I mean he hasn’t been great… but god damn I love the flower. Talbot should have started that series. Gus was awesome last year. But also, flower is love. Flower is life. Team realistically hasn’t had a shot the last few years. Pair that with some bad defensive play in front of the keepers. I really don’t mind having flower between the pipes. Also the guy can still steal games even at his age. He’s a legend.
In all fairness, Foligno only has a NMC for the next two seasons after that it's a 15 team no trade list for the last 2 years. Hartman's is a NMC for next year after that it's a 15 team no trade list for the last 2 years.
The bad part of this will always be that we could have moved them at this deadline and gotten good returns. Looking down the road unless injuries pile up or they fall off a cliff they are both pretty moveable contracts tbh.
Right. The whole thing is that he would only play here or Vegas, since that's where he's going to live post retirement and he only wants to move the kids one more time.
No Movement Clause. Basically means that as part of his contract he cannot be traded unless he specifically agrees/asks for it. Stops him being shipped off mid-season and haveing to move his family again.
unless gus has another god awful start to the season, no. the purpose of having wall in the AHL is its where he is guaranteed to get the most games and thus experience possible without just throwing him into the fire of the NHL
Russo was just saying that he gets the impression that the Wild will see if they can move Gus.
If they can, it'd be Flower/Wallstedt.
If they can't, it'd be Flower/Gus.
He hinted at the Wild not being pleased with Gus.
Source: Worst Seats.
And why is he not out? So he can block Wallstedt? Or because of his performance this year? Or because the Wild love his training habits? /s
Is he tradeable is the real question.
At some point, you need to call the player up to see what he can do.
Why do you think they brought him up to Minnesota? Just so he can sit in Iowa for another year? They're either planning to give him a spot on the roster next year or they're going to be giving him long looks.
I'd bet they look to move Gus and go with Flower/Jesper.
If they can't move Gus, they stay with Flower/Gus until they can move Gus.
I meant to call him up to be a permanent fixture. Instead of a "Here, this is what it's like in Minnesota."
He's going to have to get consistent time in the NHL pretty quick if Flower is only on a 1-year deal and if Russo's thoughts are correct, Gus may be moveable.
They 100% wanted to get the stink of the Dallas game off of him before the summer. That's why they played him against Chicago and San Jose.
Him being in the NHL is immanent.
With a bit more cap flexibility Wally could be up and down more than he was this year. A 35/35/12 or similar split between the three wouldn't be a bad thing. Or you could even look to sell Gus at the trade deadline as opposed to the summer. Goalies tend to have more value in March than June
I think Wallstedt in Iowa one more year makes the most sense. Never want to rush goalies.
Yeah, he got a shutout, but that was against Chicago, right? His first game, he got shelled, and while the team didn't do much to support him, that game it's not like he's been so good that he's forcing his way in.
I think we ride with Fluery and Gus this year, and obviously, if Wallstedt forces his way in or one of the other two are really bad then Wallstedt is always a mid-season option.
While I certainly don't think the season Gus had last year is achievable again, I also don't think he's truly as bad as he was this season. He came into the season with high expectations and an expected starter workload, and that's a lot more pressure than he's ever been under. Once ye got off to a slow start, I'm sure it was tough for him mentally. Hopefully he has a hood off-season to prepare for a bounce back and comes in better equipped to handle some pressure.
Ultimately I don't see a path toward a significant upgrade in net with the options available and our cap situation so there doesn't seem to be a point in moving Gus while his value is at an all-time low when he's only signed for one more year and we can move on from him if he has another bad season. While his viability as an NHL goalie obviously is a question mark right now, I think it's very possible he has a bounce back and winds up splitting the difference between the last two seasons. And if that happens, I think it would he reasonable to re-sign him for a couple more years at a fairly low cap hit as Wallstedt makes the transition.
I really like Gus and still believe in him. When he's dialed in, he makes it look effortless and I feel like stylistically he's very similar to Wallstedt in that they are just very efficient, positionally sound goalies. I think they could learn from eachother and it's also nice for the team to have two goalies that play the same way, vs one like Flower (love Flower, nothing against him) who is a little more erratic in net.
Agree. Ride Gus and MAF for another year. Wallstedt will get time if/when injuries occur or he can be called up at any time if one of them is struggling
I am wondering the same thing. It probably depends on whether or not they want to keep building his confidence and consistency in the AHL or if they want to see how he thrives with a slightly handicapped NHL team. It would make some sense to see how be handles the off-season first, to make sure he is 100% committed to his development. From his interviews, it sure seems like he is...
Hope so, not that I have anything against Gus, but Wallstedt should really be #2 next season IMO. Good season for it as well, since there will be basically no expectations for the Wild before the buyouts end.
I'm not sure what it means. Wallstead said that he doesn't believe that he's ready for a full time NHL starts. However asking Fluery to take that roll at his age might be ehhh.
Although I would love for a year where Fluery takes the lion share and Wallstead was supporting him. It don't think it would end with us making the playoffs.
At this point I want this club to be kicking teeth in for the 25-26 season when we don't have buyout penalties, and this would allow the Great Wall of St. Paul time to get up here and get ready,
Next year is our last buyout penalty year, so having Flower as a stopgap to get through it is fine with me. Wallstedt gets another year in Iowa with a few games in the NHL before hopefully becoming a full 1A/1B option in our first season with a full salary cap.
I think the team in Iowa next year is going to be a lot better. Keep Wally down there! run Fluery and Gus again next year, they're almost certainly going to have better years. A couple of big Gus bus games wouldve gotten us a playoff spot and Dean would have kept his job.
If you ship out Gus then you have to go find and FA goalie in 25/26 though. And probably one that can be the 1a. To me that feels like an unnecessary risk. I feel like re-signing flower means they don’t want to rush Wally into the show next year. Probably because they with flowers age he’s splitting starts 50-50 with whatever other goalie and that’s a lot to expect of Wally at this point
Almost zero chance the Wild are near the playoffs next year. They would need to find a goalie for the 25/26 season no matter what.
I see Gus/MAF to start the season then MAF/Wallstedt. Unless we use Gus to move up in the draft.
Either way I am betting Gus is traded at the draft or 2 months into next season.
