Ryan Reeves now a member of the Minnesota Wild—that was something I was NOT expecting…

I was in the middle of a meeting on Zoom on Wednesday when I received a notification from the Wild app on my phone that Ryan Reaves was now a member of the Minnesota Wild via a trade with the New York Rangers receiving a fifth round pick in the 2025 NHL draft. I immediately did a double take. I was shocked.

If you’re a Wild fan, you remember the fight between Reaves and now-teammate Marcus Foligno from the Wild’s home opener against Reaves’ now former team, the New York Rangers. A little over a month later, they are now teammates. In Reaves’ debut with the Wild vs Toronto, they were actually linemates---and I liked it! (I watched the game on TV on Friday, so I have yet to see this in person.) 

The infamous pic from the Marcus Foligno-Ryan Reaves
bout from the Wild's home opener on October 13
(photo courtesy of Aaron Lavinsky/AP)

Shortly after the trade, Reaves was asked if there was any awkwardness for him now that he’s teammates with Foligno and Reaves replied:

 “Never…I’ve always had respect for him. He plays hard. He plays the right way. He doesn’t do anything dirty. He sticks up for his teammates. He answers the bell when he has to. That’s a guy I’ve always respected. No hard feelings.”

Reaves went on to say that he did get a        text message from Foligno shortly after the trade was made official stating they’d be meeting on better terms. Reaves replied with “it was never and terms. It was just business.”

Wild Head Coach Dean Evason was asked about Ryan Reaves during his post-game press conference Wednesday night after the Wild beat up on the Winnipeg Jets 6-1. Evason stated that even though he hadn’t spoken with Reaves yet, he knew Reaves was on his way to the Twin Cities so that he could practice with the team the next day. (Reaves made his debut with his new team when the Wild faced Toronto the day after Thanksgiving).

According to nhl.com and Bardown Beauty’s Jessi Pierce, the cheers were loud when Reaves was introduced in the starting lineup for the game against Toronto.

Tweet courtesy of Jessi Pierce (@jessi_pierce) 

The trade worked out for all sides involved. Reaves had been a healthy scratch for seven of the last eight games he was with the Rangers. There are reports Reaves actually requested the trade based off of his lack of playing time. With Reaves joining the Wild line up, that frees up Marcus Foligno from having to play the “enforcer” role and focus more on his game. Wild General Manager Bill Guerin believes he can help the team rediscover their hard-forechecking identity, along with bringing an energy they definitely need. Reaves stated to the The Athletic before flying here to the Twin Cities:

 “…I bring energy, I bring physical play, I bring swagger. I look forward to bringing that in Minny. I’m excited. They had a good run last year. They’re a good team. Just fell short.” 

I don't know about you, but I think the Minnesota Wild are happy to have Ryan Reaves in a Wild uniform.... 

Sources:

Wild add Ryan Reaves, then take a big step toward finding their identity

Rangers trade Ryan Reaves to Wild: Why the forward is a good fit for Minnesota

Jessi Pierce on twitter

Matt Dumba in a contract year—how much longer will he be with the Minnesota Wild?

 

It’s well known Matt Dumba is entering the last year of a 5-year, $30 million contract with the only team he’s been with—the Minnesota Wild. He signed that contract after coming off of a season where he scored 50 points during the 2017-18 season (when Paul Fenton was the Wild’s GM). There were some pretty high hopes for Dumba when he signed that contract—where that 50 point (14 G, 36 A) season was a springboard to him becoming a strong offensive defenseman….

Well, that really hasn’t happened. 

Matt Dumba (photo courtesy of Jess Star/The Hockey Writers)

Since he was injured in a fight with Matthew Tkachuck back in December 2018 and missed more than half of the 2018-19 season recovering from a chest injury and surgery. Ever since, he’s missed time pretty much every season since and he hasn’t put up more than 30 points since.  (He did have 7 goals and 20 assists in 57 games last season).

Ever since he’s been with the Wild (he was drafted by the team as the 7^th overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft), Dumba has always been the subject of potential trade rumors. He was an exposed defenseman in the 2017 expansion draft for the Vegas Golden Knights. He wasn’t chosen by the team when Chuck Fletcher traded Alex Tuch in a side deal that included the Knights picking Erik Haula. Dumba wasn’t exposed as an option for the Kraken during the 2021 expansion draft (the Kraken ended up taking Carson Soucy from the Wild).

(photo courtesy of Icon Sportswire)

I think the Wild may actually try to move on from Dumba. The salary cap issue doesn’t help, either. The Wild already have a projected $66.3 million invested in 13 players for the 2023-24 season and the salary cap for next season is only going to increase by $1 million to $83.5 million. Then Matt Boldy, Sam Steel, and Filip Gustavsson are all restricted free agents at the end of this season. Depending on how all three perform this season, they could be looking at some pay increases. Dumba will be an unrestricted free agent and I don’t see him taking a pay cut to stay here.

