It’s the way hockey players operate. Never wanting to talk about themselves and much more comfortable with either lamenting not getting pucks deep or praising the team’s ability to be aggressive on the forecheck.

This is what made Jesper Wallstedt’s postgame comments on Sunday so surprising and refreshing.

Having stopped 24 of 27 shots in a 3-2 loss to Vegas in his season debut, Wallstedt sat at his locker stall and opened up about his early-season struggles with Iowa of the American Hockey League. There were no cliches and no attempt to put a happy spin on things. Instead, the 22-year-old talked about his head not being in the right spot, how he lost the ability to stop the puck and his quest to get back to being the guy the Wild consider their goalie of the future.

From afar, Wallstedt’s rough start in Iowa made a lot of sense. He had signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension only days before Minnesota’s season opened, and the expectation was that he would spend much of his time with the NHL club. That created a crowd in goal — Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury would be the main guys — but that appeared to be the plan.

However, the Wild’s salary-cap issues and the incredible bounce back of Gustavsson landed Wallstedt in the AHL before the end of October. He made his debut with Iowa on Oct. 19 in San Jose and gave up five goals on 42 shots. The next day, facing San Jose again, Wallstedt allowed seven goals on 25 shots in 40 minutes.

The goals-against floodgates opened
Wallstedt’s struggles were easy to attribute to his disappointment with being sent back to the minors for a third season. But after bouncing back with a .918 save percentage in his next four games, Wallstedt allowed an alarming number of goals in three of his next four games.

Jesper Wallstedt made 24 saves against Vegas on Dec. 15 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

He surrendered five goals on 21 shots in a loss to Grand Rapids on Nov. 7; eight on 39 in a loss to Texas; and five more on 29 shots in another loss to Grand Rapids on Nov. 24.

“I think the beginning, right after I got sent down, it was more that the plan changed that I was expecting,” said Wallstedt, the 20th pick in the first round of the 2021 draft by the Wild. “But after that, you just gotta drop that behind. I think after that it was more that ‘OK why am I not saving a puck in games? Why am I giving up seven goals? Why am I giving up eight goals?’ It was just like I couldn’t save a puck. It was like I hadn’t played hockey before. It didn’t feel like my game was wrong, but it felt like my head wasn’t there, and then I’m the one that gives myself the hardest criticism. So, I think I was just pushing myself down the rabbit hole as well.”

This is nothing new for goalies. They play one of the loneliest positions in team sports. Standing in front of a net with a flying piece of vulcanized rubber speeding their way at 100 miles per hour. It’s easy for goalies to get inside their own heads.

Wallstedt said he confronted his struggles by speaking with sports psychologists to “try to get my mind back and in the right spot.” He also worked with Richard Bachman, a former NHL goalie who is now the goalie coach in Iowa. Wild goalie coach Frederic Chabot showed up to watch as Wallstedt stopped 23 shots in a shutout against Rockford on Dec. 11.

That was Wallstedt’s second consecutive strong outing, following a 22-save performance in a 5-2 win over Milwaukee. Those two games were enough for the Wild to recall Wallstedt to start against the Golden Knights after Gustavsson was lost to a lower-body injury that isn’t considered serious.

Wallstedt, who went 2-1-0 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .897 save percentage in three starts with Minnesota last season, said he learned from what was essentially a two-week slump.

‘I had no answers’
Asked how scary it was to feel like he couldn’t stop a puck, Wallstedt said: “It’s very hard. That’s my whole job, and it’s something I’ve done since I was 9, 10 years old, and now I’m like, ‘OK, I forgot the ability (of) how to stop pucks.’ But also I knew it was my game. It wasn’t the game plan. I know that’s working, but it was all in my head. I was not proceeding with the right thoughts in my head, and I probably wasn’t in the right headspace.”

Wallstedt acknowledged he needed to ask for help in order to get his game back — a sign of strength for someone still so young.

Jesper Wallstedt struggled this season after getting sent down to Iowa. He surrendered 21 goals in a four-game stretch in November for the Iowa Wild. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“I had no answers,” he said. “That’s why I needed people around me to help me get back there. I was so lost in my own mind and my own game where I was at in my own thoughts and everything. Everything became hockey, even outside the rink.

“I think overthinking got to me and basically all the people around me that helped me … a couple things were just getting back to the basics, trusting your game, knowing you’re here for a reason, knowing that you can do it. But also just like small key words during a game, think about your breathing, think about (the) next puck, think about trying to pick up the spin on the puck when they’re shooting. Just small stuff that can make you just clean your head and focus on the puck.”

Wallstedt knows that when Gustavsson returns, he will be headed back to Iowa. He has a goals-against average (3.77) and save percentage (.874) to improve on. But Wallstedt’s confident his struggles are behind him and that he will have no issues stopping pucks in Minnesota or Iowa.