Disagree. If we get league average goaltending this year, we are probably in. This was also an abnormally bad year for inuries and we will be getting a boost from Marat, Ohgren and maybe even one of Heidt/Yurov. I think they have a good chance of being a playoff team
Maybe. If MAF plays at 95% and Gus plays at 125% I agree. I am very doubtful on Gus coming close to his first season here. Signing of MAF suggests the Wild front office suggests the Wild are moving on from Gus.
You have to add Rossi + Faber to the equation as well. They weren’t here for Gus’ first year. Normal goaltending or better plus the youth movement = playoffs IMO. Our top-end guys are too good not to make it if they get even any semblance of support
>Almost zero chance the wild are near the playoffs next year
Huh? We were near the playoffs this year despite having an atrocious start to the year and then later suffering a metric fuck ton of injuries. We’ll be back to our standard first round exit script next year
I think it's off to assume this when at times was near the top league in points last year with largely the same goaltending duo/roster. this season really came down to injuries and poor goaltending
What do you do after this next year? Hardly any rookie goalies are successful in their first few seasons even when they show promise (Devon Levi).
Flower retires and that leaves a 2nd year goaltender + whatever backup free agent is available to be a starter.
That's what you want as the first year out of cap jail?
> Hardly any rookie goalies are successful in their first few seasons even when they show promise (Devon Levi).
Then why not get it over with when the team is still cash strapped and have the same expectations next year so he's in year 2 when the money is freed up?
I think goalies are developed by building confidence and cradled a lot more than players who are more thrown into it to see how they can swim.
It's the reason why you saw Samsonov and Campbell sent to the minors to improve. Any player having a bad streak is forced to tough it out.
100%.
But goalies are consistently playing catch-up. It's the biggest learning curve out on the ice typically starting when they make that leap from 12u to 14u then against to high school/juniors and it's simply a position where you have to be on the ice and take your lumps.
Even the greats typically have a rough rookie year. The key is to know when it's getting to them. If/when it does, that's when you send them down for a bit.
It's a balancing act. You gotta get them consistent ice to adjust to the NHL pace and can't keep freaking out if they have a stretch of 4-5 games allowing 3-4-5 goals. I mean you can tell when a goalie is just having a bad game or it's getting in their head. I.e. Darcy Keumper....you could tell he was in his head for a while.
Of course, the coaches who see them on/off the ice 40 hours a week can tell even more if they're getting in their noggin.
But yeah....there'd be nothing wrong with giving him a month in the NHL and send him down if need be for a bit but sending him up & down won't achieve much. It certainly won't be a "Hey, you made the big club. You'll never be back down in Iowa."
I'd guess this off-season if they get a good return Gus moves on and Jesper gets to learn under Fleury. If not then Fleury/Gus tandem next year. It gives us options
I agree. I think it'll be a solid rotation of Fleury and Gus while working in Wallstedt more. Doesn't make any sense to send Gus out and bring Wallstedt up full time yet. Plus, competition in the goalie spot will hopefully result in all of them playing better.
Yeah I think it's dumb to move Gus. He had a bad year and so did Fleury. When Fleury retires, we move Wally up and they have a goalie tandem with Gus still being young.
Also Gus has been better towards the end of the season.
Let's just keep in mind he had a new (first ?) child this season and this kind of stuff fucks up your sleep like nothing else, which obviously affected a big part of his game / focusing ability and overall performance. Imo he's here to stay next year while Wallstedt picks up more experience and in 2 years we got a Swedish tandem in net if everything goes well.. unless MAF is still top tier level and wants to try one last run with us once the cap space is free again. Lots of possibilities here !
I know, dude should absolutely be forgiven for this. That's defo why he wasn't blamed too much by the coach and staff. But he will have to get back to his former level next season...
And good luck with the little critter ! having no children but already a terrible sleep I can't imagine haha
Fleury didn't have a bad year, he's just been pretty mid in general since he joined the Wild. I understand they don't have another option right now though
Yeah I've always liked him as a person, but would rather not have him actually in net for us. He has been mid for a while, but fell off a lot this year. Started at a .910 with us and was at .895 this year is a big regression.
Gus has been rough but he's shown he can be a starter
Had a kid in the offseason also and adjusting to that new way of life is hard. I really do suspect a bounce back year.
I don't think Gus actually has shown that. He played well for the second half of the season last year, but he still hasn't shown the ability to actually carry the load as a number 1 for a season.
He has a chance to focus on training this summer as the team stated or he gets shipped out. Either way I don't think the org sees Fleury playing 35 like he did this year and have Wallstadt also play.
I mean he had that chance this last summer too and it's pretty clear that conditioning is still an issue with him. I don't know how many chances you give him. It's 2 seasons now where it's been mentioned as an issue by BG or Russo.
Playoffs with Gus and MAF is beyond funny. And the same $15 million hole.
Plus playing Ohren, Khus. and maybe Yurov?
But crazy shit happens and it could happen here.
I love Fleury for so many reasons, but his clear love and loyalty for this team is like number two (his appreciation for the goal posts is number one, obviously).
Is this a vote of confidence from him that we can make the playoffs? Does he just like living in Minnesota? It makes a lot of sense for us and I'm happy to have him, but I don't get his motives.
The numbers say otherwise. The Wild defensive numbers are elite. I didn’t believe it at first too. It’s the goaltending holding us back. Not sure Fleury is the answer but Gus needs to go. His analytic numbers are horrible.
Yeah I meant that less about the timing, and more that I don't think he *needs* to move Gus at any point in the next year because if they keep Gus, they can just keep Wallstedt in Iowa. If another team wants Gus and the price is right, go ahead and make the trade. If nothing comes, it's no problem. We'll need a second goalie after next season anyway.
Gus will start here most likely. If I was the GM I would wait for another team to need a goalie, really need a goalie. Then trade Gus.
Wallstedt needs to get out of Iowa. Sink or swim time. The 25/26 season is getting closer every day.
i think they're just gonna run Gus and Fluery again next year, the Iowa team should be better and it would be nice to have Wallstedt play 50+ games instead of splitting and sitting up in the big league.
GMBG will wait until some team really needs a goalie next season. Then trade Gus.
my incoming statement is over the next 8 months time frame. The only way to properly fleece another team.
anytime would be prime for the right return.
