Wild Report Cards 2025-26: Filip Gustavsson – Hockey Writers –

The offseason for the Minnesota Wild continues to roll along, as does the NHL postseason. The end of the season means that it is time for each player to receive their grade reports for the previous season. Although this season ended quickly for the Wild after eliminating the Dallas Stars in Round 1, there is still a lot of good to come out of it.

The first report card of the series was handed to goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, who was the hero of the Wild’s short season, even if it ended quickly. Next on the list is Wallstedt’s teammate, Filip Gustavsson, who had a strong season leading up to the 2026 Olympics. Then he struggled in the last week or so of the season, leading to Wallstedt being selected in the postseason. In this article, we’ll look at Gustavsson’s performance in the regular season and one game in the postseason and come up with an overall grade.

Gustavsson’s Up & Down Regular Season

The start of the season for Gustavsson started with a big win, but was followed by ups and downs that included a few losses in the first month of the season. However, he and his teammates found a way to change in the month of November, and the victories began to follow. He went from a 2-6-1 record with a .892 save percentage (SV%) and 3.37 goals against average (GAA) in October to a 5-1-2 record in November with a .923 SV% and 2.06 GAA.

That was a huge improvement from one month to the next, and the team continued to improve along with Gustavsson over the next few months. Before the Olympics, he had a 20-9-6 record with a .907 SV% and a 2.64 GAA. After the Olympics, he went 8-6 with a .895 SV% and a 2.82 GAA. Overall, his record has been affected a bit, but not badly. The 2-2 record he had to finish in the final month of the season was the most shocking.

Although he struggled throughout the season, the last two games, which he could have lost by five goals apiece, were a real problem, especially going into the postseason. If you look at his regular season from start to finish, it’s hard to argue that he didn’t get better as time went on. He had a little trouble of late, but now that he was injured according to general manager Bill Guerin and had to undergo postseason surgery, it’s easy to believe that was part of the problem.

It has never been indicated that an injury has bothered him during the season, but if the injury requires surgery, there is a good chance it will. Regardless, after looking at his stats, he got a B+. It is hard to ignore his improvement from start to finish, but there is also room for further improvement, which is why the grade was not high.

Gustavsson’s One-Game Postseason

This is a little hard to measure given the circumstances, as Gustavsson only has one game in the postseason, and it was a struggle. However, it’s important to look at what he’s getting into first and go from there. Wallstedt started in the postseason because of Gustavsson’s struggles at the end of the regular season. Wallstedt did well, but then hit a highlight reel in his first game against the Colorado Avalanche, losing 9-6. The Wild felt they had to change the scoring at least in Game 2, which is where Gustavsson came in after not playing for nearly three weeks.

The game was difficult, as the first shot he faced went towards him, but later on he seemed to settle down. The Avalanche won 5-2, but the loss cannot be placed solely on Gustavsson’s shoulders. He struggled, yes, but the odds were against him, and his defense had issues ahead of him. Most would believe that he deserves a lower grade for losing, but it’s not fair in just one game; of course, it was the postseason, but it’s still tough.

Looking at that game, he got a C, an average game grade. That may seem high, but it was his first game back in three weeks. He may have been dealing with an injury, and it was against the Avalanche, who were playing a solid game at the time. Yes, he could have been better, but he did his best, and improved as time went on. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t do the same in the end.

“I thought mentally, it was probably one of my best games coming into the game. You know, sometimes you’re very stressed or nervous when you go into a game, and you know, that game, it felt like I couldn’t control my emotions very well. You know, maybe I didn’t have the best game ever. I didn’t have my worst game, but you know, I thought I handled it better, sometimes I win, yes I want to. Gustavsson told the media in his interview of the end of the season about coming to Game 2.

Gustavsson’s Total Grade

Now that the season is over and there’s been time to look at Gustavsson’s stats, it’s time to reveal his overall range. He earned a B+ for the regular season and a C in his postseason, meaning his overall grade is a B-. It might be less, but it doesn’t make sense to measure his extra mileage in one postseason game compared to 50 regular season games.

Again, some may think B- is too high given his struggles throughout the regular season and playoffs. However, as mentioned before, he had an impressive improvement from start to finish, and that was important for the Wild to reach the postseason. On the other hand, for those who think that the B- is not high enough, the problems that Gustavsson had during the season cannot be ignored either.

Trying to measure his mistakes with his progress and fairness when it comes to his grades. Also, as mentioned above, knowing that Gustavsson had to have surgery and had to be reinserted because he may have played while dealing with this injury. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Wild’s forwards this offseason and if Gustavsson can improve his quality next season.