NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Wild General Manager Bill Guerin met with goaltender Filip Gustavsson’s agent ahead of the NHL draft, a conversation Guerin described as “very positive.”
Gustavsson is up for a new contract after an impressive debut with the Wild, going 22-9-7 with a 2.10 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and three shutouts before starting five of the team’s six playoff games against Dallas after coming over. in the Cam Talbot trade with Ottawa last summer.
His save percentage is the fourth-best in Wild history for a single season; Devan Dubnyk leads the way at .936 (2014-15), ahead of the .933 posted by Josh Harding (2013-14) and Dwayne Roloson (2003-04).
The 25-year-old Gustavsson shared the crease with veteran and future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury, who signed for one more season.
A restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Gustavsson’s last contract paid him $1.575 million over two years.
“I’m always hopeful that we can just get deals done,” Guerin said. “I think they’re motivated, too.”
The Wild have approximately $8 million in salary cap space, according to CapFriendly, but they aren’t in a holding pattern while negotiating with Gustavsson’s camp. Forwards Brandon Duhaime, Mason Shaw and Sam Steel as well as defenseman Calen Addison are among the team’s other restricted free agents.
“It’d be very helpful if we had that done,” Guerin said. “But it’s not 100 percent necessary. We’ve got things mapped out. There’s just not a ton of wiggle room.
“We’re in a good spot. Whether we get him signed in the next couple of days or not, we can move onto other guys.”
Reaves update
The Wild would like to re-sign Ryan Reaves.
Guerin traded for Reaves last November, acquiring the veteran forward from the New York Rangers for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick.
Reaves suited up for 61 games for the Wild, chipping in five goals and 10 assists as a gritty sparkplug; he played mostly alongside Connor Dewar and Shaw on the Wild’s fourth line. The 36-year-old Reaves is eligible to test free agency when the NHL signing period opens on Saturday, and he said after the season that he’d consider re-upping with the Wild.
He also made it clear he’d like to sign for more than a year and “my last couple years I’d like to squeeze out every dollar I can.” Reaves is 72 games shy of 900 after stints with St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Vegas before joining the Rangers then Wild.
“I understand the business part of it,” said Guerin, who mentioned he’s had multiple conversations with Reaves over the last few weeks. “I understand the lure of being a free agent, too. I think Ryan Reaves and the Minnesota Wild were a good fit for both parties. I’d really like him back.”
Etc.
As expected, the NHL salary cap for the 2023-24 season will be $83.5 million.
This is the second straight year the cap has gone up by $1 million after a stagnant stretch; the cap was at $81.5 million when the league was stalled in 2020 by the pandemic and remained there through the 2021-22 schedule.
The first sizeable jump since then could arrive next season; that’s when the cap is projected to increase by about $4 million.