history is short. Stewart and Dubnyk both turned in on-demand career performances.

Who made the more impressive first impression, "Stewwww" or "Doooob?"