The Minnesota Wild likely aren't done upgrading their roster after acquiring Quinn Hughes in December. That's led to speculation about whether they need to trade their young backup goalie to do so.
The Minnesota Wild have had a rock-solid goaltending tandem, and there's now speculation about breaking them up.
In Monday's episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman touched on an article by The Athletic's Michael Russo suggesting the Wild could trade goalie Jesper Wallstedt.
Filip Gustavsson and Wallstedt have combined for a .904 save percentage this season, which ranks second in the NHL, according to naturalstattrick.com. They're also representing Team Sweden at the upcoming Olympics.
Friedman shared that the Wild and GM Bill Guerin are likely looking for a center, and they might have dangled Wallstedt as a trade chip before.
"I'm not crazy about it," Friedman said on the podcast. "But if you're all-in to win, and you've got Gustavsson signed… What someone said to me was, 'if it happens, you'll understand why.' "
Minnesota is certainly in a position to win, sitting second in the Western Conference and fifth in the NHL entering Monday's action, and Guerin won't be afraid to act on that.
After all, he made a grand acquisition in landing Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in December. With that move, the Wild's blueline seems set.
The same can be said about their goaltending, with Gustavsson and Wallstedt putting up excellent numbers in tandem. As Friedman mentioned, 27-year-old Gustavsson is locked in as his new five-year contract worth $6.8 million annually kicks in next season. Wallstedt, 23, is in the first year of a two-year contract carrying a $2.2-million cap hit.
Aside from those strengths, Minnesota could use a boost down the middle on paper, with its current top two centers being Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman.
Though they have been one of the league's strongest teams thus far, a great challenge lies ahead for Minnesota.
With the current playoff format, there's a high chance the Wild face Central Division rivals, such as the Dallas Stars or the mighty Colorado Avalanche, which have the shortest odds to win the Stanley Cup at 3.20/+220, according to BetMGM.
In other words, Minnesota's successful regular season may not be enough to give them an advantage to advance past the first round of the playoffs, something the team hasn't done since 2015.
Guerin will look for more ways to improve his roster, looking to build on the hot start they've had to this campaign. This way, his squad will be more suited to take on the Stars and Avalanche in an agonizing division.
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