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  • The Wild Aren't Ready For Jesper Wallstedt


    Image courtesy of Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
    Tony Abbott

     

    At least things are going all right in one Wild net.

    Jesper Wallstedt had been performing as well in Des Moines as anyone could have hoped for the top goalie prospect. Despite only turning 21 on Tuesday, Wallstedt is a star workhorse netminder for the Iowa Wild. Entering Monday's action, Wallstedt has played 477 minutes and 27 seconds for Iowa, the sixth-most of any AHL goalie. No one in the AHL has played more minutes with a higher save percentage than Wallstedt's .932.

    We say "had" been performing well because he's technically in the NHL this week. Wallstedt is flying with the Minnesota Wild to his native Sweden to serve as an emergency goalie. It's a well-deserved experience for a young goalie who's playing out of his mind.

    His presence could easily feel tempting for the decision-makers in Minnesota. After an 8-3 shellacking on Sunday, the Wild's team save percentage fell to .875, better than only the woeful Edmonton Oilers. Marc-Andre Fleury "leads" the way with an .879 save percentage, while last year's breakout star Filip Gustavsson is at .871.

    Thomas Williams brought up a case to bring Wallstedt to the NHL to stabilize the spiraling Wild, and he's not the only one thinking about it. It's true that Wallstedt has long been advanced for his age, playing in the SHL as a teenager and holding his own in the AHL last season as a 20-year-old. Does that, combined with his otherworldly start this year, mean he's ready? 

    We won't say he isn't. Carey Price, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Jake Oettinger got significant playing time when they were 21. If Wallstedt is truly the caliber of goalie prospect in that peer group (and many put him at that level), maybe he is.

    One thing is for sure, though: The Wild aren't ready for him. 

    The immediate worry for putting Wallstedt in the NHL is that exposing him to a bad Minnesota defense might hurt his confidence. The Wild are giving up 33.0 shots per hour in all situations, which is 28th in the NHL. If Fleury and Gustavsson are struggling behind it, is it smart -- or even humane -- to let a prospect like Wallstedt face that?

    The thing is, when you look at 21-year-old goalies who've played a sample size of 20 or more games, their success hasn't really been tied too closely with the number of shots they've faced. Here are the 13 goalies who fit this description since the 2007-08 season, in descending order of shots faced: 

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    Joonas Korpisalo and Mackenzie Blackwood did well against a ton of shots. Spencer Knight and Steve Mason faltered. Facing fewer shots didn't necessarily correlate to more success. It's very possible that Wallstedt could come up and perform decently, even well, in the NHL. That isn't why Minnesota isn't ready for him.

    The Wild can't only use Wallstedt as a band-aid for their struggles. For one, they don't have the ability. Minnesota can't carry Wallstedt without taking Fleury or Gustavsson off the roster. Fleury's No-Move Clause makes it impossible to move him, not that the Wild would send him down if possible. It'd be viewed pretty poorly if Minnesota did a future Hall of Famer dirty by getting rid of him as he's chasing Patrick Roy for second all-time in wins.

    So that leaves Gustavsson as the only person who could move for Wallstedt. Perhaps the Wild could pull off what the Edmonton Oilers did with Jack Campbell. That is, slipping him through waivers and putting him in the AHL for the time being. But relatedly, wouldn't a desperate Oilers team take a shot at the Gus Bus if that happened? Regardless, it feels like a drastic move after eight starts, no matter how poor. 

    More importantly, time in the minors doesn't necessarily solve what's going on with Gustavsson, who still needs to work out. Remember, the Wild have him under contract for two more seasons. He's 25, and even after a brutal start, he still has a career .915 save percentage. 

    There's no future for Fleury in the organization. At least, not so long as he's under a .900 save percentage. The Wild will surely part ways with him following this season. But Gustavsson is a part of their future and, more pointedly, Wallstedt's development. The depth chart past Gustavsson and Wallstedt going forward is non-existent, meaning that the only thing standing between Wallstedt and 60 starts next year is a well-maintained "Gus Bus."

    More than the workload, Minnesota will want Gustavsson to push his fellow countryman for ice time. They can only do that if they get Gustavsson back on track, which needs to be their priority right now. Is that something that can be fixed by going home to Stockholm for a reset? Can he parlay his next start into the confidence that kept his game at a high level last year?

    Whatever the solution is, the Wild must make it work with Gustavsson rather than going for the quick fix. Their plan must be better than throwing Jesper at the wall and hoping he sticks in the NHL.

     

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    Wallstedt shouldn't even be a "break glass" option.  He has a free ticket to St. Paul next season.  If Fleury wants to jump to a contender, sure. But no.  Let this wreck of a season play itself out.