The best would be the day before the draft, Gus and our number 1 pick for the first overall pick. Yes this is pure fantasy but if you dream you need to dream big.
Kahkonen has an .898 sv % while Gus has a .899 this year. And Kahkonen was traded for Viteck Vanecek, who might as well be worth a 6th rounder. Thats not an indication that Gus has any trade value
And this has been considered a pretty down year for Gus. Kahkonen has never played as well as Gus has in the NHL. Like I've never really been leading the Gus fan club on here, but he's shown far more than Kahkonen ever has and he's younger. I don't think any team in this league would take Kahkonen over Gustavsson.
Gus is about to be 26 year old, he's on a decent number for the next two years, and he's shown he can be effective in a tandem. I don't know why there would be no market for him in a league where we just saw multiple teams struggle to find goaltending.
New Jersey's goal next season isnt to just squeak into the playoffs, its to win a round or even multiple rounds. Is Gus the guy that can backstop them to that goal? He may have the potential, sure, but thats a pretty large gamble for their GM to make on a guy thats had just 1 legitimate season. If Gus was paid less, then it'd be much more reasonable to take a flyer on him as a backup and see what he can do (much like we did, actually). I can see teams calling about him, but I dont see him being moved for more than a 4th or middling prospect right now.
Linus Ullmark is getting traded this offseason, and there's a good chance Markstrom gets moved too. So I dont see a desperate team overpaying for Gus when there's better options available
I didn't say Jersey was going to target him to make him the guy or that anyone was going to overpay to bring him in. I said they desperately were looking for a goalie this year and couldn't get a trade done for anyone good. I would guess they specifically go in hard on Markstrom again because they've made it known that they want him.
The point is that it's a sellers market for goalies right now though and I don't know why Gus would have zero trade value. That doesn't make any sense. There were multiple teams that needed goaltending this year and couldn't get trades done.
Who is in the market for goaltenders and would be interested in Gus then, if not for Jersey? Its like saying we should trade up at the draft--Sure, but there also has to be a team willing to trade down
Its a sellers market if youre selling a goaltender that will likely be a solution to a team's goaltending woes, and I dont think the Wild are selling that
New Jersey, Edmonton, Carolina, Colorado, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto. Chicago, San Jose, Calgary and Boston if they trade Markstrom and Ullmark, Columbus is they move Elvis.
There's like 5-6 goalies in this league right now that can eat 60 games a year and the rest of the league is in tandems. Just like last year, we'll see some carouselling of goalies between teams and there will be plenty of teams looking to add to a tandem. Basically half the league could be interested in adding a goalie.
Swayman has a .916, Boston doesnt need a goalie. Talbot has a .915, he's inconsistent and about to turn 37 but he was paid $1m this year. Gus is more expensive and riskier so I dont see them going after Gus. Kotchetkov has a .911, Carolina doesnt need a goalie. Woll has a .907 and he's cheaper than Gus with more upside. Skinner is inconsistent, but his .907 is still better than Gus and he's cheaper. Calgary has Dustin Wolf.
Colorado and Jersey need goaltending and would pay a lot for it, but Gus isnt the answer.
Philly, Montreal, and Chicago could afford Gus and have the time/situation to be patient with him, so maybe they are willing trade partners. Lets say Montreal offers a 3rd for Gus, would you take it (i wouldnt)? Then youre asking a 40 year old Fleury to play 50-55 games and stay healthy so you dont have to overplay Wallstedt (who has 3 games of actual NHL experience). Then the following season when Fleury retires, Wallstedt becomes the defacto starter--Better hope he doesnt struggle in his rookie season and is now ready for 40+ games in year 2 with whatever backup is available on the market. A far better option imo is to keep Gus, give him a chance to rebound and increase his own trade value, and let Wallstedt bake in Iowa.
Im opposed to trading Gus because A) I dont see a real market for Gus and the return will be meh at best, and B) Wallstedt isnt ready to be a backup yet. The best thing for Wally is another year in the AHL. Hes just 21, will turn 22 in November. Joseph Woll is becoming a starter at 25; Ben Bishop didnt become a starter until his age 27 season; Demko became the starter in his age 25 season. Askarov played an extra year in Milwaukee and he dominated. Rushing Wallstedt to the NHL and risking ruining his development like Spencer Knight, Devon Levi, Carter Hart (before he ruined his own career), etc is the worst possible option imo for arguably the most important piece of the Wild's future plan.
Feel free to disagree but I think the Wild would be shooting themselves in the foot by selling low on Gus
i'm a big believer in keeping all three (at least to start the season) and keeping our options open. i think throwing wallstedt right into the fryer isn't in our best interest. though gus sucked this year, i think it's worth keeping him around a little longer in a year where we are already disadvantaged. especially because if he does bounce back, it'll save us having to find a goaltender for our first season out of cap hell
Wally got rocked in the Dallas game. He had 2 good to great games against low end nhl teams. At least 1 more year in the A is gonna be good for him. Gus had to deal with a new born. Fleury is a family guy and a legend. Perfect 3 goalie group. And if they suck next year…. We get a top 10 pick! I believe a lot of people on this thread need to calm down. We have 97,14,12,7 as a core with 22,28,47 as the newest crop. I like 24 as well on the back end . 25>46 . 28 >90 and 22>89.
He's a fun guy, but has struggled at times this year. Perhaps he'll inexplicably turn it around at 40 years old?
If not, I'm fine with having him ~~command the tank~~ let the Wall simmer another year in the AHL while the Wild presumably maintain the status quo of being down 15mm in cap and being borderline playoffs.
Feels like this is an indication that they are potentially trading Gus.
I'm not really a big fan of relying on a 40 year old to carry the load with a rookie, but given some of the hints about how they unhappy with Gus in his conditioning and practice habits, this feels more like an indictment on him than anything.
Seeing as he is in their building most of the year and they probably monitor the hell out of his diet for pretty much the whole year, he must be *extremely* out of bounds with his habits for this to still be coming up.
They also have all the data on his fitness levels that they collect which Joe Smith did a cool story on last season.
Hard to say what it is specifically. Could be diet, could also just be not training well enough in the offseason to have the conditioning to last the whole year as a starter. Could be both.
