Will Jesper Wallstedt Be Ready To Replace Filip Gustavsson In 2026-27?

The Minnesota Wild have remained atop the NHL standings despite their injuries, and Filip Gustavsson deserves a lot of the credit for that. Goaltending makes or breaks any team. If it weren't for Gustavsson’s hot start, the Wild wouldn’t be competing for first place in the loaded Western Conference. 

The problem with Gustavsson is that his contract will expire in 2026-27. However, the Wild drafted Jesper Wallstedt in the first round of the 2021 draft and general manager Bill Guerin sees him as the team's goaltender of the future. Will Wallstedt be ready to take over for Gustavsson in 2026-27? 

During the 2022-23 season, Gustavsson had a breakout season, posting a 22-9-7 record with a 93.1 save percentage (SV%), 3 shutouts, and a goals against average (GAA) of 2.10 in 39 games played. Guerin believed that Gustavsson proved himself enough to be awarded a three-year, $11.25 million ($3.75 million AAV) contract. 

However, Gustavsson regressed last year, posting a 19-18-4 record with an 89.9 SV%, 3 shutouts, and a GAA of 3.06 in 45 games played. Guerin didn't see the same confidence from Gustavsson as he saw when he first broke into the NHL. Goaltenders are the most mysterious players, often going through Jekyll and Hyde phases. 

Gustavsson has been one of Minnesota’s best players. He has a 14-4-3 record with a 92.2 SV%, 2 shutouts, and a GAA of 2.24 in 22 games played. However, Gustavsson gave up 5 goals against the Edmonton Oilers in the team's 7-1 loss. Now Gustavsson’s battling a lower-body injury.

Here are the most recent goalie extensions: 

• Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins): eight-year, $66 million ($8.25 million AAV) 
• Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators): four-year, $33 million ($8.25 million AAV) 
• Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers): eight-year, $92 million ($11.5 million AAV) 
• Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars): eight-year, $66 million ($8.25 million AAV) 

The goalie market got expensive. While Gustavsson’s not going to get as much as these four goalies, it's not unreasonable to believe that he'll get at least double his $3.75 million cap hit. Can the Wild afford Gustavsson at $7.5 million per year? Is he worth $7.5 million? Gustavsson would be getting paid more than Matt Boldy ($7 million AAV), Jonas Brodin ($6 million AAV), Joel Eriksson Ek ($5.25 million AAV), and Mats Zuccarello ($4.125 million AAV). 

The Wild will need cap room to sign Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi to extensions. You can bet that Kaprizov will earn at least $14 million on his next deal. Could Kaprizov settle for another team-friendly deal similar to Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million AAV)? How will Guerin approach extending Rossi? Will he get a deal similar to Florida Panthers’ Anton Lundell's $5 million AAV for 6 years, Los Angeles Kings’ Quinton Byfield's $6.25 million AAV for 5 years, or New York Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere's $7.45 AAV million for 7 years? 

Regardless of how Guerin signs both, he'll likely have to let Gustavsson walk in free agency or trade him so he doesn’t lose him for nothing. Will Jesper Wallstedt be ready to take over the starting role in 2025-26? 

The Wild have slated Wallstedt to replace Marc-Andre Fleury in 2025-26. While the backup position is easier than the starting position, Wallstedt must be ready to play up to 35 games. He'll need to backup Gustavsson when the team plays back-to-back games. Wallstedt will gain more maturity and will continue to learn from Gustavsson. Will he be ready to start too soon to extend Gustavsson? 

The Wild can choose to have both Gustavsson and Wallstedt on the team in 2026-27 to secure their goaltending position for multiple seasons to pursue a championship in the future. The Wild will have their own version of Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy when they played for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014-15 when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals. However, this time, the Wild hope to secure a Cup.