Wild Shopping Filip Gustavsson

The Wild are entering next season with three goalies as it stands with Marc-André Fleury back for his final campaign and top prospect Jesper Wallstedt primed for more NHL starts. In his latest Trade Targets piece, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff said the team is “open for business and listening” on trade offers for Filip Gustavsson, who’s quickly looking like the odd man out in the Minnesota crease.

Gustavsson, now 26, signed a three-year, $11.25MM deal with the Wild last summer following an arbitration filing. He got that deal after a breakout 2022-23 campaign, finishing second among qualified netminders with a .931 SV%. But while he ended this season on a relatively high note, a horrid start to 2023-24 tanked his second season in the State of Hockey. Gustavsson made a career-high 45 appearances and managed to record his second 20-win season, but his standard and advanced metrics regressed considerably. His SV% dropped to .899, and his goals saved above expected nosedived to -4.8 from last season’s 24.2, per MoneyPuck.

While Gustavsson was struggling, Wallstedt was having a terrific season behind a poor Iowa Wild team in the AHL. The 2021 20th overall pick had a .910 SV% and two shutouts in 45 games, earning his second All-Star Game nod in as many years while keeping an otherwise hapless Iowa club out of last place in the Central Division. The 21-year-old Swede is viewed as one of the five best goalie prospects in the world, and general manager Bill Guerin already confirmed the plan is to ease him into more consistent NHL action next season. After a tough NHL debut against the Stars in January, Wallstedt stopped 51 of 53 shots faced in two wins over the Blackhawks and Sharks to end the season.

Gustavsson has two years left on his deal at a $3.75MM cap hit, a reasonable deal for a young netminder with decent rebound potential. He was solid in the back half of the season, posting a 7-5-2 record with a .906 SV% in 16 games after the All-Star break. Moving him reduces the cap hit of their goaltending tandem from $6.25MM, including Fleury, to just $3.425MM with Fleury and Wallstedt, less than what Gustavsson alone costs. That’s important savings for a team still dealing with a $14.744MM cap penalty from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts next year.

The Wild likely wouldn’t need to retain any salary in a Gustavsson deal. His contract is arguably a bargain for his services already – Evolving Hockey projects he’d land a $4.125MM cap hit if he signed a two-year deal in free agency this summer. It’s also a cheaper option for teams looking to upgrade their crease than some of the more established netminders potentially available for trade, like Juuse Saros and Linus Ullmark, and he has experience starting more games than top UFA options Laurent Brossoit and Anthony Stolarz. As such, there should be a fair amount of interest.