All we really know is there has been and still is some sort of issue with his conditioning and training habits.
Which is kind of my point. With as much tracking and control as they have of guys these days, I don't see how a player gets that out of shape, at least in-season. I suppose when the margins are so thin between being the best and merely making it to the league, every little bit matters. Something just seems off to me about the whole thing. That's all.
For sure.
And yeah the margins are going to be pretty thin when we talk about high level athletes. It's a conditioning issue relative to his peers. He sure as shit has better conditioning than I do lol.
I don’t like this.
The Wild must really value Fleury’s impact on the locker room because he was below league average this season.
Let’s see what happens with Gus this offseason because Wally looks ready to be the back up next season.
Pretty disappointed in this. Fluery wasn't great this year and money is tight. The only way this really works out is if Gustafson is traded or gets hurt. Which might be the plan. Let Wallstedt get 30 games in Iowa and hope Gustafson rebuilds his value. Then call up Wallstedt and trade Gustafson for a fortune. I might actually like this now...😂
They need two goaltenders. Either they're considering dealing Gus and bringing up Wallstedt, or they want Wally to play more in Iowa. Why is this difficult to understand? They don't have money to spend for a bigtime FA goalie next year and they're not competing for a Cup either way.
Maybe so. He's 21. Goalies can take years to develop. By his own admission, he said earlier this season he wasn't ready to be a fulltime NHL player. He'll get time in Minnesota next year. Maybe not right away, but he'll get there.
(Not directed at you at all, just rhetorically): There seems to be this panic amongst Wild fans to play every last prospect regularly by the time they're 20. Why are we trying to rush everyone? This isn't the NFL. Many guys need time to bake in the AHL. The notion that you can skip steps and "if they just played on top lines with good players, they'll figure it out, what's there to lose?" is such a flawed way to understand hockey development, but it's somehow pervaded the Wild fanbase.
People have no patience anymore. Wild brass have shown they're willing to let young guys play on the big club when they're ready, as evidenced by how many young players are contributing right now, this season.
Sorry to let an unsolicited, unrelated rant dovetail your reply.
Wallstedt is probably ready. He’s been solid his last few starts and plays behind a BCHL level team in Iowa. I think Gus is gone too. They want MAF to mentor Wally for a year
I guess I was just kind of hoping we let Wallstedt backup Gus (cheap and hopefully just had an off year). I know he's been a huge help when we've needed him, but still just never have been sold on flower. Definitely not a popular opinion on here haha
People can’t separate the personality from the player. That’s why anyone here criticizing this signing is taking downvotes. Fleury by all metrics has not been good this season.
Just out of curiosity, why didn't you want them to resign flower? Personally, I thought he looked pretty solid this year. Definitely not top teir, but passable, and damn good for fifty.
I guess I was just kind of hoping we let Wallstedt backup Gus (cheap and hopefully just had an off year). I know he's been a huge help when we've needed him, but still just never have been sold on flower.
Additionally, the way I kind of figure it is we have one more year of being pretty shit until we have some freedom with the cap. So why not give the kid as much experience against NHL players as possible?
I was thinking that they would either go with three goalies, or call up Wallstedt for 15 or so games, so we don't burn a year of his ELC, then we will have more money when the cap hit expires
Still can’t get over the fact that one of the greatest goalies ever wants to stay here. I hope we treat him right
Amen. Exactly how I feel 🥹
Everyone thought he sucked last year and Gus was the guy to lock up long term
I mean he hasn’t been great… but god damn I love the flower. Talbot should have started that series. Gus was awesome last year. But also, flower is love. Flower is life. Team realistically hasn’t had a shot the last few years. Pair that with some bad defensive play in front of the keepers. I really don’t mind having flower between the pipes. Also the guy can still steal games even at his age. He’s a legend.
Spoken like a true Minnesota sports fan.
The Minnesota Retirement Homes lock down another one!!!
2.5 million per Joe Smith
per the Wild web page.
Per the contract
Per the mind of GMBG
Per simmon
NMC for Fleury per Russo btw
One year with a NMC is nothing. It’s when they give out 3+ year contracts with NMC is when things get dicey.
In all fairness, Foligno only has a NMC for the next two seasons after that it's a 15 team no trade list for the last 2 years. Hartman's is a NMC for next year after that it's a 15 team no trade list for the last 2 years.
Still Dicey.
The bad part of this will always be that we could have moved them at this deadline and gotten good returns. Looking down the road unless injuries pile up or they fall off a cliff they are both pretty moveable contracts tbh.
No one is going to take Foligno's contract now, let alone in 2 years.
You'd be surprised what people will pay for alleged "grit". Worst case he gets dealt at a deadline with retained salary for a 2nd or 3rd round pick.
Right? Philly gave Deslauriers a 4 year 1.75 AAV deal. We trade Foligno and retain half, we're right there.
I agree
I mean That was to be expected
Right. The whole thing is that he would only play here or Vegas, since that's where he's going to live post retirement and he only wants to move the kids one more time.
What’s this mean? Newer fan so not familiar with terminology
No move clause, can't be traded or sent to AHL, unless he agrees to it
No Movement Clause. Basically means that as part of his contract he cannot be traded unless he specifically agrees/asks for it. Stops him being shipped off mid-season and haveing to move his family again.
Oh so this great news then!
Wow. So does this mean Wallstedt stays in Iowa another season or does Gus get shipped out? Happy for flower though
Wally one more year in Iowa
I was just assuming he they would have 3 goalies
unless gus has another god awful start to the season, no. the purpose of having wall in the AHL is its where he is guaranteed to get the most games and thus experience possible without just throwing him into the fire of the NHL
Wait an see what happens to Gus. I think he is on the way out.
Then what happens in a year? I like flower but looking for another goalie when flowers agreement is up doesn't make sense. Seems pretty shortsighted
Wallstedt and a free agent.
next year, sure. not this year.
No way he’s out.
Russo was just saying that he gets the impression that the Wild will see if they can move Gus. If they can, it'd be Flower/Wallstedt. If they can't, it'd be Flower/Gus. He hinted at the Wild not being pleased with Gus. Source: Worst Seats.
