Article: Are the Wild Overworking Filip Gustavsson?

[Robert Brent]

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[mnfaninnc]

20/27 games played by Goose. That's quite a lot of games, you'd think. But, is it really a horrible workload? Not really.

You can say he's trending toward 61 games but that may or may not actually happen. The biggest thing has been that he's not playing B2Bs. They're not running him into the ground like they did Dubnyk and Backy. Heinzy would not be wise to do that. When we start having a heavier schedule, Fleury will have to step up, and he has played better than last season.

Fleury has also given Goose a break when needed. If he looked slow in a game, he's gotten extra rest. I don't know when we actually play the heavy schedule, but that's when he'll need some relief. Thus far, it hasn't happened that way and I believe he's gotten plenty of rest. It is future usage we will worry about. 

This is one big reason to bank points. That affords you a cushion to be able to play a Fleury or The Wall. We've done a good job at that so far, just keep forging ahead. 

I'm really looking forward to our visit to Utah. It's a new arena to visit, I wonder what they've done with it? Last season, Logan Cooley got a little spicy with Faber, while they were teammates, I wonder if there's a little something where these guys play each other a little extra hard, a little extra juice on the bodycheck? 

[Sam]

Were goalies in better shape or something back 20+ years ago? I don’t see any fatigue in Gus, but if that were the case I’d like to see the Wall play a few games up here with the big club. I know he’s not posting the best numbers down in Iowa but I think he’s becoming somewhat lackadaisical and unmotivated down there.

[Willy the poor boy]

12 hours ago, Sam said:

Were goalies in better shape or something back 20+ years ago? I don’t see any fatigue in Gus, but if that were the case I’d like to see the Wall play a few games up here with the big club. I know he’s not posting the best numbers down in Iowa but I think he’s becoming somewhat lackadaisical and unmotivated down there.

I was just thinking the same thing. I played goalie in High school and I'd have played 5 nights a week and loved every minute of it.

[mnfaninnc]

14 hours ago, Sam said:

Were goalies in better shape or something back 20+ years ago?

I don't think it's a matter of shape, goalies shed a lot of water weight in goal and rehydrating is a big thing. I think what we have here is a lot more capable goalies out there. So, a starting goalie at, say 80% on the second of a B2B is probably less than a goalie at 100% who's a decent backup. 

The other thing may be style of play. With goalies going to their knees so often, that puts a lot of stress on the knees to the hips. Giving them a day break or so helps get some of that toxicity out of their muscles. Inflammation can also creep in. 

None of this addresses the mental fatigue, and this is where I think Dubnyk wore down. Constantly seeing the rubber without a bit of a break can wear the eyes/mental side down. The thing is, you really don't know it until it's too late. In Backy's case, we rode him hard until his body just quit. As I remember that year, I think we lacked availability of a quality backup that year. Seems to me that Harding may have gotten hurt? and there was nobody behind him.

[mnfaninnc]

On that note, this was why I wanted to go after Askarov. I think if you can roll out a righty and a lefty goalie and play almost a 50% split, you can optimize the goalie position. Both goalies give you very different looks and in a series, this can be baffling for shooters. Being able to throw out Askarov and The Wall, to me, would be a huge advantage, even though they are both young. I like the battery idea and 50% split, I think it cuts down on injuries and fatigue. 

[mnfaninnc]

In other goalie news, the Avs have revamped their goalie room in a matter of weeks. Mackenzie Blackwood was just traded for, and Scott Wedgewood was acquired a few weeks ago. 

There will likely be an acclimation period and then I'm looking at the Avs making a serious move in the central. Blackwood is an UFA at season's end, so he needs a bounce back in a contract year. He's played well for San Jose, but let's face it, Askarov is the future in San Jose. 

[Lern2spell]

The Wild signing Fleury for this year has caused a conundrum, as time to see what they truly have in Wallstedt is dwindling before they have to make a decision on Gus. If Gus keeps up the pace, under a heavy workload, an expectation from his camp of extending his contract this summer is warranted, and that extension would probably have substantial term and a hefty raise. What would that say to Wallstedt, who has been told from day one he is the heir apparent in net for the Wild?

The Wild have a tough decision to make, and should continue to play Gus as they have to see how he handles the pressures of being a true #1 through a grinding season and into the playoffs. If he keeps pace, the decision of who to put in net as they make a run in the next few years should be a bit easier to make...even if it means potentially losing their 'heir apparent' down the line.

[Quebec1648]

I think Gus bus is doing just fine so far. In the future though, a 60/40 split between Gus bus and the Wall would be a good idea.