Article: Filip Gustavsson Still Has Something To Prove

[Tom Schreier]

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[Protec]

100%, Gustaffsson has something to prove. He talked about it and I think we'll see him continue to be good. He stated having a 3-year deal gave him peace of mind. Hopefully he'll be focused now on being elite Swede and winning.

[MrCheatachu]

Glad we got Gus for the next 3 seasons, and looking forward to seeing how he can grow.  The wild's defense seems to make goalies look better than they are (see: Stalock, Kahk) so as long as he's serviceable, that will be good for the team.

I'm a bit concerned as to what Flower's play will do.  Besides goalies seeming to absolutely fall off a cliff with age, Flower seems to need to be getting hit with pucks to be on the top of his game.  At this point in his career he cant be playing every night, but he also doesn't seem to be a goalie who can come out cold and be on top of his game.

[vonlonster67]

I've said this before and will say it again. I need to see Gus get in better game shape. Maybe I got spoiled by seeing a sculpted Talbot and Fleury who is 38 looking like he's 28 in body. They were both at the top of their game physically. This isn't to say that is the magic pill for success, but it sure isn't gonna hurt you.

A 40-50 plus game season for a goalie, plus playoffs? You not going to go "rolie polie olie" out there after your age and game loads creeps up. Injuries are sure to follow and the wear and tear will add up when you least expect it and need to rise in the playoffs.

My belief is you start out the right way, stay dedicated in the weight room and your trade on the ice and you'll last as long as Flower has. The Cups may follow you if your lucky enough to find yourself in the right position. Minnesota is that position in the next 3-5 years for Gus.

BG's big word and belief is consistency from all of his players. Gus has something to prove now, increased net time, physical fitness and earning the $4.2 million of his first year and $3.75 average over the duration, proving that 5 team NTC was earned in this negotiation.

[MNCountryLife]

For me, the Wild goal tending is a question mark.  MAF didn't play all that well for most of the season.  At 38 you can't expect much more.  It really is amazing that at his age he plays as well as he does.  Gus showed a lot down the stretch but his ability to take the majority of games is still in question.  His back to back games in the playoffs were not as sharp.  

Add in that Dumba is no longer with the team and I expect the Wild may not be quite as goalie friendly as they were in the past.  Faber exceeding expectations could help remedy that.

[Velgey]

How many true starting caliber goalies are there in the NHL?

I don't know , but probably not as many as there are teams in the NHL. Gus has demonstrated that he has the tools to possibly be one (but then so did Dubnyk when he first joined the team). Wallstedt also looks like he could be the real deal. Time will tell, but it is encouraging that the Wild have two good lottery tickets for the increasingly rare prize of a true starting goaltender.

[vonlonster67]

1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

For me, the Wild goal tending is a question mark.  MAF didn't play all that well for most of the season.  At 38 you can't expect much more.  It really is amazing that at his age he plays as well as he does.  Gus showed a lot down the stretch but his ability to take the majority of games is still in question.  His back to back games in the playoffs were not as sharp.  

Add in that Dumba is no longer with the team and I expect the Wild may not be quite as goalie friendly as they were in the past.  Faber exceeding expectations could help remedy that.

Flower is right where we need him to be to get his 8-10 games for the record. He will be the perfect compliment to Gus both on the ice and off. I have confidence this will be a good tandem this year and our "D" will pick up where they left off last year, some good, some not so good, but good enough to keep us as a fringe playoff team. 

Dumba will be addition by subtraction, Brodin made Dumba look much better for that $6 million salary we paid him. I'm NOT gonna miss his stupid penalties and repeated mistakes for a player with his years on. I know he was a locker room guy and a fan favorite, not mine.

Faber may make some mistakes and have some growing pains up against some of the top lines with Brodin whom I believe he will pair with. He's not going to continue down the Dumba doldrums of mistakes that just killed us at times.

Brock has brought leadership at every level he's played and his confidence from the big stages he's been on in the past have prepared him for his debut full season of games.

Edited August 2, 2023 by vonlonster67

[M_Nels]

2 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

I've said this before and will say it again. I need to see Gus get in better game shape. Maybe I got spoiled by seeing a sculpted Talbot and Fleury who is 38 looking like he's 28 in body. They were both at the top of their game physically. This isn't to say that is the magic pill for success, but it sure isn't gonna hurt you.

A 40-50 plus game season for a goalie, plus playoffs? You not going to go "rolie polie olie" out there after your age and game loads creeps up. Injuries are sure to follow and the wear and tear will add up when you least expect it and need to rise in the playoffs.

Agreed, I’ve said similar things on here about his fitness. I haven’t seen anything in print about his fitness coming into this season but I remember last season there were comments about him coming into training camp out of shape. You don’t need to be chiseled or ripped to be athletic but for his position you have to be fit, flexible and have good muscular endurance. 
 

Fleury seemed to help him last year regarding off-season work and training but am curious to see how he shows up to begin this season. 

[Beast]

First, Fleury is absolutely cooked at this point.  He should be a true backup for this team.

Gus does has a lot to prove.  I’m not convinced he’ll continue to be the goalie we saw for much of last year.  He only started 37 games and had one of the better teams in terms of limiting Grade A chances in front of him.  