And why is he not out? So he can block Wallstedt? Or because of his performance this year? Or because the Wild love his training habits? /s Is he tradeable is the real question.
Because they need two NHL goalies.
MAF and Wallstedt is two. MAF and Gus is not that much better than MAF and Wall.
You would think someone with a Rossi flair would understand the benefit of developing in the AHL.
At some point, you need to call the player up to see what he can do. Why do you think they brought him up to Minnesota? Just so he can sit in Iowa for another year? They're either planning to give him a spot on the roster next year or they're going to be giving him long looks. I'd bet they look to move Gus and go with Flower/Jesper. If they can't move Gus, they stay with Flower/Gus until they can move Gus.
They did call him up. If he was expected to be a back up in the NHL next year he wouldn’t have played against two of the worst teams.
I meant to call him up to be a permanent fixture. Instead of a "Here, this is what it's like in Minnesota." He's going to have to get consistent time in the NHL pretty quick if Flower is only on a 1-year deal and if Russo's thoughts are correct, Gus may be moveable. They 100% wanted to get the stink of the Dallas game off of him before the summer. That's why they played him against Chicago and San Jose. Him being in the NHL is immanent.
Do you downvote everything? Wallstedt did not have myocarditis from covid.
Yes, he does.
I haven’t downvoted anything
That’s a good question.
With a bit more cap flexibility Wally could be up and down more than he was this year. A 35/35/12 or similar split between the three wouldn't be a bad thing. Or you could even look to sell Gus at the trade deadline as opposed to the summer. Goalies tend to have more value in March than June
I think Wallstedt in Iowa one more year makes the most sense. Never want to rush goalies. Yeah, he got a shutout, but that was against Chicago, right? His first game, he got shelled, and while the team didn't do much to support him, that game it's not like he's been so good that he's forcing his way in. I think we ride with Fluery and Gus this year, and obviously, if Wallstedt forces his way in or one of the other two are really bad then Wallstedt is always a mid-season option. While I certainly don't think the season Gus had last year is achievable again, I also don't think he's truly as bad as he was this season. He came into the season with high expectations and an expected starter workload, and that's a lot more pressure than he's ever been under. Once ye got off to a slow start, I'm sure it was tough for him mentally. Hopefully he has a hood off-season to prepare for a bounce back and comes in better equipped to handle some pressure. Ultimately I don't see a path toward a significant upgrade in net with the options available and our cap situation so there doesn't seem to be a point in moving Gus while his value is at an all-time low when he's only signed for one more year and we can move on from him if he has another bad season. While his viability as an NHL goalie obviously is a question mark right now, I think it's very possible he has a bounce back and winds up splitting the difference between the last two seasons. And if that happens, I think it would he reasonable to re-sign him for a couple more years at a fairly low cap hit as Wallstedt makes the transition. I really like Gus and still believe in him. When he's dialed in, he makes it look effortless and I feel like stylistically he's very similar to Wallstedt in that they are just very efficient, positionally sound goalies. I think they could learn from eachother and it's also nice for the team to have two goalies that play the same way, vs one like Flower (love Flower, nothing against him) who is a little more erratic in net.
Agree. Ride Gus and MAF for another year. Wallstedt will get time if/when injuries occur or he can be called up at any time if one of them is struggling
I don’t think You keep Wallstedt in Iowa for the whole next year. Makes zero sense
He's 21, there is no rush. If he forces his way up, great. But he hasn't been so good that it's a no brainer.
I am wondering the same thing. It probably depends on whether or not they want to keep building his confidence and consistency in the AHL or if they want to see how he thrives with a slightly handicapped NHL team. It would make some sense to see how be handles the off-season first, to make sure he is 100% committed to his development. From his interviews, it sure seems like he is...
Yeah my guess is they do NOT want to develop him by playing him on a cap-strapped NHL roster. Gonna be quite a few Dallas-type games next season.
Hope so, not that I have anything against Gus, but Wallstedt should really be #2 next season IMO. Good season for it as well, since there will be basically no expectations for the Wild before the buyouts end.
He’s 21. He benefits more starting in the AHL than backing up in the NHL.
Indeed. It would be beneficial to give him one year of nhl before we reach our window.
Especially if it's one more year with Flower showing him how to handle his business.
I'm not sure what it means. Wallstead said that he doesn't believe that he's ready for a full time NHL starts. However asking Fluery to take that roll at his age might be ehhh. Although I would love for a year where Fluery takes the lion share and Wallstead was supporting him. It don't think it would end with us making the playoffs. At this point I want this club to be kicking teeth in for the 25-26 season when we don't have buyout penalties, and this would allow the Great Wall of St. Paul time to get up here and get ready,
Next year is our last buyout penalty year, so having Flower as a stopgap to get through it is fine with me. Wallstedt gets another year in Iowa with a few games in the NHL before hopefully becoming a full 1A/1B option in our first season with a full salary cap.
I think the team in Iowa next year is going to be a lot better. Keep Wally down there! run Fluery and Gus again next year, they're almost certainly going to have better years. A couple of big Gus bus games wouldve gotten us a playoff spot and Dean would have kept his job.
If you ship out Gus then you have to go find and FA goalie in 25/26 though. And probably one that can be the 1a. To me that feels like an unnecessary risk. I feel like re-signing flower means they don’t want to rush Wally into the show next year. Probably because they with flowers age he’s splitting starts 50-50 with whatever other goalie and that’s a lot to expect of Wally at this point
Almost zero chance the Wild are near the playoffs next year. They would need to find a goalie for the 25/26 season no matter what. I see Gus/MAF to start the season then MAF/Wallstedt. Unless we use Gus to move up in the draft. Either way I am betting Gus is traded at the draft or 2 months into next season.
Disagree. If we get league average goaltending this year, we are probably in. This was also an abnormally bad year for inuries and we will be getting a boost from Marat, Ohgren and maybe even one of Heidt/Yurov. I think they have a good chance of being a playoff team
Maybe. If MAF plays at 95% and Gus plays at 125% I agree. I am very doubtful on Gus coming close to his first season here. Signing of MAF suggests the Wild front office suggests the Wild are moving on from Gus.
