Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - The Minnesota Wild recalled goaltender Darcy Kuemper from Houston of the American Hockey League prior to Tuesday's game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Kuemper could make his NHL debut against the Canucks. He was 10-6 with a 1.79 ERA in 16 games for Houston this season.
Josh Harding was expected to start in net Tuesday night. However, Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher informed reporters that Harding, diagnosed last fall with multiple sclerosis, has been feeling "off" the last couple days.
"Josh hasn't been feeling great the last few days and we've asked to Josh to be honest with us and let us know when he doesn't feel that he's 100 percent," Fletcher said. "He just feels a little bit off. What he's going through right now, he's dealing with some medications. There's a lot of trial and error. Every situation is different. The doctors advised us of this a few weeks ago that eventually we will get to the right spot where the medication works and his body adapts to it.
"It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, unfortunately. Every case is different, so we're going to get there. We're very optimistic about that, but right now, he feels a little off. I give him credit. It's against a hockey player's nature to come in and say he doesn't feel he can do it. He feels down a little bit about it, but we really support him and I give him a lot of credit for coming forward and giving us this information. It's in his best interest and our team's best interest to do this."
Also on Tuesday, the Wild reassigned defenseman Marco Scandella to Houston.
