Gustavsson Injury Update: Wild Goalie a Month Away

Filip Gustavsson is still a long way from the Wild crease.

Minnesota coach John Hynes told reporters Sunday before the Blue Jackets game that his goalie is at least another month out, as Jess Myers of the Pioneer Press reported. Hynes was asked how much longer Gustavsson could be sidelined.

“Quite a ways,” Hynes said.

Hynes was then asked whether that meant more than a month. He wouldn’t put a date on it, but he didn’t sound hopeful about a quick turnaround.

“I don’t think less than a month,” Hynes said.

The one positive is that Gustavsson is on the ice. Hynes said he “just started skating on his own,” and he hasn’t joined his teammates for practice yet. That points to mid-November as the earliest realistic return.

Minnesota placed him on injured reserve before opening night, with the Wild making the move official in this announcement:

The hip surgery was never going to be a quick fix. Wild GM Bill Guerin said at his end-of-season press conference in May that he didn’t know if Gustavsson would be ready for the start of the year. Here’s Joe Smith’s post from that day:

Gustavsson is 28 and in the first season of a five-year, $34 million extension. He went 28-15-6 last season but struggled in April, losing his last two regular-season starts and his only playoff appearance.

Jesper Wallstedt has run with the job in his absence. He started seven of Minnesota’s first eight games and carries a 1.99 goals-against average and .921 save percentage, per Pro Hockey Rumors. Calvin Pickard has made one start, a 5-2 loss in his hometown of Winnipeg.

Once Gustavsson is healthy, Minnesota will have three goalies who could start. Myers noted Guerin may eventually have to trade one to balance the roster. Wallstedt is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, and Pro Hockey Rumors projects his next deal could top $8 million. Quinn Hughes hits the open market next summer too.

For now, Wallstedt keeps the net.