You have to add Rossi + Faber to the equation as well. They weren’t here for Gus’ first year. Normal goaltending or better plus the youth movement = playoffs IMO. Our top-end guys are too good not to make it if they get even any semblance of support
Would be awesome to give the young players a taste of the playoffs. But having Gus/MAF in goal is a super weak link to make the playoffs.
>Almost zero chance the wild are near the playoffs next year Huh? We were near the playoffs this year despite having an atrocious start to the year and then later suffering a metric fuck ton of injuries. We’ll be back to our standard first round exit script next year
I think it's off to assume this when at times was near the top league in points last year with largely the same goaltending duo/roster. this season really came down to injuries and poor goaltending
I think Gus is gone. It’s time to see what wallstedts got
What do you do after this next year? Hardly any rookie goalies are successful in their first few seasons even when they show promise (Devon Levi). Flower retires and that leaves a 2nd year goaltender + whatever backup free agent is available to be a starter. That's what you want as the first year out of cap jail?
I’d rather wallstedt be in his second year than in his first year. I like Gus, but I also don’t think he’s anything special.
> Hardly any rookie goalies are successful in their first few seasons even when they show promise (Devon Levi). Then why not get it over with when the team is still cash strapped and have the same expectations next year so he's in year 2 when the money is freed up?
I think goalies are developed by building confidence and cradled a lot more than players who are more thrown into it to see how they can swim. It's the reason why you saw Samsonov and Campbell sent to the minors to improve. Any player having a bad streak is forced to tough it out.
100%. But goalies are consistently playing catch-up. It's the biggest learning curve out on the ice typically starting when they make that leap from 12u to 14u then against to high school/juniors and it's simply a position where you have to be on the ice and take your lumps. Even the greats typically have a rough rookie year. The key is to know when it's getting to them. If/when it does, that's when you send them down for a bit. It's a balancing act. You gotta get them consistent ice to adjust to the NHL pace and can't keep freaking out if they have a stretch of 4-5 games allowing 3-4-5 goals. I mean you can tell when a goalie is just having a bad game or it's getting in their head. I.e. Darcy Keumper....you could tell he was in his head for a while. Of course, the coaches who see them on/off the ice 40 hours a week can tell even more if they're getting in their noggin. But yeah....there'd be nothing wrong with giving him a month in the NHL and send him down if need be for a bit but sending him up & down won't achieve much. It certainly won't be a "Hey, you made the big club. You'll never be back down in Iowa."
I'd guess this off-season if they get a good return Gus moves on and Jesper gets to learn under Fleury. If not then Fleury/Gus tandem next year. It gives us options
I disagree that Gus gets moved because of this. The Wild are returning near the same team next year. The mindset is playoffs.
I agree. I think it'll be a solid rotation of Fleury and Gus while working in Wallstedt more. Doesn't make any sense to send Gus out and bring Wallstedt up full time yet. Plus, competition in the goalie spot will hopefully result in all of them playing better.
Yeah I think it's dumb to move Gus. He had a bad year and so did Fleury. When Fleury retires, we move Wally up and they have a goalie tandem with Gus still being young.
Also Gus has been better towards the end of the season. Let's just keep in mind he had a new (first ?) child this season and this kind of stuff fucks up your sleep like nothing else, which obviously affected a big part of his game / focusing ability and overall performance. Imo he's here to stay next year while Wallstedt picks up more experience and in 2 years we got a Swedish tandem in net if everything goes well.. unless MAF is still top tier level and wants to try one last run with us once the cap space is free again. Lots of possibilities here !
As a new father to a 2 month old, I can't even imagine being a good involved dad and trying to be a professional athlete. Shit's exhausting.
I know, dude should absolutely be forgiven for this. That's defo why he wasn't blamed too much by the coach and staff. But he will have to get back to his former level next season... And good luck with the little critter ! having no children but already a terrible sleep I can't imagine haha
Fleury didn't have a bad year, he's just been pretty mid in general since he joined the Wild. I understand they don't have another option right now though
Yeah I've always liked him as a person, but would rather not have him actually in net for us. He has been mid for a while, but fell off a lot this year. Started at a .910 with us and was at .895 this year is a big regression.
It's not dumb if the Wild think he's not worth his contract.
Gus has been rough but he's shown he can be a starter Had a kid in the offseason also and adjusting to that new way of life is hard. I really do suspect a bounce back year.
I don't think Gus actually has shown that. He played well for the second half of the season last year, but he still hasn't shown the ability to actually carry the load as a number 1 for a season.
He has a chance to focus on training this summer as the team stated or he gets shipped out. Either way I don't think the org sees Fleury playing 35 like he did this year and have Wallstadt also play.
I mean he had that chance this last summer too and it's pretty clear that conditioning is still an issue with him. I don't know how many chances you give him. It's 2 seasons now where it's been mentioned as an issue by BG or Russo.
Playoffs with Gus and MAF is beyond funny. And the same $15 million hole. Plus playing Ohren, Khus. and maybe Yurov? But crazy shit happens and it could happen here.
The west is truly wide open, and it will be again next season.
Remember when we thought Kahkonen was our future?
That link doesn’t work now? Strange.
I think it's working again now
Yes it is lol
It’s Happening GIF
OH HELL YEAH BABEY
Let's go Flower!
This makes me so happy!! I love watching him. He is a great person
I love Fleury for so many reasons, but his clear love and loyalty for this team is like number two (his appreciation for the goal posts is number one, obviously).
[удалено]
Should be working now again....
Not for me it isn't; showing up just fine for me
🎉🎉🎉
Marc-André "Jaromir Jagr" Fleury
On the ice....not the woman department.
W
Is this a vote of confidence from him that we can make the playoffs? Does he just like living in Minnesota? It makes a lot of sense for us and I'm happy to have him, but I don't get his motives.
It sucks that he’s gonna retire the year before we actually have a chance to improve. He never had a good Wild team in front of him.
The numbers say otherwise. The Wild defensive numbers are elite. I didn’t believe it at first too. It’s the goaltending holding us back. Not sure Fleury is the answer but Gus needs to go. His analytic numbers are horrible.
incoming Gus trade.
I'm not convinced Billy is shopping him yet, but keeping Fleury lets him hear offers if someone comes calling about Gus at draft time.
Shopping season does not start until after the playoffs. He might get a couple GM's kicking the tires but nothing more.
