Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours, and we check in on the Minnesota Wild. The Wild have shown that they are a team that is willing to play ball this year. They started the season by signing superstar Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history. The other major move was that they were able to land one of the top defencemen in the entire NHL Quinn Hughes via trade with the Vancouver Canucks. Also, and that is relevant to the discussion here, back in the fall, they signed goaltender Filip Gustavsson to a contract extension. So, let’s figure out what one insider is suggesting that could be next.
NHL Rumours One Trade Could Lead to Another Signing in Net
Rumour: Frank Seravalli stopped in with the team at the Fan Pregame podcast. He suggested that the Wild could use outstanding, young goaltender Jesper Wallstedt as trade bait. However, what would make it work, would include signing, the currently retired, Marc-Andre Fleury.
Analysis: The reason this would make sense is that Wallstedt would be a top bargaining chip, if the Wild are looking for (another) home run deal. Then, they could sign Fleury to back-up their more than competent starter Filip Gustavsson.
This whole idea kind of started like a pipe dream. However, as Seravalli was responding to it as a possibility, he said, matter of factly, “It could be a real thing.”
One of the main aspects fueling this rumour, is Fleury himself. On Monday’s podcast, Seravalli went on to say that Fleury has been practicing with the Wild. “Marc-Andre Fleury was out there again today as an extra in practice and he looks really good.”
If the Wild want to make another big move this year, they need a bargaining chip. That chip could very well be young goalie Jesper Wallstedt.
The idea is that Filip Gustavsson is currently signed with the Wild until 2031. He is a more than capable number-one goalie in the NHL. If the team could convince Fleury to come out of retirement, they would have a suitable back-up goalie. Therefore, this would make Wallstedt, as good as he is, expendable.
There is some precedence to a similar type of deal. You have to look no further than the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers from last season. Florida is known to do whatever it takes to get their guy. That guy? It was (then) Blackhawk defenceman Seth Jones. You may recall the price they had to pay was a big one. In order to acquire Jones, they gave up Spencer Knight. Knight is showing this year in Chicago that he is a number-one netminder, in his own right.
The timing makes some sense, too. If Fleury was interesting in coming back, he could use this downtime during the Olympic break to really dial it in. As of now, he is yet to sign. But if he intends to sign, he still has this current time to prepare mentally.
If the Wild can make this work, they would be seeking a star player to add. With Wallstedt’s potential career trajectory, they could look a big name player. Teams like the St. Louis Blues, the Nashville Predators, and the Calgary Flames, come to mind as sellers, and would have some big name forwards that could potentially sway Wild general manager Bill Guerin to a trade. Jordan Kyrou, Steven Stamkos, and Nazem Kadri would all come to mind. Those would be guys perfect to add some skill, to an already strong Wild roster.
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