Wild sign goalie of the future to 2-year contract extension
The Minnesota Wild have gotten one key extension out of the way ahead of their 2024-25 season opener, signing goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension on Monday.
“This was my goal coming in,” the Wild’s goalie of the future said of the new deal, per NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. “Hopefully I had a good camp. Practices have felt pretty good and I’ve just been loving every day to show up here and compete and being around these guys has been awesome, and obviously something that I want to do.
“I want to be here every day, so this is definitely a goal that I wanted to do, but keep on working. Take it day by day and continue to develop.”
The preseason has been kind to the 21-year-old, who not only secured a spot on the opening day roster, but also earned a nice little raise. The Swedish netminder will make $925,000 in 2024-25 before the extension kicks in next season.
Although there are still three goalies in Saint Paul — both Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury are an important part of the equation this year — a time is coming soon when the youngster will be the undisputed No. 1 goaltender.
The net in Minnesota will soon be Jesper Wallstedt’s
Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
A former first-round pick by the Wild (No. 20 overall in the 2021 NHL Draft), Wallstedt has had two excellent seasons with the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League. He posted an overall save percentage of .909 and goals-against average of 2.69, playing to a 40-34-12 record along with three shutouts in 83 starts.
He also proved that he can produce at the NHL level, going 2-1 in a three-game audition last year while posting a 24-save shutout against the Chicago Blackhawks for his first win in the league.
Along with San Jose Sharks’ Yaroslav Askarov — who was just sent to the minors — Wallstedt is one of the top two goaltending prospects in the NHL. And with Fleury set to retire at the conclusion of 2024-25 after a Hall of Fame career, there’s a chance he’s the starter by opening night of 2025-26.
It’ll be interesting to see if the young netminder can earn a couple of important starts for the squad this year as it looks to return to the playoffs next April after a rare miss in 2023-24.
Wallstedt and the Wild begin their season against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night.
The post Wild sign goalie of the future to 2-year contract extension appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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