{"id":434580,"date":"2026-01-29T17:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/434580\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T17:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:15:12","slug":"the-wild-must-make-a-painful-decision-with-jesper-wallstedt-minnesota-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/434580\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wild Must Make A Painful Decision With Jesper Wallstedt – Minnesota Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThings did not look good for Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt<\/a>\u00a0at the end of the first period on Tuesday night.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHe had given up three goals, and the Wild were down 3-0 against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. A save on a Connor Bedard<\/a> shot in the second period that almost trickled past his blockers could have been the final nail in the coffin. Instead, it was a turning point that sparked a 4-3 comeback victory.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWallstedt\u2019s performance has been lauded as evidence for sticking with the process that has made him a viable NHL goaltender. But it also may have improved his stock to become part of the Wild\u2019s next blockbuster trade ahead of the March 6 trade deadline.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Wild have made the phrase \u201cTwo Good Goalies\u201d into their second-biggest marketing slogan behind \u201cThe State of Hockey,\u201d so dealing Wallstedt may seem unfathomable<\/a>. Still, they may consider it, because general manager Bill Guerin<\/a> should do everything he can to help the Wild go on their deepest playoff run in a decade.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWallstedt isn\u2019t the only prospect who may get anxious when his phone rings over the next month. With the Wild firmly in a playoff spot and staring down a likely first-round matchup with the Dallas Stars, Guerin will be looking to make a deal. He could dangle Wallstedt, Charlie Stramel, and David Jiricek<\/a>\u00a0to make that trade happen. Still, it may make Wild fans uncomfortable about the franchise’s future.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, Guerin declared that the future is now when he traded for<\/a> Quinn Hughes<\/a> in December. Hughes been tremendous for the Wild since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks, scoring a pair of goals and recording 26 points in 22 games. As Wild fans know, his impact has also gone beyond the boxscore. He’s used his playmaking ability to open things up for his teammates, making everyone on the ice play a little faster.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWith all due respect to guys like Jared Spurgeon<\/a> and Jonas Brodin<\/a>, Hughes has shown Wild fans what a franchise defenseman looks like. But it also took a lot to bring him to Minnesota.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe combination of Zeev Buium<\/a>, Marco Rossi<\/a>, and Liam \u00d6hgren<\/a> was like sending three extra first-round picks in addition to the 2026 first-round pick the Canucks received in exchange for Hughes. While Hughes has been a game-changer in Minnesota, the trio of former players has struggled to find their footing in Vancouver, combining for five goals and 14 points since their arrival.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are some reasons for the low production. Rossi\u2019s lower-body injury<\/a>, which he sustained with the Wild at the beginning of the season, flared up and has him out through the Olympic break. Buium still flashes potential, but is a 20-year-old still getting used to life in the NHL. \u00d6hgren hasn\u2019t been productive. However, he’s 22 years old, and Arielle Lalande of Canucks Army said<\/a> he’s \u201ca joy to watch\u201d and \u201can unexpected jolt of energy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the Canucks aren\u2019t reaping the benefits now, they could be in a few years if the team around the former Wild members continues to improve. It\u2019s a hesitation that many Wild fans have about adding a player like Wallstedt to a deal. Still, it could be worth it in the end because of the player they get in return.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTake a look at the history of the Vegas Golden Knights. Fans in general despise the Golden Knights for the sweetheart expansion deal<\/a> they received when they entered the NHL in 2017. However, they\u2019ve never hesitated to trade their blue-chip prospects for players that could help them win right now.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMark Stone<\/a>, Jack Eichel<\/a>,\u00a0and Tomas Hertl<\/a> are just some of the players they’ve acquired in exchange for either a future, current, or former first-round pick. That leaves 2024 first-rounder Trevor Connelly as the only first-round pick in team history to still be with the team in their ninth season of existence.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the case of the 2019 trade<\/a> that sent Nick Suzuki<\/a> to the Montreal Canadiens for Max Pacioretty<\/a>, the deal stung a little bit. But it isn\u2019t something that\u2019s holding the Golden Knights back, hoisting the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2022-23 season.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAsk any Wild player on the roster, and lifting the Cup is the ultimate goal. But while fans want the same thing, they would also take a playoff run for a franchise that hasn\u2019t gotten out of the first round of the playoffs since 2016.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf Wallstedt or another top prospect is what\u2019s getting in the way of acquiring<\/a> a top-line center like Vincent Trocheck<\/a> or another piece that would help this team, it\u2019s a mixed signal from a front office that declared their time is now a month ago. Even a lesser player would be worth the investment of prospects Wild fans have gotten excited about if it means getting Minnesota closer to a championship.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd if now isn\u2019t the time to make a deal, people should ask when it will be. The Wild have one of the most talented teams in franchise history, anchored by Hughes, Kaprizov, and Matt Boldy<\/a>. Judd Brackett\u2019s drafts have been good enough to keep the cabinet stocked with desirable prospects, and some of those could fill the holes that another big swing could leave behind.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGuerin has just over a month to decide what he wants to do. But with the current state of the Wild, it may be the perfect time to push chips like Wallstedt to the middle of the table.\n<\/p>\n

\n Think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we’ll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Things did not look good for Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt\u00a0at the end of the first period on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5118],"tags":[5,795,161,38,5280,4,162],"class_list":{"0":"post-434580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-wild","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-jesper-wallstedt","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-wild","12":"tag-minnesotawild","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-wild"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115979519816808904","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}