Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury’s special bond is shaping the Wild’s future in net

Sports

add

ST. PAUL, Minn — The idea first came to Filip Gustavsson the night before Tuesday’s regular-season finale.

The Wild goaltender was going to find a way to get Marc-Andre Fleury another chance to play in front of the Xcel Energy Center crowd. He’d fake a lace issue on his skate late in the game if they were up big — whatever it took. So when Minnesota clinched a playoff spot by forcing overtime in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, he sprinted to the bench to get coach John Hynes to put Fleury in.

“I was like, it would be just a perfect moment if he jumps in for overtime and gets the last win,” Gustavsson said.

Everyone knows what happened next: a vintage and fitting Fleury swan song, giving him his 575th career win, a standing ovation and tribute from both teams. Marcus Foligno called it “a big moment in the history of this organization.”

The gesture not only speaks to Gustavsson’s character and how he fits with the Wild’s team culture, it’s also a reflection of the relationship and bond built between Gustavsson, 26, and Fleury, 40. The friend, mentor and likely future Hall of Famer has played a strong role in Gustavsson’s rise to the team’s No. 1 for now — and potentially the future.

The Wild rode Gustavsson down the stretch, starting him in 19 of the final 22 games as they white-knuckled their way into the playoffs. And if they have any chance of beating the Golden Knights in this first-round series, Gustavsson will be a big reason why.

“I see him as one of the best in the league for sure,” Fleury said. “I see him do it night in, night out. He’s played a lot of hockey the last six weeks, and there’s no letdown. He always stays ready. I think that’s a good sign of a No. 1 that can play, he can manage himself to play a lot of hockey games. There’s ups and downs. You always got to be ready for that next one, and it shows a lot about him.”

Filip Gustavsson played the vast majority of the Wild’s run to the playoffs. (Derek Cain / Getty Images)

Gustavsson played at a Vezina Trophy-candidate level in his first season with the Wild two years ago, with his .931 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average among the league leaders. It earned him a three-year extension ($3.75 million AAV), with the Swede saying he wanted to prove he was a No. 1. But last year was tough for Gustavsson and the Wild, and they missed the playoffs.

Gustavsson wasn’t consistent, partially because he was too hard on himself after bad goals or bad games. He’d dwell on them, letting those feelings linger.

“When the team is not winning, it’s easy to not have fun playing hockey,” Gustavsson said. “It’s hard to go out and perform at the highest level if you’re a little uncomfortable, a little mad. Sometimes I’d take it too personally when we were losing. I feel like goalies have such a big part of the team. Good teams can win hockey games, but if you have a bad goalie, you’re never going to win anyways.

“I take a lot of it personally when the team is losing. I’ve handled that in a better way, and that’s helping me.”

Gustavsson said watching the joy Fleury displays during practices and games helped change his outlook. How the 40-year-old handled the highs and lows of the past couple seasons. How he handled not playing very much at all.

“We play because it’s fun, and he’s just making you relax a little bit,” Gustavsson said. “Just play. Just do your thing. Especially at this level, it’s kind of stressful sometimes. There’s very high pressure. And having someone like that to calm you down, and you see him having fun out there, it’s helped me.”

Fleury has been a great resource because he’s lived it. As much as Fleury is known for winning (second all-time behind Martin Brodeur) and his three Stanley Cup titles, he did a lot of losing his first couple years in Pittsburgh. And it wore on him.

“At a young age, I would read the paper, and I’d take things personally,” Fleury said. “And it would be hard when we lose, and we didn’t win much. I got better as my team helped teach me to move on quickly. I can’t do anything about the past, right? Move on quick, get ready for the next one. That’s how it is. It helped my career.”

Fleury went as far as to work with a sports psychologist in Montreal in 2010-12, almost a decade into his pro career.

At first, he was reluctant. “I just thought, ‘Eh, I’m not crazy, I’ll figure it out,’” he said, smiling. “But it was for the best. I’m really glad I did it. He helped me find ways to stay calm after a bad goal, bad game, not let it get worse.”

