The starting goalie for the Minnesota Wild last year, Filip Gustavsson, will not be ready for training camp. This will be the case as the 2026-27 season gets going.
Wild General Manager Bill Guerin was making his rounds at the Minnesota State Fair on Monday. He talked about it on News Talk 830 WCCO.
“No, he won’t be ready. It’s gonna be a little while after that. Doing well on the path to recovery,” Guerin said.
The GM said “he could be” when asked in a follow-up if he thought Gustavsson would be ready one month into the new season.
Minnesota’s netminder underwent surgery on his hip this summer to repair the wear and tear that he’s gone through in his career.
This season will be the first of Gustavsson’s new 5-year, $34 million contract that was signed last October. Meanwhile, he’s seemingly on the right pathway to be 100% for his seventh season in the NHL.
In the meantime, the Wild have two respectable goalies who can get the job done, with Gustavsson recovering from his hip procedure.
Wallstedt is finding a groove in Minnesota
After jumping in for Gustavsson during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Jesper Wallstedt has time to make his case to be the full-time starter.
The 23-year-old is also in the final year of a 2-year contract. Additionally, he’s a restricted free agent who will want to make the best impression possible. This is especially important in the first month of the 26-27 season.
In the 23 games Minnesota played before the postseason, Wallstedt went 4-3-2 across 10 appearances, ultimately putting up a save percentage of .930 and a goals-against average of 1.98.
Over the same stretch of games, Gustavsson went 7-6 with a .884 SV% and 2.96 GAA. Wallstedt clearly had the better ending of the regular season.
Furthermore, head coach John Hynes turned to Wallstedt as the starter for the playoffs, and the young Swedish goalie did not disappoint.
In the opening round against the Dallas Stars, Wallstedt went 4-2 with a .924 SV% and 2.05 GAA. That performance, in tandem with the rest of his teammates, led to Minnesota’s first series win in the postseason since 2015.
The final five games did not go in Minnesota’s favor as the Colorado Avalanche won the second-round series in 5 games.
Game 1 did not go particularly well for Wallstedt as the Avalanche won 9-6 in an offensive parade.
Hynes gave Gustavsson the start in Game 2, but the Avalanche pulled ahead 3-1 in the second period. Minnesota just couldn’t catch up.
Splitting starts for the Wild
As Gustavsson gets his feet back under him this fall, he’ll get weaned back into starting in big games.
Wallstedt can seize more of the starts and showcase to Minnesota’s staff he’s the long-term answer in net. On the other hand, Gustavsson can take his time to settle back in.
Barring any bad performances in between, the Wild also have veteran goalie Calvin Pickard, who has 191 games of NHL experience under his belt.
Last season, Pickard went 5-6-2 for the Edmonton Oilers. He put up a 3.68 GAA and a .871 SV%, which did not warrant a contract to remain in Edmonton.
Guerin has his plan in motion in net. Now he’ll need to rely on Wallstedt and Pickard to hold it down in the crease while Gustavsson is still on the mend.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Wild dealt early blow as starting goalie set to miss first month