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Filip Gustavsson

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

April 18, 2025 at 4:25 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:

  • The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
  • The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
  • Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
  • Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
  • The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
  • The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
  • The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
  • Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
  • The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

AHL| CHL| Calgary Flames| Colorado Avalanche| DEL| Dallas Stars| ECHL| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Injury| Minnesota Wild| NHL| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| Pittsburgh Penguins| St. Louis Blues| Toronto Maple Leafs| Transactions Alexander Petrovic| Ben Kraws| Derek Ryan| Emil Andrae| Evan Cormier| Filip Gustavsson| Filip Kral| Hunter Brzustewicz| Jesper Wallstedt| Joona Koppanen| Jordan Binnington| Kevin Mandolese| Lian Bichsel| Rutger McGroarty| Ryan Reaves| Sam Morton| Samuel Poulin| Trade Deadline| Trent Miner| Tyler Seguin| Valtteri Puustinen| Vasiliy Ponomarev| Ville Koivunen| Will Cranley

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Wild Activate Yakov Trenin From Injured Reserve

December 23, 2024 at 12:34 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

The Wild will have winger Yakov Trenin’s services for tonight’s game against the Blackhawks. The team announced this morning that he’s been activated from injured reserve, ending a nine-day absence due to an upper-body injury.

Trenin, 27, became an unrestricted free agent for the first time last summer and landed a four-year, $14MM contract with Minnesota. The 6’2″ Russian forward was a second-round pick of the Predators in 2015 and spent his entire career there until last year’s trade deadline when he was flipped to the Avalanche as a rental.

Unfortunately, Trenin hasn’t come as advertised. Usually a decent secondary option offensively in a checking role, he has just two goals and an assist in 29 showings this year. He’s averaging 13:37 per game, which is his lowest usage since his rookie season, although he ranks second on the team with 82 hits. That physical play hasn’t translated to two-way dominance, as Minnesota only controls 44.4% of shot attempts with Trenin on the ice at 5-on-5. That’s the lowest such share of his NHL career.

He’ll return to the lineup in a fourth-line role with AHL call-ups Ben Jones and Devin Shore, Daily Faceoff projects. That’s a demotion from where he spent most of the year prior to his injury, skating as the third-line right wing alongside Marcus Foligno and Frédérick Gaudreau. The reduction in role also comes despite Minnesota still being without two regular forwards, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jakub Lauko, due to lower-body injuries.

The Wild freed up the roster spot for Trenin’s activation yesterday by assigning Travis Boyd and Jesper Wallstedt to the AHL. As expected, they’re also getting netminder Filip Gustavsson, who’s missed four games with a lower-body issue, back today against Chicago, reports Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

Minnesota Wild| Transactions Filip Gustavsson| Yakov Trenin

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Wild Reassign Travis Boyd, Jesper Wallstedt

December 22, 2024 at 11:31 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Wild have returned forward Travis Boyd and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to AHL Iowa, per the team’s public relations staff. The move leaves them with two open active roster spots and no extra forwards for tomorrow’s game against the Blackhawks, suggesting one of their injured reserve-bound forwards, either Joel Eriksson Ek or Yakov Trenin, might be able to return to the lineup, as Michael Russo of The Athletic relays.

Boyd, 31, was recalled Friday for Minnesota’s back-to-back against Utah and the Jets. It was the veteran’s fourth summons of the season after clearing training camp. None of his recalls have lasted for an extended period of time, with the longest totaling nine days in late November. That’s meant he’s been able to avoid hitting waivers again when the Wild return him to the minors since he hasn’t accumulated enough days on the active roster nor NHL appearances to make his temporary exemption expire.

The Minnesota native was scratched for Friday’s loss to Utah but entered the lineup for last night’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Winnipeg, posting a blocked shot in 8:08 of ice time in what was his third NHL appearance of the season and his first since Nov. 27. The 2011 sixth-round pick of the Capitals has averaged a career-low 7:48 per game when dressed, going without a shot on goal and skating on the wing while starting a whopping 88.9% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone. That’s naturally led to some pretty horrid possession numbers. The Wild have only controlled 23.5% of shot attempts and 20% of expected goals with Boyd on the ice, but in such a small and biased sample, those numbers shouldn’t be read into much.

The right-shot forward has never posted very favorable possession metrics, though. This far into his professional career, he is what he is – a valuable depth scorer in limited minutes who’s currently being miscast in a defensive role. With forwards ahead of him on the depth chart returning to health, he’ll return to Iowa, where he leads the club in scoring with 18 points in 17 games in his first AHL action since the 2019-20 campaign.

