On draft night in 2021, the Minnesota Wild made a move that has only grown louder with time. They traded up two spots, with the Edmonton Oilers, to select Jesper Wallstedt.

Edmonton used their newly acquired pick on a forward who no longer is even in the organization.

Four years later, the contrast is glaring. The Oilers are still one of the most dynamic offensive teams in the league, but their crease remains as one of the biggest reasons they haven’t broken through.

Minnesota, meanwhile, has Wallstedt. The young netminder isn’t just settling in as their future but he is emerging as the best statistical goaltender in the NHL right now.

Tonight, he starts in Edmonton. The timing could not be more poetic.

Wallstedt, 23, enters tonight leading the NHL in save percentage (.938) and shutouts (3). He is second in goals-against average (1.93).

Since Nov 1, Wallstedt is 6-0-0 with a 1.14 goals-against average, a .967 save percentage and has three shutouts. He leads the NHL in all three categories in that span.

Out of 74 goalies that have played in that span, the Oilers two goaltenders rank towards the bottom. Stuart Skinner ranks 56th in save percentage and 54th in goals-against. Calvin Pickard ranks 70th in save percentage and 72nd in goals-against average.

The Oilers traded the 20th pick in the 2021 NHL Draft for the 22nd pick and the 90th pick. The Wild used that pick to take Wallstedt and the Oilers took Xavier Bourgault at No. 22. He was then traded years after to the Ottawa Senators and has not even played in an NHL game.

With the 90th pick, Edmonton drafted defenseman Luca Munzenberger. They declined to sign him, and he has since returned to Germany.

Draft picks aren’t supposed to echo four years later, but this one does. Tonight's matchup puts those numbers in motion. Wallstedt has steadied Minnesota through every swing of their season, while Edmonton’s goaltending remains near the bottom of the league by almost every measure.

The 2021 trade wasn’t just a missed opportunity, it’s the statistical divide that has shaped both franchises ever since. Tonight won’t rewrite that moment, but it will remind everyone why it still resonates.

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