The Minnesota Wild have had some fantastic goaltenders in the history of their organization. From the likes of Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez in the early beginnings of the franchise, to the undrafted wonder that was Nicklas Backstrom and his extended streak of excellence, an unexpected season saviour like Devan Dubynk, and a traveled veteran in Cam Talbot. While there have been some good goalies and some great tandems, there has never been a time when the Wild’s goaltending was in as good of a position as it is right now.
Not only are the Wild currently in possession of a pair of NHL goaltenders that together create a tandem that can compete with basically any other duo in the league, but they also have one of the most highly-regarded prospects outside of the NHL. No matter which goalie is in the net, the Wild have a great chance at getting an above-average performance, and it all came from just three simple trades that required major courage to pull off.
Trade 1: 2021 20th Overall for 2021 22nd Overall & 2021 90th Overall
The start of the Wild’s goaltender revamps started back on July 23, 2021, after a COVID-delayed season saw them fall out of the playoffs in familiar first-round fashion. Their tandem at the time consisted of Talbot and Kappo Kahkonen, who were both showing flashes of strong play, although plagued with inconsistency. Talbot had a strong performance in the playoffs but was out-dueled by none other than current Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He stood on his head for the Vegas Golden Knights and sent the Wild packing.
With their sights on the future, the Wild were focused on the 2021 Entry Draft that had been pushed back an entire month. They possessed two first-round picks, their own as well as one from the trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins that sent out Jason Zucker. Originally slated to select 22nd overall, Wild fans watched with absolute extreme exhilaration as the trade was announced that allowed them to move up to 20th and select the highly rated Jesper Wallstedt.
The Edmonton Oilers, who originally had the pick, must have felt the player they wanted would still be there as they ended up taking Xavier Bourgault, a solid right-winger who could see some NHL action this season. They also added an extra third-rounder which helped a team in win-now mode gain some more draft capital, but it is safe to say up to this point in time the Wild are looking pretty good to win this trade as Wallstedt has only furthered his reputation as a potential franchise-altering goaltender.
Trade 2: Marc-Andre Fleury for 2022 2nd, Kaapo Kahkonen & 2022 5th for Jacob Middleton
The 2021-22 season brought a decent start for both goaltenders, but by the trade deadline, both Talbot and Kahkonen had fallen off hard, carrying sub-.900 save percentages (SV%) since February and putting the Wild in a dangerous position as they fought for a position in the playoffs. The Wild’s general manager Bill Guerin took it upon himself to address the problem, and did he ever. A pair of trades were made at the deadline that sent Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks with a fifth-round pick in exchange for Jake Middleton and brought the future Hall-of-Famer Fleury in from the Chicago Blackhawks for just a second-rounder.
With Fleury playing in tandem with Talbot, the pair’s competitive attitudes bred success as both finished the season extremely strong. Spending a second-round pick to invigorate their goaltending, as well as getting an elite goaltender such as Fleury to sign an extension for two more years was a huge win for the Wild, although the rebuilding Blackhawks got exactly what they needed in another draft pick to collect young talent.
Related: 10 Minnesota Wild Prospects You Need to Watch in 2023-24
The real win here was that with Wallstedt now waiting in the wings, the Wild were comfortable in moving their young goaltender in Kahkonen knowing that he would become superfluous eventually anyway. Only adding a fifth-rounder to get the return of Middleton, who has become a critical piece on the Wild’s top pair with Jared Spurgeon at a low cap hit, is a steal. Kahkonen struggled on a bad Sharks team in 2022-23 and would need a rebound of epic proportions for the Sharks to not be considered the losers in this deal.
Trade 3: Filip Gustavsson for Cam Talbot
The crown jewel in this trio of trades is the one that took a ridiculous amount of nerve on Geurin’s part to make. With Fleury and Talbot ending the regular season on a high, the first-round exit to the St. Louis Blues, and the way the starting goalies were handled during the series put a rift in place that ended up being too big of an obstacle to overcome. With Fleury locked in for another two seasons and Wallstedt working his way to stardom, Geurin sent Talbot and his complaints packing to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a young, unproven Filip Gustavsson.
Gustavsson was 24 years old at the time, and not a sure thing by any means, as he had struggled the previous season to gain any type of momentum, posting a sub-.900 SV% and over 3.50 goals-against average in 18 NHL games. Not many general managers would be willing to offer a veteran starter in a one-for-one deal when the returning player has numbers like those, but here we are a year later and Gustavsson looks primed to take the starting goaltender job away from Fleury and even put up a fight for Wallstedt when he arrives next season.
Wild Set in Net for Foreseeable Future
A series of three trades in just over a year changed the Wild’s goaltending outlook from bleak and empty, to a three-headed monster that can top just about any other team. Of course, goalies are notoriously difficult to project and not even Geurin himself could’ve predicted the level at which his trades would pay off, but all signs are pointing towards the Wild having a strong goaltending duo this season and for many seasons to come.
Gustavsson has excelled in his new role with Fleury as his mentor and even a slight step back from last season’s pace leaves him as a strong starting goalie while Wallstedt has the time he needs to develop into the elite player he has the potential to be. Together, the pair has what it takes to give the Wild the best tandem in the NHL for many years, a key component to a team becoming a perennial contender.
