Wild’s Marc-André Fleury Returns for One Final Season

His consistent smile and fun style of play have made Wild fans fall in love with the goaltender who continues to play half his age. By signing him, they ensure they have that veteran Stanley Cup-winning experience and give him one more shot at the postseason he so deserves. He’ll also continue mentoring their goaltenders and the rest of their youthful roster. 

Fleury leads by example, which the Wild need more of on their roster. He works as hard as possible and shows what dedication to the game truly means, but he always seems to smile. Hopefully, this final season will be everything it should be, and Fleury can get the send-off he’s earned. 

Fleury’s One, Who’s Two?

With Fleury signing, one goaltender is figured out for next season, and they have some decisions to make about the second. Before this season, the 2024-25 tandem was planned for Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, as Fleury was likely to move on or retire since his contract would be up. However, now that he’s decided to play one more season and the Wild are keeping him, Gustavsson and Wallstedt will be shifted. 

The Wild basically have two options: They can keep Gustavsson and send Wallstedt back down to the American Hockey League (AHL) for another season and keep the tandem of Fleury and Gustavsson for another season. Otherwise, the second option would be to trade Gustavsson to make room for Wallstedt. 

Wild Likely Trade Gustavsson

It wouldn’t be the worst decision to keep Wallstedt in the AHL for one more season, but that seems highly unlikely since they brought him up for a couple of games at the end of this season to give him some ice time. There would be no real need to do that if they intend to keep him down one more season. He’s waited and done the time needed in the minors, so they’re going to want to get him started in the NHL as soon as they can, which means they have to move Gustavsson. 

I’ll admit, I was very critical of moving Gustavsson as I figured he’d be the perfect fit with the up-and-coming Wallstedt. However, I’ve talked it over with several acquaintances, and moving him makes more sense to me now. While he is a strong and capable goaltender, Fleury would be the player you’d want to mentor Wallstedt if you had the choice, and the Wild do. 

Gustavsson also didn’t quite live up to his new contract, and it’s hard to say if he’ll bounce back next season, but with Wallstedt destined to be the Wild’s number-one goaltender since he was drafted, there isn’t much room for a goaltender trying to find his way. If Fleury wasn’t the other goaltender in this situation, I’m betting the Wild would hang on to Gustavsson, but it’s almost impossible to say no to having Fleury on your roster, even at 40 years old. 

Gustavsson is still a decent goaltender, and a new team may be exactly what he needs to return to his game. If Fleury had retired, it would’ve been interesting to see Wallstedt and Gustavsson together because they would’ve been competing for a spot that Wallstedt has already had his name tied to. Having that idea hang over Gustavsson’s head likely wouldn’t have helped his game so moving on may be his best option. Someone will pick him up, and hopefully, it’ll be better for him. 

Wild Goaltending Future

The main reason I was concerned with keeping Fleury and possibly moving on from Gustavsson was what would happen after the next season. They have Wallstedt, but he needs a stable backup even if he’s lights out as the number-one goaltender. It doesn’t appear the Wild have anyone waiting in the wings yet. However, I knew something was up when they moved to sign Samuel Hlavaj to an entry-level contract. 

It’ll be interesting to see what the Wild decide to do, as it’s not confirmed that Gustavsson is on the trade block or that they’ll send Wallstedt down for another season. We’ll just have to wait and see; hopefully, it works out well, whatever decision they make.