{"id":91198,"date":"2025-08-24T00:48:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T00:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/91198\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T00:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T00:48:07","slug":"filip-gustavsson-open-to-extension-with-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/91198\/","title":{"rendered":"Filip Gustavsson Open To Extension With Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Wild can finally turn their attention towards the 2026 summer after locking up top restricted-free agent Marco Rossi<\/a> to a three-year deal<\/a>. One of their top tasks will be making a decision on the future of their crease. Veteran goaltender Filip Gustavsson<\/a> will play through the final year of his three-year, $11.25MM contract next season and be due for a much richer salary next summer. Ahead of returning to Minnesota for training camp, Gustavsson told Michael Russo of The Athletic<\/a> that he is open to inking a new deal. The netminder said:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the conversations with my agent and all that stuff, and what we\u2019re looking into and what we would like to do\u2026 {We} haven\u2019t started actively talking to {Bill Guerin<\/a>} or anything. When they want to talk, then we talk, and otherwise I have this year left and I\u2019m just gonna play and win.<\/p>\n

Early interest in an extension could benefit Gustavsson. He\u2019s set to be backed up by top Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt<\/a> for the first time next season, after hockey legend Marc-Andre Fleury<\/a> announced his retirement last season. Wallstedt was a first-round pick \u2013 20th overall \u2013 in the 2021 NHL Draft. He moved to the AHL\u2019s Iowa Wild two seasons later, and has served as the team\u2019s de facto starter in the three years since. That tenure started positive \u2013 with a .908 save percentage in 38 games of his AHL rookie season. He followed it with a .910 Sv% in 45 games of the 2023-24 season, but soured this year with a bleak .879 Sv% in 27 games, low enough to cede the starter\u2019s chair to Samuel Hlavaj<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite the dip, Wallstedt still stands as one of the best goalie prospects in the world, and will finally get a chance to show his might at the NHL level next season. He won\u2019t stand much of a chance to overcome Gustavsson, who spent the last three seasons firmly planting his feet in Minnesota\u2019s starter\u2019s crease. After years of fluctuating between NHL and AHL lineups, Gustavsson flourished with a move to Minnesota in 2022. He had a career-year in his debut season with the Wild, recording a .931 Sv% and lofty 22-9-7 record in 39 games.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With a path to the starting role carved out, Gustavsson quickly established himself as Minnesota\u2019s surest bet to win games. He was a composed, big-moment goaltender, who stood as one of the squad\u2019s bright spots in a slumping 2023-24 season. Gustavsson recorded a team-best .899 Sv% and 20-17-5 record in 45 games that year. It was a slight dip, on a Wild roster that was outscored by 12 goals on the full year, and Gustavsson continued to surge as Fleury entered his final season this year. The 27-year-old Swede managed a bright 31-19-6 record and .914 Sv% in 58 games. That performance not only marked the most Gustavsson played in a single season, but also gave Gustavsson the fourth-highest save percentage of any starter in the NHL.<\/p>\n

It is on the heels of that performance that tremendous Gustavsson will now beginning entertaining a new contract. Even with the pressure of Wallstedt, there\u2019s no question over who Minnesota\u2019s top goaltender is. Gustavsson has shined as a consistent performer, through both extended runs in the regular season and spot performances in the playoffs. He\u2019s also square in the middle of his prime years, and could stand up to a starter\u2019s year through the next four, five, or six seasons.<\/p>\n

Gustavsson\u2019s rise to the starter role, and standout performance last year, are both very comparable to 28-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood<\/a>. Blackwood was dealt around the NHL over the last two seasons, but planted his feet with the Colorado Avalanche last season, stamped by a five-year, $26.25MM contract extension. That price tag \u2013 a yearly cap-hit of $5.25MM \u2013 could be the mark that Gustavsson shoots for on a new deal. He could even ease his way closer to $6MM, with the benefit of a career-long .913 Sv% sitting higher than Blackwood\u2019s .906.<\/p>\n

The Wild could prefer waiting to see how Wallstedt performs in his first full NHL season before they commit to Gustavsson long-term. But with a lofty 73-46-17 record and .914 Sv% in 142 total games with the Wild, it will take a monumental performance to bump Gustavsson out of his seat. Should he stick in it through the full season, a rich payday seems all but certain next summer.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Minnesota Wild can finally turn their attention towards the 2026 summer after locking up top restricted-free agent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91199,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,67687,7524,575,85],"class_list":["post-91198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-filip-gustavsson","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}