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.

[raithis]

Quote

Every goaltender who played the most games in the regular season was worse in the playoffs than in the regular season.

I'm not sure what point this is trying to make. 

This is likely true of almost every goaltender in the playoffs regardless of whether they had 75% of the starts in the season or if they had 60-65%. 

The quality of the teams you are playing against goes up and you aren't playing against half the league that wasn't good enough to make in the playoffs in the first place. 

Sure, some teams hit another gear in the postseason and their goalies make a nice run, but that happens in the regular season at times too. 

I'm unconvinced that this drop-off in goalie statistics is solely relative to the ones who started ~75% or so of the games in the regular season.

[mnfaninnc]

When Tim Thomas had the outstanding year at an older age, he did just fine in the playoffs.

And Brodeur didn't fade until he was in the older category. 

It's tough to say they faded, but I maintain that keeping them out of B2Bs and 3/4 scenarios probably helps. The odd break probably helps too. This would be more with the mental side.

[mnfaninnc]

On 12/10/2024 at 4:49 PM, Lern2spell said:

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?

I think you do nothing. What we haven't figured out yet is if Goose is an every other year goalie. I think he needs back to back seasons of proving he's the guy before getting the deal. 

[Lern2spell]

6 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think you do nothing. What we haven't figured out yet is if Goose is an every other year goalie. I think he needs back to back seasons of proving he's the guy before getting the deal. 

If the Wild wait and make Gus 'prove it' next season too, there is high risk he simply chooses to become UFA. Then what? Hope Wallstedt is as billed? Overpay for a different goaltender? My point was simply that the Wild dont have much time to evaluate Wallstedt at the NHL level before Gus could expect (maybe rightfully so) an extension. If Gus keeps up the pace and isn't offered an extension before next season starts, he may be a little disgruntled, I know I would be...

[Enforceror]

11 hours ago, Lern2spell said:

If the Wild wait and make Gus 'prove it' next season too, there is high risk he simply chooses to become UFA. Then what? Hope Wallstedt is as billed? Overpay for a different goaltender? My point was simply that the Wild dont have much time to evaluate Wallstedt at the NHL level before Gus could expect (maybe rightfully so) an extension. If Gus keeps up the pace and isn't offered an extension before next season starts, he may be a little disgruntled, I know I would be...

I agree. The Bruins probably agree now too.

[mnfaninnc]

13 hours ago, Lern2spell said:

If the Wild wait and make Gus 'prove it' next season too, there is high risk he simply chooses to become UFA. Then what? Hope Wallstedt is as billed? Overpay for a different goaltender?

I think there is plenty of runway to get something like this done, but Goose does have to prove he's more than an every other year goalie. We picked Goose off of Ottawa and pretty much made him into what he is today. He plays with a stingy defense when healthy. He plays on a really good team. I don't think he really wants to leave. 

He could be disgruntled and that's a risk, but it's a risk worth taking. He wasn't really disgruntled the last time negotiations happened, though he was distracted by the birth of his child. Euro guys have a little different mentality when it comes to the contract negotiations stuff, and being disgruntled. I think it's worth the risk.

Now there is also the chance that we could trade him high to a team near the end of their run like Colorado, or even Edmonton. I'm not sure what we'd get back but it would have to be a significant package. We could then run with The Wall and sign a legit backup for him, a guy who could take the reins if needed. Blackwood is a UFA after the season, that would be a candidate. I thought Vejjie played good the other night, he could do it. If a goalie needs to get right, with our structure, this is an excellent place to come and rediscover a goalie's game. 

This might sound like I'm down on Goose. I'm really not, but I think we do need to find out what kind of goalie he really is before backing up the Brinks truck to his garage. I don't think we really know. I'm also very confident in a Goose/The Wall battery. 

One last thing to take into consideration is that there are a lot of Swedish countrymen playing on the team and doing well. While this may be an afterthought, we do need to remember that these guys are a long way away from home and having a community like this within the team is a positive. It helps with the wives/girlfriends from Sweden and with the kids. 

[Lern2spell]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think there is plenty of runway to get something like this done, but Goose does have to prove he's more than an every other year goalie.

And what has Wallstedt proven at the NHL level, let alone the AHL? Gustavsson's last negotiations were as an RFA. There is a huge difference between RFA and UFA. I would like to see a Gus/Wallstedt tandem also, which would mean re-signing Gus next year, and hopefully Wallstedt is ok with that..but as a UFA, Gus will be looking for term and a raise, making him the #1. Would Wallstedt be OK with that? The point of my first post, is that having Fleury here has created a mess as Walstedt should be proving himself in the NHL now rather than next year, especially if Gus isn't re-signed back the start of next season.

The Wild are about to try and make a run over the next few to five seasons. Who would you rather put in net at this point? Gustavvson and his body of work? Or Wallstedt and his body of work? Maybe the Wild have been shopping the wrong goaltender...