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  • Can the Wild Balance Current and Future Needs With Their Goalie Trio?

    Image courtesy of David Gonzales-USA TODAY Sports
    Luke Sims

    By Luke Sims -

    Filip Gustavsson trade rumors have circulated all offseason. The NHL Draft and free agency have come and gone, but Gustavsson is still on the Minnesota Wild’s roster, meaning they will start the season with the same goalie duo they had last year. Marc-Andre Fleury will enter his age-40 season, and Gustavsson will be coming off a down year. Both are in the last year of their contracts. 

    The Wild also has its goalie of the future playing in the AHL. Jesper Wallstedt came over from Sweden last year and has spent the previous two seasons seasoning in the AHL. Wallstedt is entering his age-22 season and should be the Iowa Wild’s starter next year. 

    The Wild’s goalie situation is in limbo. Fleury is set to play his last year in the NHL before retiring after the season. Gustavsson’s future is uncertain, and he must earn a contract extension to stay in Minnesota. There’s a reality where neither Fleury nor Gustavsson is on the roster at the start of the 2025-26 season. 

    There is a chance that Minnesota will re-sign Gustavsson or sign a goalie to play with Wallstedt. The Wild won’t have to pay a lot of money for a bonafide starter because they hope they’ll have one in Wallstedt. 

    That would leave Minnesota in a tough spot: starting a 22-year-old goalie as a full-time NHL starter. The Wild must find a way to give Wallstedt some NHL experience this season for his confidence and the front office’s in him. 

    The only long-term contract the Wild should be giving out is to Fleury as a coach or to Wallstedt to snag him at a below-market rate for a few more years with the expectation that he will be a stud. 

    Wallstedt’s stats did not dramatically improve from Year 1 to Year 2 in the AHL, but the team and defense in front of him did. Wallstedt was operating under a new coaching staff and a very young group of defenders. 

    In Wallstedt’s first year in the AHL, he recorded a 2.68 Goals Against Average (GAA) and a .908 Save Percentage (SV%) in 38 games while operating as a 1B option to veteran AHL goalie Zane McIntyre. However, Wallstedt was the starter last year and played in 45 games with a 2.70 GAA and a .910 SV%. Wallstedt was voted to the AHL all-star game, capping a solid season for the young Swede. 

    The Wild used Dakota Mermis in the NHL for most of the season. That left a young defensive corps in the AHL: Carson Lambos, Ryan O’Rourke, David Spacek, and Daemon Hunt are all under 23. The AHL is a tough league, and defenders can take a while to adjust to the league’s speed and skill. There were many instances Iowa’s inexperienced defenders made life difficult for him. 

    Wallstedt played in three NHL games last season. However, his stats are deceiving because his terrible first game against the Dallas Stars was a challenging first NHL experience. Allowing six goals in your first NHL game is not an encouraging sign. Still, Wallstedt only let up two goals over his next two games, including a shutout in Chicago. 

    If either Fleury or Gus is injured, the Wild may be forced to play Wallstedt. While no one wants to see a player get injured, it would force the Wild to see what they have in Wallstedt. 

    Assuming the Fleury-Gustavsson tandem stays healthy, it makes sense to bring Wallstedt up when Iowa has breaks or when there is a back-to-back that would be convenient for him to play in. Wallstedt better get used to the cornfields off of I-94.

    If the Wild are out of the playoff hunt by the end of the season, it would also make sense to allow Wallstedt to play in those games. If the Wild are out of the playoff picture, at least they can learn more about their young goalie. 

    Another reason to occasionally elevate Wallstedt to the NHL this season is so that Fleury can mentor him. The future Hall of Famer has a plethora of wisdom, and his presence would be great for a talented young goalie like Wallstedt. Allowing Wallstedt to be around the team so he can learn from Fleury should accelerate his development. 

