"The Minnesota Wild are closing in on an extension with starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson, sources told ESPN on Saturday. It's the second major piece of business for the Wild this week after they signed star winger Kirill Kaprizov to a record-breaking eight-year, $136 million deal Tuesday. Gustavsson, 27, was entering the final year of his contract that paid him $3.75 million annually."
"Originally a 2016 second-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Gustavsson spent the first two years of his NHL career in Ottawa before he was traded to Minnesota in 2022 for veteran goalie Cam Talbot. Gustavsson initially split the net with veteran Marc-Andre Fleury in Minnesota before taking the reins as the Wild's starter. Fleury retired this summer. Jesper Wallstedt, a 2021 first-round pick, is poised to be Gustavsson's backup this season."
"The pending extension means the Wild are locking in most of their core players under the age of 30 on multiyear deals, including Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Brock Faber. Minnesota also has several players on entry-level contracts who should be key contributors this season, like Liam Ohgren, David Jiricek and Zeev Buium. Gustavsson's contract also comes at what many NHL evaluators have called a thin time for the goaltending market."
Minnesota is finalizing a contract extension with 27-year-old starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who entered the final year of a $3.75 million deal after a breakout season. He played a career-high 58 games, went 31-19-6 with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage, and finished sixth in Vezina Trophy voting. Gustavsson was a 2016 second-round pick, spent two seasons in Ottawa, and was traded to Minnesota in 2022 for Cam Talbot before becoming the starter. Marc-Andre Fleury retired; Jesper Wallstedt is expected to serve as backup. The extension helps lock in Minnesota's under-30 core amid a thin goalie market.
Read at ESPN.com
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