“Hopefully, (I’ll) play as many games as possible (in Minnesota) and prove that those first months were not something I’m going to look back at anymore,” he said. “I’m just going to look forward and look towards the future. Make sure I’ve improved from that and learned something that I can keep with me for my whole career.”

The post Goalie Gets Candid appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Two players also made debuts with the Wild this season. Here are five rules from the one-goal loss to Vegas:

1. Kirill Kaprizov is thrilling – as always – and is tied for the NHL lead with 22 goals.

Kaprizov is just putting on a show.

He scored both Wild goals Sunday night, his first giving the Wild a 1-0 lead only 1 minute, 30 seconds into the game. His season goal total is now at 22 tallies, tied for the NHL lead with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. Kaprizov also leads the league with six multi-goal games, although he’s still looking for his first hat trick this season.

The Wild celebrate one of Kirill Kaprizov’s goals against Vegas on Dec. 15 at Xcel Energy Center. Mats Zuccarello (right) assisted on each goal. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Kaprizov has four goals over his last two games and his 22 goals in 30 games means he has the most goals by a Wild player through 30 games played in a season. That’s a better mark than previous Wild stud Marian Gaborik, who scored 20 goals in 33 games during the 2006-07 season.

On his second goal against Ilya Samsonov, a friend of Kaprizov’s, the Wild winger pointed to the puck in the net after Samsonov appeared to freeze in the crease with his glove arm elevated. On the play, Kaprizov grabbed the puck out of the air, placed it on the ice in the circle and fired it top-shelf, over Samsonzov’s shoulder.

“I just saw it was in,” Kaprizov said, even though he didn’t see any fans immediately jumping for joy. It was just a delayed reaction.

2. Peanut butter and jelly combine for a pair of goals.

With Mats Zuccarello back from injury this weekend, he’s reunited on the right wing with his buddy Kaprizov on the opposite wing. Zuccarello assisted on both of Kaprizov’s goals against Vegas. The first one took some work as Zuccarello wrestled the puck below the goal line and fed it to Kaprizov who was all alone in front of the net.

“It’s nice for Zuccy,” said Kaprizov, who added that Zuccarello didn’t play for a month but played well right away upon his return. “He did a great job. I’m happy for him.”

It’s fun seeing these two play together, said winger Marcus Foligno.

“It’s good for our team,” Foligno said. “It’s the way they play. They think so much alike. And it’s a special duo for sure.”

Zuccarello, who missed 13 games due to injury, notched his 37th multi-assist game wearing a Wild sweater. That passed Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s 36 multi-goal games for fifth in franchise history.

3. Jesper Wallstadt made 24 saves in his season debut with the Wild.

Jesper Wallstadt had a quick turnaround getting to St. Paul to make his season debut with the Wild. It’s the fourth regular-season start for him with Minnesota. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Goaltender Jesper Wallstadt got the nod in net after he was called up Saturday under emergency conditions. Marc-Andre Fleury started against Philadelphia that afternoon, and Filip Gustavsson is dealing with an injury that Wild coach John Hynes said isn’t anything major.

Wallstadt allowed three goals on 27 shots against Vegas, taking the one-goal loss. Hynes said Wallstadt, who’s had a rough season with the Iowa Wild, “looked comfortable in net.”

“I think both teams battled,” Hynes said. “They (Vegas) were fortunate to get one more than we got.”

It marked Wallstedt’s fourth career start with the Wild but first at Xcel Energy Center during the regular season. He has a 3.05 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in four starts with the Wild.

“I was in the rink for a game less than 24 hours after I knew I was getting called up,” Wallstedt said. “So, it was quick, but fun being back and playing. But obviously I would have wanted the win.”

4. Travis Dermott registers 2 shots, 1 takeaway in his Wild debut.

The dawn of a new day lately seems to bring a new Wild player dealing with an injury. After defenseman Jake Middleton left Thursday’s game against Edmonton only 37 seconds into the contest with an upper-body injury, the Wild picked up Travis Dermott off waivers on Friday.

Dermott, who was with Edmonton, didn’t get left behind last week and instead dealt with a frantic travel schedule to reach Minnesota – again – and suit up for his new team. He said after Sunday’s game against Vegas that the quick turnaround was better for him, so he didn’t “overthink anything.”

He dressed with the Wild as the seventh defenseman as part of the Wild’s 11 forwards, seven defensemen lineup. He played 10 shifts in 7 minutes, 47 seconds of ice time against Vegas, his first game since Nov. 19 after a bunch of healthy scratches.

“The first (period) felt like I was gripping my stick a little tight, but as the game went along, you kind of sink into your natural activities,” Dermott said. “I’ve been playing hockey my whole life, so I think it comes back to you quick and it helps even more that these guys are so accommodating.”

Dermott put up two shots and a takeaway on the stats sheet against Vegas.

5. Hockey Hall of Famers say “Let’s Play Hockey!”

Wrapping up the end of the Wild’s recognition of Girls’ Hockey Weekend, the organization brought in Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl to lead fans in the “Let’s Play Hockey!” call at the start of Sunday’s game.

