Monday was a day off for the Wild, so as is the norm, Niklas Backstrom's wife, Heidi, gets to pick what they do.

"It was not my choice. She wanted to go to the Albertville outlets," Backstrom said shortly after arriving Tuesday in Boston, where the longtime Wild goalie met his new team, the Calgary Flames.

As he played with his kids in a park while Heidi shopped, Backstrom verbally agreed to waive his no-trade clause a few minutes before the 2 p.m. trade deadline. The problem was the Wild needed it in writing, so Backstrom had to round up his kids, track down his wife (that took awhile) and hustle home so he could print out a document, sign it and fax it back by the time the trade call took place.

In Philadelphia, the Flames' David Jones, coming Minnesota's way, was waiting anxiously thinking the trade would fall through. But luckily for the Wild, Flames, Jones, and especially Backstrom, the call was the last in the NHL's queue and the trade, in real danger of imploding, was approved in the nick of time three hours after the deadline.

"It was close," Backstrom said, laughing.

After not playing in more than a year, Backstrom, 38, is excited about a chance to play a handful of games by season's end. He goes from a three-goalie situation in which he never played to a three-goalie situation in which he is expected to play some, maybe even getting to make a final Xcel Energy Center appearance in one of two Calgary visits.

Backstrom

Backstrom said Monday night and even Tuesday was "more emotional than I thought it would be. It's a big change, but I think it was time for it and I'm really grateful for the chance."

The goalie with the most victories in Wild history blew teammates away with how hard he worked this season even with his chance of playing about nil.

"There wasn't one day that he wasn't first guy out on the ice by a lot and last guy off by a lot," goalie Devan Dubnyk said.

Longtime friend and teammate Mikko Koivu said Backstrom's work ethic and professionalism "is something very, very rare in this game. … That's something that I truly hope that the guys around the room saw it and will learn from him. … Even in situations like this, his work ethic, you don't see that. I've played with a lot of different guys, and he's on top of that list."

Backstrom said he would miss the deep bonds he made with teammates, goalie coach Bob Mason, assistants Andrew Brunette and Darby Hendrickson and the training staff.

"It didn't end the best way, but I don't think I could ever have hard feelings toward an organization who gave me a chance to come to this league," Backstrom said. "I was 28 years old and for sure dreaming about the NHL. But at that age, it's usually more a dream than reality.

"But they believed in me — Doug [Risebrough] and Chuck [Fletcher] and [Jacques] Lemaire and Mase. Even this year, for sure you want to play, and it's not fun when you're not playing, but everyone in the locker room jumped to make me feel like I'm a big part of the team.

"The last six months, there's a lot of mental struggle. But I look back, 95 percent of the time I enjoyed and I had fun coming to the rink. Just being part of the State of Hockey, the fans, playing in that building, is a privilege, it's something special."

Etc.

• Jones' work visa is expected to be finalized in time for him to debut Thursday in Toronto.

• Defenseman Jonas Brodin (broken foot) and left winger Jason Zucker (concussion) missed Tuesday's game and may be ready by Thursday.