Gustavsson looks to raise 'level' with Wild, make Sweden roster for Olympics

Filip Gustavsson recognizes that it's no ordinary goalie Sweden will be looking to replace at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Henrik Lundqvist was a fixture in net for Sweden the last three times NHL players competed in the Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014), helping his country win the gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics and silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The longtime New York Rangers goalie retired in 2021, though, and two years later went into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"The King' has been the best goalie from Sweden since ever," Gustavsson said. "He won everything. He won the world championship, he's won the Olympics and he's only missing the Stanley Cup, so very big shoes to fill."

Gustavsson, who is in his fourth season with the Minnesota Wild, hopes to have the opportunity to prove he can handle the assignment.

"It's been a long time since NHL players have played in the Olympics, so you know it would a very cool opportunity to go there," the 27-year-old Skelleftea native said. "Hopefully, I get selected to that team. You never know when you get the chance to do that again, if you get the chance."

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Gustavsson and the Wild (12-7-4) didn't begin the season how they hoped, but they've turned things around since the start of November. The Wild have won five in a row, and Gustavsson is 4-1-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in six starts this month, heading into their game at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+).

After taking over as the Wild's No. 1 last season, Gustavsson established himself as one of the League's top goalies, setting NHL career highs in games (58) and wins (31-19-6). He ranked fifth in the NHL (minimum 30 games) in save percentage (.914), 10th in GAA (2.56) and tied for fourth in shutouts (five). That earned him a five-year, $34 million contract ($6.8 million average annual value), beginning in the 2026-27 season, that he signed Oct. 4.

Although Gustavsson's numbers this season (6-7-2, 2.79 GAA, .902 save percentage, two shutouts) don't compare favorably yet to what he accomplished last season, he has established a track record of success since being traded to Minnesota by the Ottawa Senators on July 12, 2022. In 157 games (153 starts) with the Wild, he is 79-53-19 with a 2.61 GAA, .913 save percentage and 13 shutouts.

Among goalies to play at least 100 games during that stretch, Gustavsson is tied for third in save percentage, eighth in GAA and tied for fifth in shutouts.

"I think for a starting goalie there's a certain amount of swagger that you need to have and confidence in the way that you play and the way that you practice," Wild coach John Hynes said. "With his demeanor and how hard he competes in the games to get the team to play really hard in front of you, I think he's done that. I've seen a good progression of that and that's why I think he is where he is today."

Goalie coach Linda Blomquist, who started working with Gustavsson when he was 16 with Lulea's under-18 team in Sweden and continues to work with him in the offseason, attributes his progression to finding a style of play he's comfortable with rather than trying to conform solely to what others wanted. That's helped him become more consistent.

"Being in Sweden and playing the way he played here and then moving to North America was a big change and he tried to change a lot of things in his game," Blomquist said. "When he moved over, it was a process of listening to a lot of other people. 'We want you to do this and, for us, it's important that you do this.' He tried to adapt, and he tried to adapt to the smaller rink, and he just tried to adapt to a lot of other people.

"I think in the last few seasons, he's sort of boiled it down to what works for him, how does he want to play in certain situations and what works for his body, his technique, his mindset and so on."

After emerging as one of Sweden's top goalies, Gustavsson went through another learning experience when he played at the 4 Nations Face-Off last season. In two games in the tournament, he was 0-0-1 with 4.19 GAA and .813 save percentage. He stopped 24 of 28 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to Canada before leaving a 4-3 overtime loss Finland because of an illness after allowing two goals on four shots in the first period.

Despite the results, Gustavsson believes playing in his first best-on-best tournament will be invaluable for him if he's picked to Sweden's Olympic team.

"The world championship, you have a lot of NHL players there, but usually the best ones are still in the (Staney Cup) playoffs," Gustavsson said. "For 4 Nations, all the best ones were there. It probably was the quickest hockey I ever played, and so much skill, so a very big challenge.

"Now, I know what level I have to get up to play (in the Olympics), and I know what speed I'm going to expect from all the games there."

Although Sweden doesn't have a goalie with Lundqvist's established resume, it has depth with Gustavsson, Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils, Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators and Samuel Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers. Gustavsson's 23-year-old rookie teammate Jesper Wallstedt has also played himself into the conversation by going 6-0-2 with a 1.94 GAA, .945 save percentage and two shutouts to begin this season.

Sweden national team coach Sam Hallam acknowledged it will be a difficult but important decision to select three goalies from that group for Milano Cortina.

"Henrik was the clear No. 1 for a long, long time both for the Rangers and the national team," Hallam said. "We have a different situation now where we have more starting goalies in the League, which is in a way good. So, what we've said to all of them is just, 'The spots are up for grabs, so you do your thing, you play your game and, hopefully, we're going to have a few goalies that are playing really well.'"

Gustavsson's focus is on helping the Wild win. He said his approach to making the Olympic team is simply, "Just trying to play my best and then, hopefully, get a call."

That call would mean a lot, though.

"I have won the world championship with [Sweden] before (in 2018)," Gustavsson said. "The Olympics is even bigger, so having the chance to do that would be very honorable."