Darwitz and Wendell-Pohl, longtime friends and former hockey teammates at various levels, were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto together last month.

The Wild also hosted girls’ hockey clinics on the Xcel Energy Center ice following the Wild vs. Flyers game on Saturday afternoon.

The post Rink Rule: Golden Knights vs. Wild appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Gustavsson’s tone was understandable.

He was coming off a disappointing season, he had almost undoubtedly been shopped by general manager Bill Guerin during the offseason, and now he seemed to be the odd man out for playing time in a crease that included a future Hall of Famer (Marc-Andre Fleury) and one of franchise’s key young pieces (Jesper Wallstedt).

There wasn’t much to smile about it and Gustavsson knew it. He also knew he had the ability to change that gloomy outlook.

So far, that’s what Gustavsson has done.

Wild defenseman Brock Faber congratulates Filip Gustavsson during a preseason game at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Gustavsson’s 23-save effort in the Wild’s 3-1 victory on Saturday in Columbus — he lost the shutout when the Blue Jackets scored with only 1 minute, 25 seconds remaining — gave him a 3-0-1 record in the team’s first five games. Gustavsson’s 1.49 goals-against average and .950 save percentage places him sixth among NHL goaltenders in both categories.

Gustavsson is making both the difficult and, probably more importantly, the routine saves that he didn’t a year ago. Coach John Hynes has vaulted him to the top of the goalie depth chart. Fleury, who has said this will be his final season, has started one game and Wallstedt is back with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League after beginning the season in Minnesota.

“(Gustavsson) looks really solid in there,” Hynes told reporters. “He’s seeing the puck through traffic. His rebound control is strong, and that’s what you need from him.”

That’s what the Wild didn’t get a year ago after the Wild rewarded him with a three-year, $11.25 million contract following his first season in Minnesota.

Gustavsson had been acquired from Ottawa for fellow goalie Cam Talbot in July 2022. The Wild got more than they expected as Gustavsson’s 2.10 goals-against average and .931 save percentage put him second in the league in both categories.

But Guerin had to be questioning his decision to reward Gustavsson last season. His 3.06 goals-against average put him 37th among all goalies and his .899 save percentage was 34th.

The decision to bring back Fleury for a final season on a one-year, $2.5 million contract created the expectation that he would pair with the 21-year-old Wallstedt this season and help ease the rookie’s full-time transition to the NHL.

Gustavsson showing he’s the top choice in net
If that was the plan in the spring, it changed in the summer when Gustavsson remained in Minnesota. The 26-year-old Gustavsson found himself in a situation no goalie wants, and that’s the potential of being the third guy.

It’s still very early, but Gustavsson gets the credit for quickly ending that logjam by becoming the main guy.

The fact that Gustavsson added the first goalie goal in Wild history in a 4-1 victory last Tuesday in St. Louis only adds to the story. The goal came with the Wild on the power play near the end of the game and the Blues having pulled their goaltender. Fleury had told Gustavsson during a timeout that with a two-goal lead, if he got the puck he should attempt to shoot it the length of the ice.

Gustavsson did exactly that and became only the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and only the 10th to do it into an empty net. There have been 18 goalie goals in the league’s history, but Martin Brodeur did it three times and Ron Hextall twice. Gustavsson also is only the third goalie to score on a power play.

As much fun that might have been, the Wild continue to start Gustavsson because he is now stopping pucks both 5-on-5 and for a penalty kill that was among the worst in the NHL last season.This isn’t all about goaltending either. In their first full season under Hynes, the Wild are doing more to help their goalie, even with captain Jared Spurgeon out of the lineup.

Not surprisingly, that has put Gustavsson in a far better mood than he was a month ago.

“I think we as a team have played really good defensive hockey, and we trust each other back there,” Gustavsson told reporters in Columbus. “Everyone’s doing their part of the job, and when you trust each other, it makes you comfortable and then you play your best.”

Gustavsson is doing exactly that, and for that reason he has exchanged a once tenuous hold on a roster spot for a nearly nightly spot between the pipes.

Subscribe to Judd’s Substack: juddzulgad.substack.com.

The post No Gloomy Gus appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Marc-Andre Fleury appears certain to retire as a member of the Minnesota Wild. It just won’t be after this season, as many had expected. That became official on Wednesday as Fleury signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract to return for a 21st NHL season and a third full one in Minnesota.

Fleury assured reporters that will be it for him.

“I’m grateful,” he said. “I’m grateful to keep doing what I love for one more season. I thought about it a lot this year, but still loving to compete, the intensity, the pursuit to be in the best league in the world also, and compete with young guys. I feel very lucky to be able to do it.”

The decision by Wild general manager Bill Guerin to bring back Fleury is an interesting one. Fleury’s season has been a special one — he passed Patrick Roy for the second-most regular season victories in NHL history and became the fourth goalie in league history to play in 1,000 games — but there also has been plenty of frustration. 