    Who knows, if the Wild need a spark of offense, Wallstedt can even bring a little bit of that, too…

    The Wild need to see what they have in their netminder of the future. Fleury has nothing to prove anymore, and not a soul knows how this season will go for Gustavsson. Wallstedt is a crucial part of the Wild’s future, so it's time to see if he’s the player they hope he can be. 

    All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, and Elite Prospects unless otherwise noted.

    By Luke Sims  

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    Citizen Strife

    This is a make or break half season for Gus.  He has to even out to a more respectable level if he wants to be taken as a #1 guy.  Even if Wallstedt is the heir apparent, there's no guarantee he's the guy.  It would be nice if Gus figures out his shit.

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    Imyourhuckleberry
    3 hours ago, viper3119 said:

    Marc-Andre Fleury will enter his age-40 season, and Gustavsson will be coming off a down year. Both are in the last year of their contracts.

    Gus still has 2 more years 🙄

    With Capfriendly gone, I think I'd check Puckpedia before attempting to talk about contracts. We all make mistakes, but that was a pretty big one.

    https://puckpedia.com/team/minnesota-wild

    Quote

    Gustavsson’s future is uncertain, and he must earn a contract extension to stay in Minnesota. There’s a reality where neither Fleury nor Gustavsson is on the roster at the start of the 2025-26 season. 

    While it possible that Gustavsson may not be on the roster after this year, he could just play under his current contract in Minnesota for 25-26.

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    Kato AK

    Wallstedt better get used to the cornfields off of I-94.

    The writer loses a lot of credibility when they don't know Gus has another year on his contract, or which road comes out of Iowa...yikes.

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    Burnt Toast

    Wild management needs to get called out for stealing Gus’ last contract year from him. He’s had ONE setback year. Please give him back his full contract!

    Sincerely Pilling on Fan

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    mnfaninnc

    A really good goalie tandem can steal wins for a team. This is why I suggested going after Askarov. I'm not sure what this season has in store for the Wild, but I could definitely see obtaining Askarov and playing both he and The Wall in St. Paul for '25. These are the 2 best goalie prospects in the world. Nashville's looking for prospect skaters/picks. 

    So, my plan would be to obtain Askarov. It would take someone not named Yurov, Buium, or The Wall. I could see someone like Heidt and/or Lambos and maybe picks attached to one of them. 

    For me, going into the season with 2 stud goalies, a lefty and righty, would be fantastic. Would there be a learning curve? Possibly, but goalies are weird and both could come out and play the Stonewall Jackson role. They'd both be young enough to not even know what they should fear. Should they grab Askarov, then the clock starts ticking on Goose. 

    I'd be recouping something from a Goose trade since he's signed for a decent price and is still young. Then, you go with the 3 headed goalie monster in St. Paul, and let Fleury become the Goaltender Whisperer. Vaj and McClellan take over in Iowa. Both Askarov and The Wall would be signed to low deals since they have no N track record and are not arbitration eligible. You could have 3-5 years of an excellent tandem before you have to choose one and let the other go. 

    For some reason, I believe Trotz and Guerin could be trade partners. It would be interesting to hear them go back and forth, but I think their negotiating styles would mesh. 

    Anyhow, if I were GM, this is the direction I would go. Of course, if I were GM, Laine would be on our team already! You guys might like me as GM, but some would absolutely hate me. I would be insisting on bulking up, and players finishing checks on the NHL level. But, it would be entertaining and we'd be playing in both reverse retro versions (though I may opt for the '80s). 

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    Sam

    So we gotta sit through another year of these two? I was all aboard the Gus bus when he was playing well, hopefully he has a bounce back year and MAF plays more like a HOF’er.

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    Protec

    I like Vaj. Doesn't get enough attention. 

    Vaj had the exhibitionist demeanor and attitude with a nice win against USA at Worlds. 

    Nobody likes when Vaj shuts ya down but it happens when you set the bar high. It was a nice signing by Guerin. I expect the AHL team to do well with their 1A-1B tandem in net. 

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