The Minnesota Wild have a lot of contract situations they need to settle over the next year.
Face of the franchise, Kirill Kaprizov, is of the utmost importance, while his veteran linemate, Mats Zuccarello, will also need a new deal at season’s end.
While everything that goes on in Minnesota will revolve around Kaprizov, another key piece of the puzzle that enters 2025-26 as a pending UFA comes in net.
Starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson is heading into the final season of the three-year, $11.25 million extension he signed with the Wild in 2023. Contract talks have yet to commence with general manager Bill Guerin, though Gustavsson expressed his desire to stay in Minnesota when recently speaking to Michael Russo of The Athletic.
“I’ve had the conversations with my agent and all that stuff, and what we’re looking into and what we would like to do or stuff like that. They haven’t started actively talking to Billy or anything. When they want to talk, then we talk, and otherwise I have this year left, and I’m just gonna play and win,” Gustavsson said.
“For the past three years, I’ve enjoyed playing there. My family loves living there, and it’s been great to me,” Gustavsson added.
The 27-year-old had a very strong 2024-25 campaign, posting a 31-19-6 record with a 2.56 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage, and five shutouts along the way.
Gustavsson could be in for a heavy workload in 2025-26
Filip Gustavsson is the unquestioned number one goalie for the Minnesota Wild, and now that veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has retired, he will be relied upon just as much, if not more, without him.
Gustavsson started a career-high 58 games last season, well surpassing his previous high of 43 from the prior campaign, and he should be expected to handle a similar workload next season.
First-round draft pick (20th overall) from 2021, Jesper Wallstedt, should get plenty of opportunity to earn the role behind Gustavsson, but with just five NHL starts under his belt, it’s unfair to put too much on the 22-year-old’s plate right away.
It shapes up to be an extremely important season for Filip Gustavsson, who could earn himself a very nice payday with another strong year holding down the fort in Minnesota.