He will enter his start in the Wild’s season finale on Thursday night against Seattle with an .895 saves percentage, his worst since he posted an .898 save percentage with Pittsburgh in his second season in 2005-06. His 2.98 goals-against average is his highest since he had a 3.02 goals against in his final season with the Penguins in 2016-17. The most disappointing thing for Fleury is that this will be the first time in 18 years his team won’t make the playoffs.

Marc-Andre Fleury will return next season for his third full campaign in a Minnesota Wild sweater. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

It has been a rough season for the Wild and especially for the goaltending duo of Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. Gustavsson had a fantastic first season with the Wild in 2022-23, finishing second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.10) and second in save percentage (.931). Gustavsson signed a three-year, $11.25 million contract last offseason, but his goals against has shot up to 3.06 and his save percentage has sunk to .899.

Wild should shop Gustavsson, make room for Wallstedt
With Fleury locked in to return, there is no guarantee Gustavsson will be back. The Wild have given two late-season starts to 2021 first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt. He responded with a 24-save shutout on April 7 in a 4-0 victory at Chicago and then made 27 saves on April 13 in a 6-2 victory at San Jose. Those two wins, granted against non-playoff teams, partially helped to erase the bad taste left from Wallstedt’s NHL debut in January at Dallas. Wallstedt stopped 27 of 34 shots in a 7-2 loss before being sent back to Iowa.

This marked the second season for Wallstedt with the Wild’s affiliate in the American Hockey League. He is still only 21 years old, but pairing him with Fleury next season makes a lot of sense.

That makes shopping Gustavsson this offseason the logical move. Unlike so many of his teammates, Gustavsson has zero trade protection and moving him would open $3.75 million in salary-cap space. The Wild also would have to sign a veteran who would play in Iowa but could replace Wallstedt or Fleury, if there was an injury or Wallstedt struggles, but that is the worst case scenario.

Filip Gustavsson’s numbers took a dip this season from where they were a year ago. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Best case is that Wallstedt spends the season learning under Fleury, while carrying much of the workload. Although Guerin is always focused on winning, the reality is that next season is the last in which the Wild will be tight to the salary cap because of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, and the smartest thing the franchise could do is play as much of its young talent in order to set itself up for the 2025-26 season, when there should be actual expectations for playoff success.

This doesn’t mean making the playoffs, or celebrating a first-round win. This means the start of what should be a Stanley Cup window. If the youngsters give you more than is expected next season that’s a bonus, but, if this season has proven anything, it’s that patience is going to be a necessity and development is more important than playing veterans whose time is running out.

Fleury knows exactly what’s he has signed up for and that the last act of his Hall of Fame career should be doing everything in his power to make sure Wallstedt can have a career that also includes multiple Stanley Cup rings. Fleury is in the perfect position to be on board with this plan, but it’s not going to happen with Gustavsson on the roster.

This doesn’t mean Gustavsson can’t rebound from a poor season. It just means that rebound needs to come elsewhere.

The post Eye On The Future appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The Wild had won only one of their previous six games and were coming off a 4-0 shutout loss against Dallas in early January at Xcel Energy Center when Wallstedt was told he would be starting against the Stars in the back end of a home-and-home. The decision came for all the wrong reasons. Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury had been carrying the load with Filip Gustavsson injured, and Wallstedt was the next man up.

It was encouraging that Wild trailed only 1-0 after the first period on Jan. 10 in Dallas, but things got progressively worse as Wallstedt stopped 27 of 34 shots in a 7-2 loss. Wallstedt, who had been called up from Iowa of the American Hockey League, struggled, but the no-show effort of his teammates earned them much of the culpability for turning the 21-year-old’s NHL debut into a nightmare.

Three months later, Wallstedt finally got the chance to erase that memory and put on display the skills that make him the Wild’s goalie of the future. The circumstances, this time, set up Wallstedt for success instead of failure. The Chicago Blackhawks are awful and the pressure on the Wild is gone. The result? A relatively easy 4-0 shutout for Wallstedt on Sunday afternoon.

“He seemed a little bit more confident and comfortable in the net,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought it was nice that he was able to get himself into the game. He wasn’t under siege, but he made a couple of good saves early. I felt once he made a couple of saves early and saw some pucks, you could see him settle in a little bit and then he looked really solid.”

This was the type of confidence-builder that Wallstedt needed.

“With 15 seconds left on the clock, it was, ‘OK, we’re doing this,'” he said. “Incredible to feel and see the work I’ve put in since Dallas, every single day since then, has really paid off. Definitely a better night today.”

This was only a starting point for Wallstedt, who was the 20th pick in the first round of the 2021 draft by the Wild. He arrived from his native Sweden two years ago and spent the the past two seasons in Des Moines.