I got the chance to ask Michael Russo from The Athletic at a recording of the Worst Seats in the House podcast recently about if the 6'0", 183 lb defenseman will be with the team at the end of the season. Russo did state he believes this is it for Dumba with the Wild. He believes Dumba will either be traded or he’ll walk.

There is a quote from The Athletic about a trade possibly involving Dumba:

 

“And finally, if the Wild fall out of contention this season, pending UFA blueliner Matt Dumba most likely will be trade bait. He has a 10-team no-trade list. He might be part of trade discussions even if the Wild stay in the playoff race, as part of a hockey trade to augment the Minnesota roster.”

 

He’s also hasn’t been playing all that great for someone who is in a contract year. Wild Head Coach Dean Evason recently demoted Dumba to the third defensive pairing with Jon Merrill. That may have provided some sort of a spark for Dumba—along with the rest of the defensive core.

With his being a contract year, Dumba really needs to step up and improve his game if he thinks he may get a pay raise after this season. It’s clear that he hasn’t been the same since that fight with Matthew Tkachuk four years ago. It’s going to be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out. The Wild also have a good pool of defense prospects (like Ben Faber) who could make the jump to the NHL line up, making Dumba expendable. 

The days of Matt Dumba in a Wild sweater are definitely numbered…how he leaves, remains to be seen.

 

Sources:

Worst Seats in the House, Episode "Back at Tuttles" (https://talknorth.com/worst-seats/)

Wild reportedly could trade Dumba, even if team is winning

Who is Filip Gustavsson? Is there going to be a possible back-up goalie controversy in Minnesota?

 

When Cam Talbot was traded to the Ottawa Senators back in July, I wasn’t exactly surprised that happened. However, when it was announced the Wild were getting goalie Filip Gustavsson in return. My first thought was “who is he?”

To be honest with you, I never really heard of Gustavsson until he was traded. So, who is Filip Gustavsson?

Well, he’s a 24-year-old Skelleftea, Sweden native who split time between Ottawa and their AHL affiliate Belleville. Last season with Ottawa in 18 games, Gustavsson posted a 5-12-1 record to go along with a 3.55 GAA and .892 save percentage. He also appeared in 20 games in Belleville, going 11-6-1 with a 2.50 GAA, .915 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. He’s a former second round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2016) and also spent time with the Swedish Junior National team (2016 bronze medal 2016 IIHF World Under-18 and 2018 silver medal 2018 IIHF World Juniors).

Filip Gustavsson during a preseason game

I will admit that I didn’t get to see Gustavsson when he was in net when the Senators came to town last season. In that game, So, my first chance to see him in net was when the Wild faced the Blackhawks on Thursday (October 6).  In my opinion, he looked good in net. He stopped 25 out of 26 shots. The one goal he let in would be considered a softy, otherwise he was solid in the net for the Wild.

When the puck drops for real on October 13, Gustavsson will be the #2 goalie behind Marc-Andre Fleury.

Now, the question is how long do you keep Jesper Wallstedt in Iowa? First, Wild GM Bill Guerin has said he’s not going to rush the teenage goalie’s development. I think that’s a smart move for now as he gets adjusted to the North American rinks. Even Wallstedt knows this is going to be an adjustment as he gets used to the rinks here. He even stated so in a recent quote after a Wild practice:

“The angles are different here from back home, on the smaller ice. But I think I just have to keep improving my speed and my lateral movements on the ice and on my feet and become faster every day. Just try to improve the reading for the game and try to see plays happen before they do.”

It’s a smart move on Guerin’s part to have Wallstedt be down in Iowa, considering that he’s only 19 (he’ll turn 20 in November) and this is going to be his first season here in North America. He’ll split time in Iowa with former University of North Dakota goalie Zane McIntyre, who signed with the Iowa Wild in January.

Jesper Wallstedt during training camp
with the Minnesota Wild

As far as a back-up goalie controversy? I really don’t see one. If Fleury or Gustavsson were to get injured (hopefully that does NOT happen), the next to be called up to the Wild would probably be Zane McIntyre. McIntyre’s last appearance in the NHL came with the Boston Bruins back during the 2016-17 season where he appeared in at least eight games.

I believe the Wild are going to give Wallstedt at least a full year in Iowa and let him develop. He very well could end up being in a Minnesota Wild uniform full time next year—depending how Gustavsson plays this year, with this being a contract year for him.

Filip Gustavsson is the #2 goalie for at least this year.

Sources:

Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt impressing in first camp, but don’t expect a fast track (Michael Russo, The Athletic, Sept. 27, 2002)

Jesper Wallstedt