Boyd has averaged 13 goals and 32 points per 82 games throughout his eight-year NHL career, including a career-high 17 goals and 35 points in 74 games three years ago with the Coyotes. After spending most of last season with Arizona on injured reserve with a pectoral muscle tear, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Wild when free agency opened to return to his home state for the first time since his senior season at the University of Minnesota a decade ago.

Wallstedt’s demotion suggests Filip Gustavsson could be ready to return to the crease, at least in a backup role, after missing the last four games with a lower-body issue. He never landed on IR, so Minnesota has continuously considered him day-to-day throughout his absence. Wallstedt, the Wild’s top goaltending prospect, allowed five goals on 24 shots against the Jets last night in his second start of the season. It’s been a difficult year for the 22-year-old Swede, who now has a .843 SV% in his two NHL appearances and a subpar .874 mark in 12 AHL games.

That stark regression comes after Wallstedt was an AHL All-Star each of the last two seasons, prompting Minnesota to sign the 2021 20th overall pick to a two-year, $4.4MM extension in October. At least for now, the stumbling Wild will be ecstatic to get Gustavsson’s services back instead. The 26-year-old has returned to his 2022-23 form, logging a stellar .922 SV%, 2.24 GAA, and two shutouts in 22 starts.

Minnesota Wild| Transactions Filip Gustavsson| Jesper Wallstedt| Travis Boyd

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Evening Notes: Gustavsson, Dahlin, Duclair

December 17, 2024 at 9:15 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 1 Comment

Joe Smith of The Athletic tweeted that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson did not practice today with the team. Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News also reported that Gustavsson will miss his second consecutive game tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start with Jesper Wallstedt backing him up. Although Gustavsson will miss tomorrow night’s game, Joe Smith tweeted that Wild head coach John Hynes believes it will be a short-term injury.

Gustavsson has returned to form in 2024-25, bouncing back from a difficult stretch last season. Thus far this year, Gustavsson has posted a 14-5-3 record, along with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in 22 appearances.

In other evening notes:

  • Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reported today that Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is optimistic that the team will get defenseman Rasmus Dahlin back into the lineup very soon. Dahlin could practice as early as Thursday and depending on how that goes, he could suit up Friday when the Sabres take on Toronto. The 24-year-old has been dealing with a back issue that initially flared up in training camp and has missed seven straight games.
  • New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair didn’t play tonight against Carolina but has been medically cleared to return and will do so whenever he is comfortable to return (as per Ethan Sears of the New York Post). Duclair has missed 28 straight games with a lower-body injury and has played just five times this season, tallying two goals and an assist in those games. The 29-year-old signed a four-year deal in the summer as a free agent and will likely occupy a top-six role for the Islanders when he does return.

Buffalo Sabres| Minnesota Wild| New York Islanders Anthony Duclair| Filip Gustavsson| Rasmus Dahlin

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West Notes: Räty, Foligno, Faksa, Gustavsson

December 15, 2024 at 8:17 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 2 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that they’ve assigned forward Aatu Räty to the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old was recalled on Saturday before the Canucks game against the Bruins but didn’t end up dressing and served as a healthy scratch.

The former second-round pick has spent considerable time in the NHL this season, dressing in 20 games and picking up two goals and two assists. His AHL campaign has been limited, playing just eight games with Abbotsford, but Räty has been very productive posting four goals and three assists.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno was sick today and didn’t dress today in Chicago’s 5-3 win over the New York Islanders (as per Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports). The 37-year-old had points in each of his previous two games and is having a decent offensive season with seven goals and six assists in 30 games. He was replaced today by Joey Anderson who went scoreless in 13:27 of ice time.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic tweeted that St. Louis Blues forward Radek Faksa missed his third consecutive game tonight due to a cut on his leg. The 30-year-old suffered the injury in a game against Vancouver and is making progress towards a return. Veteran Brandon Saad replaced Faksa in the lineup. Faksa is in his first season with the Blues after spending the first nine years of his NHL career with the Dallas Stars.
  • Michael Russo of The Athletic writes that Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson is dealing with some soreness in his lower body and was getting looked at today. The ailment is reportedly nothing major, but it was enough to prompt the Wild to take a longer look at the issue. The 26-year-old is having a terrific bounce-back season with a 14-5-3 record along with a. 2.24 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Gustavsson took warmups last night and did serve as the backup, but the issue prompted the team to act today as well as call up top prospect Jesper Wallstedt.