Wallstedt, who is 6-foot-3, 214 pounds, posted a 2.76 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in 43 games this season, playing for an Iowa team that has frequently had to send help to St. Paul and is one of the worst teams in the AHL. That makes Wallstedt’s stats even more impressive.

Hynes said Saturday that Wallstedt’s start the following afternoon would have no impact on how much he will play this season. The Wild won’t be making the playoffs, so the final six games, including the Chicago win, present an opportunity for Hynes and general manager Bill Guerin to begin making decisions for next fall.

One of those decisions will be whether Wallstedt opens next season on the Wild roster at what is considered a young age for NHL goalies. Wallstedt won’t turn 22 until Nov. 14, but if Hynes and Guerin feel he’s ready, they could gain flexibility with a roster that doesn’t have a lot of it at the moment.

If Fleury wants to return for a 21st season, and the Wild want him back, he could become the goaltending partner and mentor to Wallstedt. That would enable the Wild to shop Gustavsson, who has had an up-and-down season in the first year of a three-year, $11.25 million contract. Gustavsson has zero no-trade protection, making him easier to move.

Of course, if Fleury retires, Gustavsson and Wallstedt could form a Swedish goalie tandem in St. Paul. Either way, the Wild probably will look to sign a veteran goalie who can play in the minors but also step in if things don’t go as planned for Wallstedt.

That’s why this final stretch of games is important.

“Every game I get up here is a time to prove to prove myself and show what I can do, show my development throughout this time,” Wallstedt said.

A shutout was a good way to start. It also was a good way to exercise those demons from Dallas.

The post Wallstedt Gets A Boost appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Brandon Saad’s goal at 2 minutes, 5 seconds of overtime Saturday lifted the St. Louis Blues to a 5-4 victory that put another dagger into the Wild’s playoff hopes and caused Wild goalie Fleury to shatter his stick on the crossbar.

Fleury’s immediate frustration was understandable given the Wild missed out on a key second point in the playoff race and put Fleury’s 17-year streak of being in the postseason in serious jeopardy. But only Fleury knows if the moment of frustration also existed because the certain first-ballot Hall of Famer is set to call it a career after 20 seasons.

The future of the 39-year-old is one of many questions that exist for the Wild as a disappointing season winds down. Let’s examine them.

Will Marc-Andre Fleury stay with the Wild next season, or will he retire? (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Fleury’s future
Fleury opened the season expecting to be the backup to Filip Gustavsson, who received a three-year, $11.25 million contract after putting together a very impressive first season in Minnesota in 2023-24.

But Gustavsson hasn’t been the same, and while Fleury is no longer in his prime, he has taken over as coach John Hynes’ top choice in goal as the Wild tried to get themselves into a wild card spot late in the season.

Fleury, who is making $3.5 million in the final season of his contract, has had a memorable season. He played in his 1,000th career game — a remarkable number for a goalie in today’s NHL — and moved past Patrick Roy into second place on the all-time wins list in January with 552.

No one would blame Fleury if he walked away after the season, but is that what he wants? Fleury is among nicest guys in the NHL, but don’t mistake having good manners for lacking a competitive fire. Following the loss to the Blues, Fleury sat at his locker answering questions, but after the media left, he didn’t move. Fleury sat staring straight ahead reliving the game.

He certainly didn’t look like a guy who wanted to go out this way.

So how does Fleury stick around, if that’s what he wants? Fleury could have been traded to a contender at the NHL trade deadline but told general manager Bill Guerin he wanted to remain in Minnesota. So if he does keep playing, there’s a chance he will want to stay put.

Guerin could make that work by looking to move Gustavsson this offseason as the Wild plans to hand the starting job to 2021 first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt, who has spent the past two seasons with the Wild’s AHL affiliate in Iowa. Fleury would be the ideal goalie partner to guide Wallstedt through his rookie season.

This much is certain: You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with the Wild who wouldn’t want Fleury back.

Freddy Gaudreau hasn’t been the same player since former Wild coach Dean Evason was fired in November. (MHM Photo Rick Olson)

What changes will/could Guerin make?
It’s been well-documented that Guerin has tied his own hands by giving contract extensions, and some form of no-trade protection, to veteran forwards such as Marcus Foligno, Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson and Zuccarello.

But it’s also difficult to believe that all of them will be on the ice for the Wild when training camp opens in the fall. Former coach Dean Evason was a big fan of Gaudreau’s, but with Evason having been fired in late November, Gaudreau’s play has gone off a cliff. Johansson impressed in his second stint with the Wild when he was acquired last season, but the security of a contract extension has caused him to return to being a skilled player who is happy to stay on the outside of the ice and cash a check every other week.

Foligno isn’t the type of guy Guerin would want to move, and Hartman would be fine in a bottom-six role. Zuccarello is an interesting case because the 36-year-old still possesses talent and is one of Kirill Kaprizov’s best friends.

