1. What will the goaltending rotation look like?
Marc-Andre Fleury returns for what he said will be his final NHL season, with Philippe Gustavssonwhich was said to be on the exchange market.
Fleury went 17-15-5 with a 2.98 goals-against average, .895 save percentage and two shutouts in 40 games (36 starts) last season. The 39-year-old signed a one-year contract with Minnesota on April 17.
Gustavsson went 20-18-4 with a 3.06 goals-against average, .899 save percentage and three shutouts in 45 games (43 starts). Most of those numbers are down from 2022-23, his first season with Minnesota, when he went 22-9-7 with a 2.10 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and three shutouts.
“I’m excited to have him back,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said of Gustavsson. “He’s a good goalie. He had a great season with us. Last year wasn’t as good as the first year, but we’re hoping he can get back to the form he was last year and we still believe in him. That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing. We’re totally on board with that.”
The Wild could consider using three goalies this season in order to get Jesper Wallstedtone of their top prospects, a little more NHL action. The 21-year-old has played three NHL games, posting a 2-1-0 record with the Wild last season.
“I think it puts us in a strong position,” Guerin said. “We have three good goalies in the organization again. We’ve shown that Jesper has improved significantly. I haven’t made any decisions about anything going forward.”
