Wild Place Brock Faber and Filip Gustavsson on IR in Brutal Double Blow
The Minnesota Wild just placed their top young defenseman and their starting goalie on injured reserve at the exact same time, which is the hockey equivalent of your engine and your brakes falling out of the car on the highway.
Daily Faceoff reported Monday that and Filip Gustavsson are officially on IR. For a team that just dropped three straight games to the and Dallas Stars while scoring a grand total of four goals, losing your defensive anchor and your $34 million netminder is a brutal reality check.
Gustavsson is recovering from offseason hip surgery and is not expected back until early November. He posted a solid 28-15-6 record with a 2.69 goals-against average last season, earning that massive five-year extension. Now, the crease belongs to Jesper Wallstedt, which completely shifts the math for anyone looking at Minnesota's upcoming moneylines.
Then there is Faber. This is a guy who played through fractured ribs for two months last year without missing a single game. If a player with that kind of absurd pain tolerance is hitting the injured reserve, you know it is not just a minor tweak.
The Wild are already staring down a miserable stretch after dropping back-to-back games to Dallas. Trying to survive the Central Division without your workhorse defenseman and your starting goalie is like trying to win a fistfight with both arms tied behind your back.
Wallstedt is going to get a trial by fire over the next month. If he cannot hold the fort until Gustavsson's hip heals up in November, Minnesota might be looking at a lost season before the snow even starts falling.