Chicago Blackhawks| Minnesota Wild| St. Louis Blues| Vancouver Canucks Filip Gustavsson| Nick Foligno| Radek Faksa

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Snapshots: Gustavsson, Flyers, Khaira

August 24, 2024 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

After re-signing Marc-Andre Fleury and indicating that they’d like Jesper Wallstedt to see more NHL action in 2024-25, it looked as if Filip Gustavsson was set to be on the move this summer.  That hasn’t happened as of yet and Joe Smith of The Athletic notes (subscription link) that it appears that Gustavsson will now be sticking around, meaning that Minnesota will be juggling three goalies at times when they want Wallstedt to get a look.  Gustavsson is coming off a tough year, one that saw him post a 3.06 GAA with a .899 SV% in 45 games after putting up 2.10 and .931 respectively in 2022-23.  The Wild’s cap situation will make it tricky to carry three goalies; GM Bill Guerin acknowledged that Wallstedt could be in a “hybrid” situation that sees him spend time with Minnesota and AHL Iowa as a result.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Flyers have added a pair of prospects to their upcoming rookie camp roster. Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now relays that goaltender Sam Hillebrandt and forward Josh Zakreski will join them in September.  Hillebrandt had a 3.67 GAA with a .899 SV% in 36 games last season with OHL Barrie while serving as the third goalie for Team USA at the World Juniors.  Zakreski, meanwhile, is their lone undrafted invitee from July’s development camp to move on to rookie camp so far.  He had 21 goals and 28 assists in 68 games in 2023-24 with WHL Portland.
  • Unrestricted free agent forward Jujhar Khaira was on Vancouver’s radar for the PTO slot that went to Sammy Blais earlier this week, report Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic (subscription link). The 30-year-old is a veteran of 337 career NHL games but only one of those came last season as he spent most of the season with AHL Iowa where he had 18 points in 22 games.  Drance and Dhaliwal add that the Canucks have not shown interest in Nick Cousins or Milan Lucic who are also looking for a new place to play for the upcoming season.

Minnesota Wild| Philadelphia Flyers| Snapshots| Vancouver Canucks Filip Gustavsson| Jesper Wallstedt| Jujhar Khaira| Milan Lucic| Nick Cousins

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Wild Shopping Filip Gustavsson

June 20, 2024 at 1:51 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 5 Comments

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.

Minnesota Wild Filip Gustavsson

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Morning Notes: Couturier, Stamkos, Wild Goalies

April 30, 2024 at 7:49 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

Flyers captain Sean Couturier has made a rare early-offseason agent switch. He’s now repped by CAA Sports’ Pat Brisson, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports.

Couturier, 31, was previously represented by Sports Prospects’ Erik Lupien, whose only active NHL client is now Lightning forward Gabriel Fortier, per PuckPedia. Brisson won’t have any say in Couturier’s compensation anytime soon – he just finished the second season of an eight-year, $62MM extension that carries him through 2030. However, the change did come in short order after a season that ended poorly for the 12-year veteran, who was unexpectedly scratched by head coach John Tortorella for a pair of games in March as the Flyers were beginning to fall out of the playoff race.

Lupien did find his name in the news cycle around the time of Couturier’s scratch. He went on record to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz ahead of Couturier’s first scratch on March 19, saying there had been minimal communication between Couturier and Tortorella about the captain’s diminishing role in the lineup heading into the game. “Sean won’t learn anything by being in the bleachers tonight,” he added. “If there’s no communication of why between the two, in 2024, from my perspective, it ain’t always good to coach and establish regimental fear.”

Couturier had 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points in 74 games this season with a career-worst -10 rating. It was the most he’s played in a single season since before the COVID-19 pandemic, as he missed most of 2021-22 and all of 2022-23 while recovering from back surgery.

Before landing Couturier as a client, Brisson already managed the highest cumulative cap hit of active contracts ($231.5MM) of any NHL agent, according to PuckPedia. Among Couturier’s Flyers teammates, he also represents defensemen Erik Johnson, Nick Seeler and Cameron York, as well as forward prospects Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo.

Other NHL news and notes to start your Tuesday:

