The Minnesota Wild have an important offseason ahead of them. After winning a playoff series before getting eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild will have to bolster their roster to ensure they have an even better shot at winning the Stanley Cup next year.
These playoffs have shown the Wild have a bit of a goaltending controversy. While it's fine to have two very solid goaltending options, it may be in the team's best interest to move forward with one and trade the other. While Filip Gustavsson played well in the regular season, young netminder Jesper Wallstedt shined in the playoffs. With fans expecting the Wild to trade one of their goalies in the offseason, there was a bit of a roadblock in the form of Gustavsson needing hip surgery, which could affect when he can start the 2026-27 season. Even so, a goalie trade sounds like it's on the horizon.
Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos unveiled his trade board for the offseason, where he included both Gustavsson and Wallstedt. While he expects both to be at Wild training camp, he believes it's a matter of "when," not if, one of them are traded.
Nick Kypreos believes Wild will trade either Filip Gustavsson or Jesper Wallstedt
"At times this season, I had Jesper Wallstedt on my trade board as a piece the Wild could potentially move in their ongoing search for a No. 1 centre. But there is no question that Wallstedt became more of a No. 1 guy in the playoffs," writes Kypreos. "At the same time, Filip Gustavsson will be just starting on a new contract next season making $6.8 million against the cap and he has full no-move protection. There’s also an injury factor. Gustavsson will have off-season hip surgery and Wild GM Bill Guerin said he wouldn’t know if the goalie will be ready for the start of next season until after that procedure is finished. So, I don’t know if teams are in a hurry to trade for him now. The most likely outcome is that both Wallstedt and Gustavsson remain with Minnesota when training camp rolls around, but the team is still trying to find the centre it needs. I believe one of these goalies will eventually be traded, it’s just a matter of when."
While Gustavsson's surgery does hit the pause button on trades for now, Kypreos believes that it will eventually happening. It all depends on how much time Gustavsson will miss.
Wallstedt had an incredible start to the season, putting up incredible numbers while in net for the Wild. His production did take a dip at points this season. Yet, with the trade deadline looming, reports indicated that the Wild would trade Wallstedt, but only if they were to land a top forward. Ultimately, nothing transpired. Then, Wallstedt was given the start in the playoffs, and he played a huge role in the team advancing against the Dallas Stars.
Through the first round, Wallstedt recorded a 2.30 goals allowed average and a .924 save percentage, helping the Wild defeat the Stars in six games.
As for Gustavsson, there is much more difficulty when it comes to a trade than just his surgery. Gustavsson has a full no-movement clause in his five-year, $34 million contract extension, which officially kicks in next season. So, if they were to trade Gustavsson, he'd need to waive his no-movement clause for it to go through.
Wallstedt would be easier to trade considering he doesn't have trade protection, but the Wild better be getting a legitimate player in return. Like what Kypreos said, a potential top line center if that offer does come to fruition. But they'd have to live with the fact that they let a potential long-term goalie solution leave to shine with another team.
Regardless, it does appear that eventually, one of Gustavsson or Wallstedt will be traded. It's just a matter of when the right opportunity presents itself.
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