You could sense a similar change in Gustavsson this year. There’d be games where he’d talk after and point out a goal he allowed was due to a really good NHL player making a great shot. He understood and was able to put in context when there were bad goals, ones he could look at video and fix.

“The big part of being a No. 1 goalie is the even keel,” Hynes said. “Being an extreme competitor and being able to play in environments, but also whether it’s a goal or a game, he’s had a very good self-assessment of his game. Then understanding, okay, if it was a goal that went in, it was something he should have had, and there’s a response.”

The way Gustavsson has responded this season, putting together a .914 save percentage and a career-high five shutouts, should affect the Wild’s big-picture thinking in net. He’s been consistent and durable, playing in a career-high 58 games, tied for fifth most in the league.

Touted prospect Jesper Wallstedt, who has been projected for a few years as Minnesota’s goalie of the future, admittedly had a “terrible,” injury-plagued season in AHL Iowa (3.59 goals against average, .879 save percentage). While Minnesota isn’t going to give up on the 22-year-old Wallstedt, who still projects as the team’s backup next season, they will likely consider approaching Gustavsson about an extension. (Talks, however, wouldn’t start until this summer at the earliest in that scenario.)

Following Marc-Andre Fleury’s example this season helped Gustavsson play to career highs in games played and shutouts. (Matt Blewett / Imagn Images)

Gustavsson, entering the prime of his career, is playing like he doesn’t plan on giving up the net anytime soon. You can tell how much his teammates love him and enjoy playing in front of him.

“It’s just his confidence, his steadiness,” Foligno said. “That’s the biggest thing with Gus. You want to see the amount of games this year, and that’s an encouraging sign with the conditioning and all that stuff. He’s improved so much. When we’ve gone through a drought or a tough trip here, he’s bounced back with some good games. And as of late, he’s been our best player. We’re going to need him in the playoffs. You need good goaltending. He’s focused. As long as he’s trying to figure out animals starting with A to Z, we’ll be fine.”

That’s referring to a fun game Gustavsson, Fleury and assistant equipment manager Matt Benz play. Gustavsson likes to keep his mind off the game during intermissions, so the three of them work together and complete some categories the starting goaltender comes up with: Name an animal, a car, a fruit or vegetable starting with every letter from A to Z.

“We cheat sometimes when we can’t get it,” Gustavsson said. “I’m not big on vegetables.”

Saturday night in Vancouver, Fleury said a security guard by the locker room helped them figure out a fruit starting with Q, which had stumped them: quince.

“Between periods and throughout the game, you’re standing there just focusing for so long, and between whistles, if you can just let go for 10 seconds, it helps a lot,” Gustavsson said. “Because it gets so exhausting from just staring it down all the time.”

Gustavsson’s perspective has changed a lot as well because his most important role: dad. His oldest son, Vollrad, turns two this summer, and he and his wife Rebecka welcomed their second, Lage, on March 26.

“You can’t go home and be pissed off and bring that energy home,” he said. “Because you go home and they’re so happy.”

Gustavsson was happy how perfectly his tagging-in of Fleury worked out during Tuesday’s overtime: “Players like that, if you give them the cards, they play it right every time.” He had heard and read what Fleury was like as a teammate, and it’s been “everything what you expect.” How Fleury attacks every practice like his last, tries to stop every shot, “spreads to the rest of the team.” The pranks keep everyone on their toes.

Fleury, who is grateful for the veterans who welcomed him into the league, said he’s happy he was able to cross paths with Gustavsson on his journey and be a small part of it.

“I love Gus,” Fleury said. “I’ve been very lucky in my career. I know my role, know where I’m at. I’m glad I can work with Gus, try to help him. I don’t know if I do. I just try to be there for him if he needs someone to talk to. We can talk about fruits or whatever. We can talk about whatever he needs.”

(Top photo: Luke Schmidt / NHLI via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to miss Everton game with injury

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Enzo Maresca says he still has full support of Chelsea board after Legia Warsaw defeat

Sports