But Zuccarello was atrocious in the Wild’s loss to the Blues on March 23 and was on the ice for the Blues’ go-ahead goal in the third period and then the overtime winner. It doesn’t take a genius to see the end is near for him.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Guerin tries to find a way to part with Gaudreau and/or Johansson this offseason. The Wild’s hope on Zuccarello would be for him to request a trade to a team that might have a chance to win a Cup in 2025. A return to the New York Rangers would be ideal for all parties involved.

Jared Spurgeon was limited to only 16 games this season and underwent hip surgery earlier this year. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

What is Jared Spurgeon’s future?
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon has undergone separate surgeries on his hip and back but is expected to be back by the start of training camp. That’s the good news. There’s also a reality to this situation.

Spurgeon had a remarkable 13-year run with the Wild before being limited to only 16 games this season. Spurgeon will turn 35 late next November and is listed at 5-foot-9, 166 pounds. He might not be that tall or that heavy.

What we do know is that it shouldn’t be assumed the defenseman will return as the same player who had scored double-digit goals in six of eight seasons before this one. The good news is that Brock Faber has had an incredible rookie season and should be considered the team’s No. 1 defenseman heading into 2024-25.

Jonas Brodin also remains a steady and valuable presence on the blue line. Both Faber and Brodin are outstanding skaters. This should enable Spurgeon to return with less pressure and a smaller role than he had entering this season.

But defensemen don’t have the luxury of trying to avoid the physical game and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the smaller Spurgeon had all the years of wear and tear take a toll on his body. How much of a toll? We’ll find out when Spurgeon takes the ice next fall.

The post Wild Questions appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

But that isn’t likely to be the case, considering how often no-trade and no-move clauses are handed out to veteran players these days. The list of Wild players with at least some form of trade protection includes forwards Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman. All were signed to contract extensions during training camp.

So who could Guerin look to move? The top Wild veterans who don’t have no-trade or no-move clauses include forwards Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek; defenseman Jake Middleton; and goalie Filip Gustavsson.

Obviously, Kaprizov, Boldy and Eriksson Ek aren’t going anywhere and remain an important part of the Wild’s future. But Gustavsson and Middleton could be another story.

Guerin might not have an appetite to part with Gustavsson, but considering the number of contenders desperate for goaltending help, some of the offers might be too good to turn down. Among the teams looking to add a quality goalie are the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings.

Guerin could look to move future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury before the deadline — that would require the goalie to waive his no-trade clause — but the 39-year-old is in the final year of his contract and might retire after the season.

Gustavsson, 25, has two years left on his contract after this one ($3.75 million AAV) and would command a more significant return. Gustavsson had a 3.19 goals-against average and .897 save percentage entering Monday’s game in Vegas. That’s a drop from last season, when Gustavsson had the second-best goals against (2.10) and save percentage (.931) in the NHL, but the team around him isn’t as good.

The Wild are facing one more season in salary cap hell because of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, and adding draft picks and prospects to a young talent pool that looks to have a bright future has to be considered an attractive option.

Jesper Wallstedt, the Wild’s top goalie prospect, is expected to get a chance to play on a regular basis next season, and Guerin could look to pair him with a veteran in 2024-25, if Gustavsson is moved.

Middleton was acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in 2022 and has turned into a very solid top-four defenseman. The 28-year-old is signed through next season and would command a big return.

The Wild have played catch-up in the playoff race seemingly all season. (MHM Photo / Jonathan Watkins)

Why should Guerin be a seller?
Just take a look at the NHL standings and you will have the answer.

The Wild’s 5-10-4 start under coach Dean Evason put them behind in the playoff race, but an 11-3 rebound under John Hynes provided new life. The Wild then went 1-7-1, had a three-game winning streak and proceeded to blow leads at home against Nashville and Anaheim.

Minnesota won back-to-back games against Chicago and Pittsburgh coming out of the All-Star break to get within three points of a playoff spot. But here’s where even a win streak doesn’t help that much. The Wild was off on Saturday and Sunday and dropped seven points out of the final wild card position while sitting at home.

There are too many points available to too many teams on a nightly basis to have two horrible stretches of hockey. For every step forward the Wild takes, it’s likely they will take two or three steps back.

Faber headed for Calder?
There appeared to be no way Wild defenseman Brock Faber had a chance to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of year before Jan. 5. That was the day that Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick last June in the NHL draft, suffered a fractured jaw against the New Jersey Devils.

Bedard, considered a generational talent, hasn’t played since and continues to wear a non-contact jersey when he skates. Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson told reporters this week that he hopes Bedard will be able to start practicing early next week and could be set for games shortly after that.

Brock Faber is near the top of the scoring leaderboard for NHL rookies, making his case for the Calder Trophy. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Bedard’s 15 goals in 39 games still leads all rookies, but Faber’s pair of assists in a 5-3 Wild victory in Vegas on Monday put him into a tie in points with Bedard, both with 33 points to lead NHL rookies. Faber’s 29 assists also top the rookie charts. Faber’s impact on the Wild has been even bigger than expected with Jared Spurgeon limited to only 16 games before he was shut down for the season.