     

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    Well, it would be convenient if Fleury happened to "tweak" something and needed a couple of days off. I don't think anyone here is suggesting that The Wall is here to stay. But, making his NHL debut in front of his country and family might be a very good thing to get out of the way.

    By the way, has anyone else seen just how good The Wall has been in Iowa this year? Look at McIntyre's sv%, it's in the Goose2 area. That means The Wall is saving .5% higher with the same defense which is young and inexperienced. I'd suggest our dumpster fire defense won't phase him in the least. 

    I'd like to see Goose2 get a game, probably Ottawa, and The Wall get Toronto. Then he comes back home and goes back to Des Moines. Maybe Goose2 can remember where he left his game and pick it up and take it back with him this time. 

    It's not time for The Wall fulltime, but it should be time for his debut.

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    44 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    I'd like to see Goose2 get a game, probably Ottawa, and The Wall get Toronto.

    I agreed with most of what you said.  But I would swap this game here.  You want Wallstedt to win and he has a better chance at it with Ottawa.

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    4 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

    I agreed with most of what you said.  But I would swap this game here.  You want Wallstedt to win and he has a better chance at it with Ottawa.

    I would think that Goose2 gets Ottawa since it's kind of a grudge game for him vs. his old team.

    4 hours ago, TCMooch said:

    Please do not ruin Jesper's confidence with this shithole of a team this year.

    If you're paying attention in the A, The Wall is just as defensively challenged there with the baby Wild. I would suggest it would be seem more as a learning experience than anything else for The Wall, plus getting to debut with family and friends in the crowd? That's a big deal for a young player!

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    adding support to the idea that Wallstedt should get one of the games in Sweden as a reward for the excellent body of work in Iowa with the understanding that he may get one more game here at home this year but that for the sake of his career, next year is when he makes the real debut.  Getting a start in his home country would be the most cushioned introduction possible.  Can you imagine how welcoming the home crowd will be to what is ideally their future national team headliner for the next decade?

     

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    I read yesterday that the wild hired a lobbyist for the state legislature. They wouldn’t say if they were going to ask state taxpayers for money. Why hire a lobbyist?  They have been researching renovations the past few years. Kinda since Bill came on. To me it explains a lot about the roster decisions the past few years an extensions . My guess is it has a lot to do with the rebuild on fly and not take a step back. Harder to ask for money when team is in dumps rebuilding.. imo the extensions were doubling down on mediocre till they can get tax money approved..

       I also read yesterday sdpn was talking about expansion. They said it’s coming sooner than people think. The new teams will pay 1 billion per team to be split amongst owners. Not the players. The last expansions they told players you would get 49 new jobs and the owners kept the money. . Sdpn said that actually the players lost 30 jobs with expansion.  So if sdpn is correct the 32 owners will have split about  4 billon after the next expansions and the players will probably lose another 30 jobs.

        When I hear of wild asking for taxpayers money it reminds me of the wild taking US taxpayers money to support the troops. They didn’t do it out of kindness but because they were getting paid. Being former military , it rubs me wrong.. 

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    16 hours ago, Dango said:

    They could simply be looking to get permits for various things and not necessarily money

    Also, the X is not a new facility. It is still a very good one but not new. It, like all buildings, needs updates, repairs, maintenance and possibly expansion. Simple things like replacing a worn out ice plant can cost tens of millions. The city where I live we have a beautiful arena about the same age as the X. Due to federal government requirements and age the city is replacing the ice plant. It is going to take a large part of the city budget to do it. That along with many smaller issues is a problem. The X gets used a lot more than our arena so wear and tear would be a lot more of a problem. Just spit balling here.

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    17 hours ago, Dean said:

    players will probably lose another 30 jobs

    Could you explain that comment.  I'm not saying you are wrong.  But I don't understand how adding an expansion hockey team causes the number of players in the league to decrease.... or am I missing your point entirely.

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    I read somewhere that because so many teams, (certainly the Wild) have cap issues so they no longer carry the extra D and F with the team as much as they used to. A couple here and a couple there, next thing you know it adds up to less players making NHL wages over a season. 

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    5 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

    Could you explain that comment.  I'm not saying you are wrong.  But I don't understand how adding an expansion hockey team causes the number of players in the league to decrease.... or am I missing your point entirely.

    Agreed.  I've heard of addition by subtraction (ie Skoula retiring), but I cannot reconcile this math

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    2 hours ago, Sviginak said:

    I read somewhere that because so many teams, (certainly the Wild) have cap issues so they no longer carry the extra D and F with the team as much as they used to. A couple here and a couple there, next thing you know it adds up to less players making NHL wages over a season. 

    I could already make the point that the league has too many teams and the on-ice product is Jost certainly watered down.  Oh well, billionaire's will continue to Steele money from the fanbase.  We should hire lawyers to Chuck Kobasew the league.

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