The Minnesota Wild’s goaltending tandem has combined for the ninth-best goals-against average and the second-best save percentage in the NHL this season, but that doesn’t mean GM Bill Guerin isn’t still willing to shake things up.
Jesper Wallstedt’s name could be thrown around in trade discussions as the Wild look to further improve, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas said on Monday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
“Talking about goalies, you’re looking at goalies who could be available out there, Kyle, so Mike Russo put out Wallstedt’s name in Minnesota,” said Friedman.
“And I think that Minnesota might have tried that once already, but you know, we’ve all been wondering, we all know the Wild are going to try to get another player, probably a centre, we’re all sitting there saying, ‘What is he going to use?’ I think that might be the guy.”
Russo, of The Athletic, wrote Monday about the possibility of Marc-André Fleury coming out of retirement and floated the idea that if Wallstedt were to be traded, bringing in Fleury could be an option rather than trading for a backup goalie.
* Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.
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Wallstedt, in his rookie NHL season, has posted a 12-5-4 record over 21 starts with a 2.70 goals-against average and .914 save percentage, along with four shutouts.
The 23-year-old Swede was drafted 20th overall by the Wild in 2021 and is currently on a two-year, $4.4 million contract.
“If you’re all in to win, and you’ve got Filip Gustavsson signed, what someone said to me was, ‘If it happens, you’ll understand why,'” Friedman said.
Gustavsson, 27, has made 33 starts this season, going 17-9-3 and recording a 2.62 goals-against average and .908 save percentage, plus three shutouts.
In October, he signed a five-year, $34 million extension with the Wild that begins in 2026-27 and runs through 2030-31.
“I guess that also speaks to the division that they’re in, knowing, potentially, you’ve got to get through both of the other two, Dallas, Colorado, just to have a chance to play in the Western final,” added Bukauskas. “That’s a fascinating place to be if you’re Bill Guerin and the Wild, but I love the concept because you’re trying to win.”
