StaTuesday: With 100th win up next, Dubnyk on pace for Wild record

The Devan Dubnyk era is approaching the century mark.

He enters the Minnesota Wild's third game of the season Thursday seeking his 100th win since joining the team on Jan. 14, 2015.

It's a major turnaround for Dubnyk, who had never won more than 20 games in a single season prior to joining the Wild.

He has topped 30 wins in each of his three seasons with Minnesota, finishing sixth (2014-15), 10th (2015-16) and fourth (2016-17) in the category league-wide.

Since the start of the 2014-15 season Dubnyk ranks second overall in the NHL (among goalies with at least 100 games played) with 108 wins and third with a .923 save percentage, putting him on par with perennial Vezina Trophy contenders like Carey Price and Braden Holtby.

Of course, those numbers can't be attributed exclusively to a fresh start. The Edmonton Oilers were notoriously dysfunctional throughout Dubnyk's tenure.

Only the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens won fewer games during Dubnyk's best season with the Oilers, while a defensive corps led by the likes of Tom Gilbert and Jeff Petry provided him with little support.

However, with a competent defense in front of him and enough goal support, Dubnyk has finally lived up to the promise he showed as a minor-leaguer, when his size and juniors resume made him a top pick in the 2004 draft.

After winning just 70 games combined during his stints with the Oilers, Nashville Predators and Arizona Coyotes, Dubnyk is on pace to become the winningest goaltender in Wild history.

Dubnyk should overtake Manny Fernandez for second on the Wild's all-time list this season, and needs just three more seasons at his current pace to pass franchise leader Niklas Backstrom.

His current contract runs through the 2020-21 season and carries both a modified no-trade clause and a team-friendly $4.33 million cap hit.

With Dubnyk performing at a high level and no immediate successors in the system, he looks like a virtual lock to make it.