  • Until Lightning captain Steven Stamkos puts pen to paper on an extension, the possibility remains that last night’s Game 5 loss to the Panthers was his last in a Tampa uniform. Speaking to reporters after their first-round elimination, head coach Jon Cooper spoke briefly about his future, saying he hopes there won’t be much conversation about it. “He belongs here. We know it, he knows it… I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but he feels like a Bolt for life. Only he and Julien [BriseBois] can answer that one,” he said. Stamkos, one of the top pending UFAs, said last night that the thought of playing in his final game in Tampa “never crossed my mind” as Florida increased their lead late in a 6-1 win. During training camp, Stamkos said he was disappointed in the lack of early extension talks between him and general manager BriseBois, which still haven’t occurred.
  • The Wild crease will be crowded next season with veteran Marc-André Fleury back for his final NHL season and rookie Jesper Wallstedt primed for more major-league time. That’s left many wondering where this leaves 25-year-old Filip Gustavsson, whose numbers were mediocre this season after finishing seventh in year-end positional All-Star voting in 2023. Speaking to The Athletic’s Joe Smith, GM Bill Guerin confirmed that Wallstedt “needs to get more than he got this year,” and they don’t yet have a plan in place for how they want to operate between the pipes. Carrying three goalies on the active roster isn’t an active proposition for a team with $14.7MM in dead cap space from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts next season, so if the organization decides Wallstedt is ready for a full-time tandem role with Fleury instead of just increased call-up opportunities, Gustavsson could find himself on the trade market. He has a $3.75MM cap hit through 2025-26, an attractive number for a netminder who’s still cumulatively saved 26.3 goals above average in 84 games with the Wild since 2022.

Minnesota Wild| Philadelphia Flyers| Tampa Bay Lightning Filip Gustavsson| Jesper Wallstedt| Sean Couturier| Steven Stamkos

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Wild Notes: Gustavsson, Faber, Injuries, Front Office

April 20, 2024 at 2:26 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

After a strong first season in Minnesota, Filip Gustavsson’s second year didn’t go anywhere near as planned.  The 25-year-old saw his save percentage drop by 32 points from .931 to .899 while his GAA went up nearly a full goal from 2.10 to 3.06 in 43 appearances.  With Marc-Andre Fleury signing on for a final season and GM Bill Guerin indicating he wants to give Jesper Wallstedt a longer NHL look, some have wondered if Gustavsson could be the odd one out.  Despite the potential logjam, the netminder told reporters including Sarah McLellan and Rachel Blount of the Star Tribune that he wants to stay.  Head coach John Hynes indicated that an improved fitness level will be key to a successful offseason for Gustavsson.

More from Minnesota from McLellan and Blount’s piece:

  • Defenseman Brock Faber played the last two months with fractured ribs. The injury certainly didn’t seem to slow the 21-year-old who logged nearly 25 minutes a night in his rookie year while leading Minnesota’s blueliners with 47 points in 82 games, making him a Calder Trophy contender.  The injury, however, will keep him out of the Worlds next month.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see Guerin try to work out a long-term extension with Faber this summer, one that could push past the $8MM mark based on recent comparables including Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson.
  • Speaking of injuries, defenseman Jared Spurgeon and winger Marcus Foligno are expected to be fully ready for training camp in September. Spurgeon was limited to just 16 games this season due to hip and back surgeries but resumed skating four weeks ago.  When healthy, the 34-year-old logs big minutes for the Wild and he’ll certainly be a big boost to their back end in the fall.  As for Foligno, he missed the final couple of weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery; he won’t be able to return to the ice until June.
  • Guerin indicated that the team will likely announce changes to the front office. They didn’t appoint a replacement when assistant GM Chris O’Hearn left so at a minimum, a new assistant will need to be appointed.  Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic suggest (subscription link) that Mat Sells, who works in analytics and helps with contract negotiations, is a candidate for a promotion to that role.

Minnesota Wild Brock Faber| Filip Gustavsson| Jared Spurgeon| Marcus Foligno

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Wild Activate Filip Gustavsson, Assign Jesper Wallstedt To AHL

January 13, 2024 at 10:27 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

The Wild will be welcoming back their starting goalie for tonight’s game against Minnesota as the team announced (Twitter link) that Filip Gustavsson has been activated off injured reserve.  To make room for him on the roster, Jesper Wallstedt has been returned to AHL Iowa.

Gustavsson has been dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the last two weeks.  Before that, he had struggled somewhat relative to last year’s breakout performance.  While his .903 SV% is above the league average, it’s a steep drop from the .931 mark he posted in 2022-23.  With Marc-Andre Fleury also struggling as of late having only recorded a save percentage above .900 in one of his last six starts, Gustavsson will likely get a chance to play significant minutes fairly quickly as Minnesota looks to keep within striking distance of a Wild Card spot.

As for Wallstedt, Minnesota’s top goalie prospect got a rough introduction to the NHL earlier this week, allowing seven goals on 34 shots to Dallas on Wednesday.  However, the 2021 first-rounder has fared quite well with Iowa this season, posting a 2.54 GAA and a .917 SV% in 20 games with them.  With Fleury’s contract up at the end of the season, Wallstedt could become the full-time backup in Minnesota before long so getting him back in the minors to maximize his playing time is certainly ideal.

AHL| Minnesota Wild| Transactions Filip Gustavsson| Jesper Wallstedt

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