Hynes trusts Faber in all situations — he didn’t play on the power play with the University of Minnesota, but quarterbacks the Wild’s top power play — and his average ice time of 24 minutes, 59 seconds per game leads the Wild and all rookies and is 10th in the NHL.

It’s worth noting the third-leading scorer among rookies is Wild center Marco Rossi with 29 points. Rossi’s 14 goals are second to Bedard.

There is always a chance Bedard will return and get hot, or that he will be recognized by so many of the writers who vote that he will get the honor. But Faber has deserved serious consideration all season and now he’s getting it.

The post Judd’s Notes appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The Wild’s 5-10-4 start had gotten coach Dean Evason fired and now Minnesota was in a 1-7-1 slide that dropped it from being on the verge of a playoff spot to again looking like a team that could begin booking tee times for April.

Guerin, though, claimed he wasn’t giving up hope.

“If you look at our roster like when we are healthy,” he said, “I think it’s a good team. I want to keep the expectations high. … I expect us to compete for a playoff spot.”

Guerin’s competitive nature certainly played a role in his continued confidence, but you had to wonder if his real motivation was making sure the guys in his locker room wouldn’t feel as if he was punting on the season.

That’s exactly what he should do.

The word associated with this is tanking, but that’s such an ugly term. It insinuates an entire team is giving up and, as we know, most coaches and players are too competitive to do this. A more palatable word would be acceptance.

Accepting that even if you sneak into the playoffs, you aren’t getting out of the first round and accepting that an already bright future could get brighter by adding draft picks before the March 8 trade deadline, while also potentially putting yourself in the NHL draft lottery. (Eleven of the 16 teams that miss the playoffs are eligible for the first pick in the draft.)

The two things that should influence Guerin’s thinking are:

1) The depth this team has built up through the draft in recent years. Jesper Wallstedt, the team’s top goalie prospect, has been up a few times this season but is likely to take over as the Wild’s top goalie in 2024-25. Russian Marat Khusnutdinov, a speedy two-way center and forwards Liam Ohgren (Sweden) and Danila Yurov (Russia) are included in a prospect pool that has been replenished in recent years. That doesn’t include rookies Marco Rossi and Brock Faber, the latter of whom is a candidate for the Calder Trophy.

2) Next season will be the final one in which the Wild will carry a combined $14.7 million in dead salary-cap money because of the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. That figure will drop to $1.7 million in 2025-26, meaning that team will have plenty of space to pursue a free agent as well as offer star winger Kirill Kaprizov a long-term extension.

Marco Rossi is part of the Wild’s bright future, and he’s already left a positive mark on the NHL club. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

This plan might not appeal to owner Craig Leipold, who lives and dies with every game and wants his team to be competitive, in part because of the extra cash generated by even a few home playoff games, but Guerin has an opportunity he should embrace.

Wild has plenty no-move, no-trade protection players
The elephant in the room when it comes to the Wild’s potential trade candidates is the fact that in today’s NHL far too many players are afforded either no-move or no-trade protection that gives them a say in whether they want to uproot themselves and their families and go elsewhere to chase a Stanley Cup.

The Wild’s roster has nine players with some type of no-trade protection: Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Foligno, Frederick Gaudreau, Marcus Johansson, Ryan Hartman, Pat Maroon, Jonas Brodin, Alex Goligoski and Zach Bogosian. Foligno, Johansson, Hartman, Brodin and Goligoski have complete protection.

There are some guys who aren’t going to be shopped, even though they don’t have no-trade clauses, including Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek. Perhaps the most interesting chip on whom Guerin could take bids is goalie Filip Gustavsson.

Gustavsson has had an up-and-down season, but the 25-year-old could be very appealing to a contender. He’s in the first season of a three-year, $11.25 million contract he signed in July, meaning his average annual salary is a very reasonable $3.75 million per. Teams that could be in the market for a goaltender include Carolina, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles and New Jersey.

Guerin’s ability to create a bidding war among those teams could make what seems like a difficult decision (trading Gustavsson) too lucrative not to do. If there’s internal confidence that Wallstedt will be ready to take over as the Wild’s top goalie next season, getting a first-round pick and needing to find another goalie for next season could be the prudent plan. And that’s assuming Marc-Andre Fleury does not return.

It was interesting that before the game against the Islanders — one the Wild won 5-0 en route to going on a 4-1 run — Guerin did not close the door on making moves at the deadline, if things were not on the right track.

The fact the Wild then lost back-to-back home games against Western Conference rivals Nashville and Anaheim, the latter of which is a bottom feeder, should have given Guerin a push in the right direction entering a 10-day break for the bye and the All-Star Game.

“I don’t think I can sit here right now and say, ‘If it goes sideways, we’re going to do X, Y and Z,'” Guerin said in mid-January. “But we could.”

