The Minneosta Wild are well represented in these Winter Olympics. Team USA features the likes of Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy, and Brock Faber. Germany had Nico Sturm. Not to mention Sweden had four players of their own, including Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, and goalies Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. One player who is part of the Wild organization but flew under the radar was Slovakia goalie Samuel Hlavaj, who plays for their AHL affiliate in Iowa.
On Wednesday, Slovakia picked up a dominant 6-2 victory over Germany to clinch their spot in the semifinals. Hlavaj stopped 25-of-27 shots faced. This was Hlavaj's third start for Slovakia in this tournament, and now owns a save percentage of .932. Simply an incredible run for one of Minnesota's minor league goaltenders.
With Hlavaj's stellar play from Milan, it has to at least increase the Wild's chances of trading away Wallstedt by the trade deadline to help improve their roster for a deep playoff run.
Samuel Hlavaj's stellar play in Olympics increases odds of Jesper Wallstedt trade for Wild
Earlier in the year, the idea of trading Wallstedt seemed ridiculous. After all, the rookie was putting up absurd numbers earlier in the year. In November, Wallstedt won Rookie of the Month after going 6-0-0 with three shutouts and a .967 save percentage. His numbers in December were great too, posting a 4-2-1 record, a 2.58 goals allowed average, and a .916 save percentage.
But in January, Wallstedt's production fell off the proverbial cliff, putting up a .883 save percentage, a 3.95 goals allowed average, and a 3-3-1 record. It was a true far cry from his play in the previous two months.
Things got a bit interesting after The Athletic's Michael Russo and Joe Smith floated the idea that the Wild could consider trading away Wallstedt in exchange for a No. 1 center or winger. The reasoning behind it is that Wallstedt is Minnesota's "A-plus prospect," especially after the Hughes trade with the Vancouver Canucks, where they sent young players in Liam Ohgren and Zeev Buium.
For the "why not trade Gustavsson" crowd, the veteran is under contract until 2031, and he carries a no-movement clause until 2028, where it then turns into a 15-team no trade clause. So, Wallstedt is essentially a luxury player for the Wild, and his upside could entice teams to trade away their top players, especially a top six scoring forward.
One of the big dominoes was taken off the board in Artemi Panarin, who was traded to the Los Angeles Kings. But there are other forward options that could fit the bill for the Wild, such as New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck, St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas, and Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri. Wild general manager Bill Guerin has shown he's aggressive in building a Stanley Cup contender after the Hughes trade and signing Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $136 million contract extension. It's up to him to decide if there is a forward he can go all-out to acquire and potentially offer Wallstedt to get a deal done.
Trading away Wallstedt would be a tough pill to swallow for Wild fans, but they can take solace in knowing that Hlavaj is shining against some of the top talent in the world in the Olympics.