The Minnesota Wild have big expectations entering next season and barring a last-minute trade, they’ll roll into it with their two-goalie solution. Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt were a successful tandem that helped the Wild battle in a brutal Central Division and win their first playoff series since 2015, but even if they keep them going into next year, the duo may have an expiration date depending on if the NHL holds an expansion draft.
The NHL is currently exploring plans to expand to 33 teams and such a move would virtually guarantee they’ll add a 34th team down the line. While that team won’t hit the ice for a few years, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman and Dom Luszczyszyn ran an expansion mock draft that pegged Gustavsson as an obvious choice to start in net.
“Looking through every team available, Filip Gustavsson immediately stood out as this team’s likely starter,” Goldman and Luszczyszyn wrote. “He’s the best goalie available and can start games at volume. That’s a huge plus here.”
A potential expansion draft could expidite the Wild's goaltending situation
It’s important to note that the mock draft lives in a fantasy world where offseason content is hard to come by. Gustavsson’s path to Austin, Houston or wherever the NHL decides to expand would also be complicated by his no-movement clause which would need to be waived in order for him to be selected during an expansion draft.
But it’s also a reminder that the clock is ticking as the Wild decide on their goaltender of the future.
At the beginning of last year, it appeared that it was going to be Gustavsson as he signed a five-year, $34 million contract extension. The contract kicks in this season with an average annual value of $6.8 million and has a full no-movement clause for each of the next two seasons before dropping to a modified 15-team clause for the final three years beginning with the 2028-29 season per Puckpedia.
The Wild had good reason to do this at the time. Gustavsson was entering the final year of his contract and letting him play it out would have allowed him to cash in big during free agency this summer. Minnesota also didn’t know what it had in Wallstedt, as he struggled mightily with the AHL’s Iowa Wild the season before.
Gustavsson had a solid season, going 28-15-6 with a .903 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average in 50 games. But he struggled down the stretch due to a hip injury, allowing Wallstedt to step in and lead the Wild into the playoffs.
Since then, Gustavsson has undergone surgery for his injury, perhaps halting any plans the Wild had to trade Wallstedt. While that sets up nicely for a schedule that primarily begins on the road, it’s also the final year before Wallstedt becomes a restricted free agent.
Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers shows that teams are more willing to get crazy with restricted free agents than they have in the past and signing Wallstedt may become a priority if he gets off to a hot start. But Gustavsson’s long-term contract complicates things, meaning one goaltender will have to go at some point.
If things are dragged out to a potential expansion draft before the 2028-29 season, the Wild could risk losing one of their prized goalies for nothing as only one can be protected. It’s also possible that the Wild could work out a trade before the draft, but that would minimize their leverage as teams know someone has to become available..
It may be a few years down the road and something that won’t impact the upcoming season. But the Wild’s two-goalie solution could be looking for a solution of its own and it could lead to one of them leaving town.
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