Actually, the word “could” needs to be amended to “should” because while there is hope for the future of the Wild, the present isn’t worth preserving.

The post Time To Punt appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Fleury’s three stops — Vegas, Chicago and Minnesota — since leaving the Penguins are a far smaller part of his story. Still, fans of the Golden Knights, Blackhawks and Wild should count themselves lucky that they have gotten to watch the future Hall of Famer make spectacular diving saves, flash his glove on stops that look straight out of the 1980s and play the game with a joy that make it difficult to believe he turned 39 in November.

In what has been a roller-coaster season for a Wild team that fired coach Dean Evason in late November, got close to a wild card spot by winning 11 of its first 14 games under new coach John Hynes, but then went 1-5 to fall back in the playoff race, there hasn’t been much reason for excitement.

Fleury, though, has been an exception, even if the extremely competitive netminder is unlikely to admit it. The milestones he has reached in recent weeks are a reminder that Fleury’s teammates and Wild fans are witnessing a player who belongs among hockey’s royalty.

Fleury’s workload has been more than anyone expected, or the Wild wanted, in part because a recent lower body injury to No. 1 goalie Filip Gustavsson has forced the veteran into the top role.

Nick Bjugstad’s breakaway goal past a sprawling Marc-Andre Fleury sealed Minnesota’s Game 6 victory over Vegas in 2021. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

A day after Gustavsson had to leave a start at Winnipeg, Fleury played in his 1,000th game in a 3-2 loss to the Jets, joining Martin Brodeur (1,266 games), Roberto Luongo (1,044) and Patrick Roy (1,029) as the only goalies to reach that mark. A week later, the Wild’s 4-3 overtime win at Columbus gave Fleury his 551st career victory, tying Roy for second place on the all-time list behind Brodeur’s 691 victories.

“I don’t know, I’m kind of happy it’s over,” Fleury said after playing in his 1,000th game. “I wish it was a win. … Obviously, very flattered by the reception from the crowd, from my teammates. It means a lot. I feel very fortunate that I’ve played for so long and I’ve got to do what I love for many years. I’m lucky for that.”

Oh, yeah, have we mentioned that there might be no bigger class act in the NHL than Fleury? He is the dream of any public relations department. Fleury answers every question after good games or bad games, the latter is the test of a player’s character, and often does it with a self-deprecating, aw-shucks approach more befitting of a rookie than a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

“We’re so proud to have him here as a teammate and as good of a player as he is on the ice, off ice he’s even better,” Wild winger Marcus Foligno said after Fleury’s 1,000th game. “We’re lucky to have him in our room, and it’s great to be a part of something so special in a player’s career.”

Marc-Andre Fleury makes plenty of eye-popping, acrobatic saves in net. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

He’s still got it
The question is how much longer Fleury will continue to play? His incredible glove save on Columbus’ Yegor Chinakhov in overtime came right before Marco Rossi ended the game and (rightfully) was all anyone was talking about afterward. Even in an ugly 4-0 loss to Dallas on Monday night, Fleury made a spectacular, swiping glove save on the goal line on a shot from a stunned Sam Steel.

It’s those type of saves — not to mention the joy he takes in being a top-level prankster — that make you wonder why Fleury would consider hanging up his goalie pads. But there is the reality of the situation. Fleury and his wife have three children and being a goalie nearing the age of 40 isn’t compatible with stability.

Fleury and his family already have filed more than one change of address notice in recent years.

He was taken by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft and became a fan favorite during his four seasons with the Golden Knights. Fleury started 20 games in the 2018 playoffs as the expansion Knights lost to the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Finals. Vegas moved on from Fleury in July 2021 and he started 45 games with the Chicago Blackhawks that season before being dealt to the Wild at the 2022 trade deadline for a second-round pick.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin, who had been a teammate of Fleury’s for two seasons at the end of his career in Pittsburgh, made the trade hoping the goalie would frustrate opponents like he did the Wild in the first round of the 2021 postseason. Fleury had similar aspirations, waiving his no-trade clause in the process.

Fleury has played in 1,000 career NHL games. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The Wild, however, were bounced in the first round in 2022 by the St. Louis Blues with Fleury as the main goalie, and then last spring by the Stars with Fleury as the backup. Given the Wild’s current status, it’s getting more and more difficult to believe their will be a playoff appearance this spring.

Fleury is in the final season of a two-year, $7 million contract and has no-move protection. You have to believe Guerin will do everything to place him with a contender, if the Wild continue to stumble and Fleury expresses an interest at making one last playoff run.

That will be up to Fleury.

He is more than deserving of calling his own shots at this point. But as his time in Minnesota winds down, Gustavsson and rookie Jesper Wallstedt are likely to be the Wild’s goalie duo next season, we should appreciate the brief opportunity we will have gotten to be in the midst of goaltending greatness.

The post A Joyful Fleury appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.