Wild Goalie Tops Western Conference Regression Candidates

The Minnesota Wild, like so many teams in the NHL, are hoping that last season was a stepping stone toward something bigger in 2025-2026. The unfortunate truth is that many teams and players will be disappointed with what the upcoming season brings.

For the Wild and these two other teams, they have three candidates that are most likely to take a step back in the upcoming campaign.

Matt Duchene - Dallas Stars

Matt Duchene's career resurgence after the age of 30 is truly a thing to behold. The former top-5 pick in the NHL Draft was a 60-to-70-point player for the first decade of his career and looked to be declining before reviving his offensive touch with the Nashville Predators and continuing that with the Dallas Stars. Last season was the second-best offensive season of his 16-year career, scoring 30 goals and adding 52 assists for 82 points in 82 games. The Stars rewarded him with a new four-year contract.

The Stars have tons of pressure heading into this season, and Duchene is a big part of that. The only trouble is he'll turn 35 during the season. How much can a Stanley Cup-contending team count on an aging veteran to contribute? Expect a step back from back-to-back 80-point seasons for the Dallas center.

Brandt Clarke - Los Angeles Kings

This is a difficult one to suggest. Clarke had a breakout season in his first whole campaign with the Kings, finishing with five goals and 28 assists for 33 points in 78 games. The 22-year-old defender is the heir apparent to replace Drew Doughty as the leader of the right side.

Two things are going against Clarke in the upcoming season, though. The first is the dreaded sophomore slump, something that particularly afflicts defensemen in the NHL. The second is the team's offseason activity puts his ice time in danger next season. They signed a pair of veteran defensemen in Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin, both of whom could take ice time away from the developing defender. Don't despair Kings fans, it will just be a bump in the road for the talented blue liner.

Filip Gustavsson - Minnesota Wild

Filip Gustavsson has consistently improved his total starts while assuming the starting role in Minnesota over the past few seasons. Last year marked a career high in starts for Gustavsson with 58. He finished with a 31-19-6 record to pair with a 2.56 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

Gustavsson has played at least 18 games in four straight NHL seasons. Over that span, a notable pattern has emerged. He alternates between having excellent and mediocre GAA and save percentage statistics. In 2021-2022, he posted a 3.55 GAA and .892 save percentage. He followed that up with a 2.10 GAA and .931 save percentage. In 2023-2024, he posted a 3.06 GAA and .899 save percentage. Noticing the pattern?

If it holds, there will be regression for Gustavsson in 2025-2026, and the Wild will be dealing with potential goaltending issues.