MN Wild Goalie Officially Added to NHL Trade Board

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Jesper Wallstedt: Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild
Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

In recent weeks, as trade rumors and reports around the NHL have gained steam, a new trade chip has been added to the Minnesota Wild trade block.

Jesper Wallstedt, 23, entered the 2025-26 season as the unquestioned backup goalie in St. Paul, behind Filip Gustavsson. In his first full NHL season, he has blossomed back into one of the top young goalies in hockey.

And that brings us to active trade talks happening around the league right now, as we get closer to the Olympic break, and eventually the trade deadline.

After the Quinn Hughes trade, the Minnesota Wild are running paper thin on trade assets to offer teams at the NHL trade deadline. For a team like the Wild, seemingly intent on making another another blockbuster, that’s a problem.

MN Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt added to The Athletic trade board

Minnesota’s solution: Dangling another former first round draft pick on the NHL trade block.

But this time, at a position that NHL organizations rarely see young twenty-somethings that can start right now come available, especially with the elite prospect cred of Jesper Wallstedt.

We will see what the MN Wild can reel in for his 2021 No. 18 overall draft pick, but after Wallstedt was added as the No. 10 overall asset on The Athletic’s NHL trade board, his departure from St. paul almost feels inevitable.

10. Jesper Wallstedt

Goalie | 23 y/o | 2027 RFA

[Wallstedt] is having a superb season as part of the tandem in Minnesota but finds himself on this list because of the tremendous value he could potentially bring back in a trade.

The Wild have Filip Gustavsson under contract through 2031 and will at least listen to interest in Wallstedt, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo.

Minnesota is going to need to get a front-line player back in order to make this work. But after parting with their other A-plus assets in order to land Quinn Hughes in December, the Wild are willing to take another big swing before the deadline.

The Athletic

After his heroic performance on Tuesday night against the rival Blackhawks, Wallstedt is now sporting a 2.71 goals against average and .912 save percentage, the latter of which ranks 5th among NHL netminders with 20 or more starts this season.

Minnesota Wild trade of Wallstedt starting to feel inevitable

But from what The Athletic writes above, MN Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin now sees Jesper Wallstedt as something other than his goalie of the future.

The Wild’s starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson is just 27 years old and under contract through the 2030-2031 season. His new deal and consistent play the past couple seasons have made the Wild more comfortable with moving Wallstedt.

However, it appears they already may have a veteran backup to take Jesper’s place, should the Minnesota Wild trade their young netminder before the March 6 trade deadline.

Related: MN Wild Worried About FanDuel Sports Network

Earlier this week at The Athletic, Michael Russo and Joe Smith wrote about how Marc-Andre Fleury is really missing hockey. While the two sides have yet to talk discuss a possible unretirement, the only logical path back to the ice might be a Wallstedt trade out of St. Paul.

Whether they have a backup plan behind Gus Bus or not, the Minnesota Wild must to fix their issues up the middle if they really want to enter the postseason with a roster worthy of the franchise’s first deep playoff run in two decades.

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