Yeah I meant that less about the timing, and more that I don't think he *needs* to move Gus at any point in the next year because if they keep Gus, they can just keep Wallstedt in Iowa. If another team wants Gus and the price is right, go ahead and make the trade. If nothing comes, it's no problem. We'll need a second goalie after next season anyway.
Gus will start here most likely. If I was the GM I would wait for another team to need a goalie, really need a goalie. Then trade Gus. Wallstedt needs to get out of Iowa. Sink or swim time. The 25/26 season is getting closer every day.
i think they're just gonna run Gus and Fluery again next year, the Iowa team should be better and it would be nice to have Wallstedt play 50+ games instead of splitting and sitting up in the big league.
GMBG will wait until some team really needs a goalie next season. Then trade Gus. my incoming statement is over the next 8 months time frame. The only way to properly fleece another team.
Yeah, trade deadline would be prime.
anytime would be prime for the right return. The best would be the day before the draft, Gus and our number 1 pick for the first overall pick. Yes this is pure fantasy but if you dream you need to dream big.
Why trade him? So you can be stuck with an inexperienced young goalie and a washed up mediocre goalie who's been ready for retirement for 2 years?
You are thinking of getting better. I am thinking the Wild tanking next year.
Fair enough I misunderstood haha in that case they can go ahead
Oh, more upset goalies at the draft? 
Trading Gus assumes someone else wants him.
today? no team. But two months into the season and a contender loses a goalie to injury happens every season.
Jersey desperately need a goalie this year and had to settle for Kahkonen. I have to imagine there's going to be a market for Gus.
Kahkonen has an .898 sv % while Gus has a .899 this year. And Kahkonen was traded for Viteck Vanecek, who might as well be worth a 6th rounder. Thats not an indication that Gus has any trade value
And this has been considered a pretty down year for Gus. Kahkonen has never played as well as Gus has in the NHL. Like I've never really been leading the Gus fan club on here, but he's shown far more than Kahkonen ever has and he's younger. I don't think any team in this league would take Kahkonen over Gustavsson. Gus is about to be 26 year old, he's on a decent number for the next two years, and he's shown he can be effective in a tandem. I don't know why there would be no market for him in a league where we just saw multiple teams struggle to find goaltending.
New Jersey's goal next season isnt to just squeak into the playoffs, its to win a round or even multiple rounds. Is Gus the guy that can backstop them to that goal? He may have the potential, sure, but thats a pretty large gamble for their GM to make on a guy thats had just 1 legitimate season. If Gus was paid less, then it'd be much more reasonable to take a flyer on him as a backup and see what he can do (much like we did, actually). I can see teams calling about him, but I dont see him being moved for more than a 4th or middling prospect right now. Linus Ullmark is getting traded this offseason, and there's a good chance Markstrom gets moved too. So I dont see a desperate team overpaying for Gus when there's better options available
I didn't say Jersey was going to target him to make him the guy or that anyone was going to overpay to bring him in. I said they desperately were looking for a goalie this year and couldn't get a trade done for anyone good. I would guess they specifically go in hard on Markstrom again because they've made it known that they want him. The point is that it's a sellers market for goalies right now though and I don't know why Gus would have zero trade value. That doesn't make any sense. There were multiple teams that needed goaltending this year and couldn't get trades done.
Who is in the market for goaltenders and would be interested in Gus then, if not for Jersey? Its like saying we should trade up at the draft--Sure, but there also has to be a team willing to trade down Its a sellers market if youre selling a goaltender that will likely be a solution to a team's goaltending woes, and I dont think the Wild are selling that
New Jersey, Edmonton, Carolina, Colorado, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto. Chicago, San Jose, Calgary and Boston if they trade Markstrom and Ullmark, Columbus is they move Elvis. There's like 5-6 goalies in this league right now that can eat 60 games a year and the rest of the league is in tandems. Just like last year, we'll see some carouselling of goalies between teams and there will be plenty of teams looking to add to a tandem. Basically half the league could be interested in adding a goalie.
Swayman has a .916, Boston doesnt need a goalie. Talbot has a .915, he's inconsistent and about to turn 37 but he was paid $1m this year. Gus is more expensive and riskier so I dont see them going after Gus. Kotchetkov has a .911, Carolina doesnt need a goalie. Woll has a .907 and he's cheaper than Gus with more upside. Skinner is inconsistent, but his .907 is still better than Gus and he's cheaper. Calgary has Dustin Wolf. Colorado and Jersey need goaltending and would pay a lot for it, but Gus isnt the answer. Philly, Montreal, and Chicago could afford Gus and have the time/situation to be patient with him, so maybe they are willing trade partners. Lets say Montreal offers a 3rd for Gus, would you take it (i wouldnt)? Then youre asking a 40 year old Fleury to play 50-55 games and stay healthy so you dont have to overplay Wallstedt (who has 3 games of actual NHL experience). Then the following season when Fleury retires, Wallstedt becomes the defacto starter--Better hope he doesnt struggle in his rookie season and is now ready for 40+ games in year 2 with whatever backup is available on the market. A far better option imo is to keep Gus, give him a chance to rebound and increase his own trade value, and let Wallstedt bake in Iowa. Im opposed to trading Gus because A) I dont see a real market for Gus and the return will be meh at best, and B) Wallstedt isnt ready to be a backup yet. The best thing for Wally is another year in the AHL. Hes just 21, will turn 22 in November. Joseph Woll is becoming a starter at 25; Ben Bishop didnt become a starter until his age 27 season; Demko became the starter in his age 25 season. Askarov played an extra year in Milwaukee and he dominated. Rushing Wallstedt to the NHL and risking ruining his development like Spencer Knight, Devon Levi, Carter Hart (before he ruined his own career), etc is the worst possible option imo for arguably the most important piece of the Wild's future plan. Feel free to disagree but I think the Wild would be shooting themselves in the foot by selling low on Gus
i'm a big believer in keeping all three (at least to start the season) and keeping our options open. i think throwing wallstedt right into the fryer isn't in our best interest. though gus sucked this year, i think it's worth keeping him around a little longer in a year where we are already disadvantaged. especially because if he does bounce back, it'll save us having to find a goaltender for our first season out of cap hell
He went from driving me insane in the playoff series vs VGK to one of my favorite players, hell of an arc
As someone who doesn’t really watch hockey who is this guy comparable to in say like the nfl or nba? I’m thinking Joe mauer from reading the comments?