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, M_Nels said:

I haven’t seen anything in print about his fitness coming into this season but I remember last season there were comments about him coming into training camp out of shape. You don’t need to be chiseled or ripped to be athletic but for his position you have to be fit, flexible and have good muscular endurance. 

Just read an Athletic article about Gustavsson. It did not report on his training, but Guerin said his expectation is for Gus to come into camp in great shape and compete with Fleury for starts, but it's definitely a competition.

Gustavsson has been in Sweden most of the summer, indicating to his agent back in May to simply call him when a contract was worked out--that's kind of what I expected. Sounded like he was on his way to MN via Toronto to be present for the arbitration hearing when the contract finally got worked out.

Gustavsson is a new father this summer, welcoming a baby boy to the world. Congratulations to him on that!

Gus says he hopes to pick up similar to where he left off last season, competing for starts, and perform well in the starts. If he does that, coach will give him more starting opportunities and everything will take care of itself. He will be an unrestricted free agent at age 27, so if he continues to perform well above average with the increased workload of a 1A starter, he will cash in on a nice contract in 2026.

 

[vonlonster67]

4 hours ago, M_Nels said:

Agreed, I’ve said similar things on here about his fitness. I haven’t seen anything in print about his fitness coming into this season but I remember last season there were comments about him coming into training camp out of shape. You don’t need to be chiseled or ripped to be athletic but for his position you have to be fit, flexible and have good muscular endurance. 
 

Fleury seemed to help him last year regarding off-season work and training but am curious to see how he shows up to begin this season. 

I saw his "gut" in his family baby pic two weeks ago, not impressed thus far.

If we pay him $4.25 million, it's a problem in my eyes.

[Protec]

4 hours ago, Beast said:

First, Fleury is absolutely cooked at this point.  He should be a true backup for this team.

Gus does has a lot to prove.  I’m not convinced he’ll continue to be the goalie we saw for much of last year.  He only started 37 games and had one of the better teams in terms of limiting Grade A chances in front of him.  

I think there's some necessary proving to do coming off a contract year. There is a historical record of players getting a deal and then coming back kinda complacent. I don't really see that but it's possible. For Gus, the focus is key because fundamentally he is sound. The mental part is big but like guys here have pointed out, the physical shape you're in matters. Pro-athletes generally aren't on the Phil Kessel program but it can be okay for special players I suppose. What matters most is keeping the puck out of the net. 

[mnfaninnc]

I think Goose2 still has plenty to prove. 

1. Locking down the bad angle shots
2. Being ready not to let in softies
3. Tracking the puck better through traffic

I'd like to see him come in in better shape, especially with flexibility so he doesn't blow a groin. 

Fleury's role as a backup/assistant goalie coach comes in this year. If you look at his proteges, he has a pretty good track record of helping out younger 'tenders. I really believe he'd be an excellent goalie coach after the season if he still wants to be close to the game. I also think there's a spot in the organization for him should he want one. 

I'd like to see Wallstedt get to spend some time with Fleury too. He has so much experience to offer these 2 young guys. I could see Guerin creating a role for him that is an assistant goalie coach/goalie coordinator, where he visits Iowa and takes a few scouting trips to see some draft eligible goalies. 

 

 

[Quebec1648]

Why do so many articles insist on trying to create the narrative, that the Wild have to chose between Wallstedt and Gustavsson? Why can't we have both?

It's not like rookie NHL goalies are making big time superstar money, so it should be easy to accommodate both. Maybe when Wallstedt gets older he will be making more, but early on, it will be cheap.

The highest paid NHL goalie gets like $12 million, so I would have no issue spending the money to keep both Gus and Wall if the combined salary was about $10 million per year or less.

NHL goalies can get injured or suffer performance declines, so why not have both a 1A and 1B goalie? If you only have one or the other, and something happens, then you get a backup (#2) goalie in net, as opposed to a 1B.

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, Quebec1648 said:

Why do so many articles insist on trying to create the narrative, that the Wild have to chose between Wallstedt and Gustavsson? Why can't we have both?

It's not like rookie NHL goalies are making big time superstar money, so it should be easy to accommodate both. Maybe when Wallstedt gets older he will be making more, but early on, it will be cheap.

The highest paid NHL goalie gets like $12 million, so I would have no issue spending the money to keep both Gus and Wall if the combined salary was about $10 million per year or less.

NHL goalies can get injured or suffer performance declines, so why not have both a 1A and 1B goalie? If you only have one or the other, and something happens, then you get a backup (#2) goalie in net, as opposed to a 1B.

One possibility for why not both is the potential for egos to get involved. My experience as a one time goalie and interacting with many goalies is that they are pretty territorial and do not share well. It doesn't mean that will happen but it is a possibility. Just look at the Talbot/Flower situation last year.

[vonlonster67]

56 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

One possibility for why not both is the potential for egos to get involved. My experience as a one time goalie and interacting with many goalies is that they are pretty territorial and do not share well. It doesn't mean that will happen but it is a possibility. Just look at the Talbot/Flower situation last year.

I agree UNG it is something to watch.

Wallsted replaced Gus in Sweden when Gus was drafted and they have known each other for a long time. It's a possibility, as Gus came out pretty strong in his pressers.

I hope for the sake of the team their relationship remains solid. Our team has a very solid locker room and competition is modeled leaving hurt feelings at home.

Wallsted is a pretty confident guy and really an unknown. I hope his maturity grows with his game.