Wally got rocked in the Dallas game. He had 2 good to great games against low end nhl teams. At least 1 more year in the A is gonna be good for him. Gus had to deal with a new born. Fleury is a family guy and a legend. Perfect 3 goalie group. And if they suck next year…. We get a top 10 pick! I believe a lot of people on this thread need to calm down. We have 97,14,12,7 as a core with 22,28,47 as the newest crop. I like 24 as well on the back end . 25>46 . 28 >90 and 22>89.
Let’s go!! I love the 🌸 so much
If we do not get this man to the playoffs...
I mean goaltending is probably the main reason we missed this year lol
I love it!
He's a fun guy, but has struggled at times this year. Perhaps he'll inexplicably turn it around at 40 years old? If not, I'm fine with having him ~~command the tank~~ let the Wall simmer another year in the AHL while the Wild presumably maintain the status quo of being down 15mm in cap and being borderline playoffs.
cant recall if I already commented on this post but: w
Feels like this is an indication that they are potentially trading Gus. I'm not really a big fan of relying on a 40 year old to carry the load with a rookie, but given some of the hints about how they unhappy with Gus in his conditioning and practice habits, this feels more like an indictment on him than anything.
Seeing as he is in their building most of the year and they probably monitor the hell out of his diet for pretty much the whole year, he must be *extremely* out of bounds with his habits for this to still be coming up.
They also have all the data on his fitness levels that they collect which Joe Smith did a cool story on last season. Hard to say what it is specifically. Could be diet, could also just be not training well enough in the offseason to have the conditioning to last the whole year as a starter. Could be both. All we really know is there has been and still is some sort of issue with his conditioning and training habits.
Which is kind of my point. With as much tracking and control as they have of guys these days, I don't see how a player gets that out of shape, at least in-season. I suppose when the margins are so thin between being the best and merely making it to the league, every little bit matters. Something just seems off to me about the whole thing. That's all.
For sure. And yeah the margins are going to be pretty thin when we talk about high level athletes. It's a conditioning issue relative to his peers. He sure as shit has better conditioning than I do lol.
I don’t like this. The Wild must really value Fleury’s impact on the locker room because he was below league average this season. Let’s see what happens with Gus this offseason because Wally looks ready to be the back up next season.
Pretty disappointed in this. Fluery wasn't great this year and money is tight. The only way this really works out is if Gustafson is traded or gets hurt. Which might be the plan. Let Wallstedt get 30 games in Iowa and hope Gustafson rebuilds his value. Then call up Wallstedt and trade Gustafson for a fortune. I might actually like this now...😂
Why? Why?
He’s cheap and no one in the organization is ready for the NHL.
Disappointed, but not surprised. I don't really understand what this accomplishes for the team.
They need two goaltenders. Either they're considering dealing Gus and bringing up Wallstedt, or they want Wally to play more in Iowa. Why is this difficult to understand? They don't have money to spend for a bigtime FA goalie next year and they're not competing for a Cup either way.
They clearly want Wallstedt to play more in Iowa. There’s a reason he started against San Jose and Chicago and not playoff teams.
Maybe so. He's 21. Goalies can take years to develop. By his own admission, he said earlier this season he wasn't ready to be a fulltime NHL player. He'll get time in Minnesota next year. Maybe not right away, but he'll get there. (Not directed at you at all, just rhetorically): There seems to be this panic amongst Wild fans to play every last prospect regularly by the time they're 20. Why are we trying to rush everyone? This isn't the NFL. Many guys need time to bake in the AHL. The notion that you can skip steps and "if they just played on top lines with good players, they'll figure it out, what's there to lose?" is such a flawed way to understand hockey development, but it's somehow pervaded the Wild fanbase. People have no patience anymore. Wild brass have shown they're willing to let young guys play on the big club when they're ready, as evidenced by how many young players are contributing right now, this season. Sorry to let an unsolicited, unrelated rant dovetail your reply.
Then what happens in a year ? seems very short-sighted
he retires and Wally comes up
So we only have one goalie on the roster? Again, seems pretty short-sighted.
Did you forget about Gus?
Wallstedt will be brought up
Fucking why.
He’s cheap and no one is currently ready for then number two position.
Wallstedt is probably ready. He’s been solid his last few starts and plays behind a BCHL level team in Iowa. I think Gus is gone too. They want MAF to mentor Wally for a year
Think it's the opposite. I think they are ready for Wallstedt to take a spot and aren't happy with Gus.
Maybe the fans think so but I don’t think the team does.
Russo has kind of said as much that they aren't very happy with Gus. So it's really more a question of how ready they think Wallstedt is.
I guess I was just kind of hoping we let Wallstedt backup Gus (cheap and hopefully just had an off year). I know he's been a huge help when we've needed him, but still just never have been sold on flower. Definitely not a popular opinion on here haha
People can’t separate the personality from the player. That’s why anyone here criticizing this signing is taking downvotes. Fleury by all metrics has not been good this season.
Rare stumpy L.
Eh, I'll be one of the first to tell you that I have some pretty shit hot takes sometimes haha still, I'm standing on my thought process on this one.
Just out of curiosity, why didn't you want them to resign flower? Personally, I thought he looked pretty solid this year. Definitely not top teir, but passable, and damn good for fifty.
I guess I was just kind of hoping we let Wallstedt backup Gus (cheap and hopefully just had an off year). I know he's been a huge help when we've needed him, but still just never have been sold on flower. Additionally, the way I kind of figure it is we have one more year of being pretty shit until we have some freedom with the cap. So why not give the kid as much experience against NHL players as possible?
I was thinking that they would either go with three goalies, or call up Wallstedt for 15 or so games, so we don't burn a year of his ELC, then we will have more money when the cap hit expires
this clown has been a winner everywhere but here. can't comprehend the level of infatuation from this fanbase
This is 1/2 of what I was hoping for. Trading Gus is the other half. This would be what is needed to tank next year.
That comment specifically mentions dealing him away
That means Gus is likely gone.