Wild goaltenders Filip Gustavsson, Marc-Andre Fleury weigh offseason roles

Filip Gustavsson hopes to play more games next season and help the Wild return to the playoffs.

Before the goaltender can attempt either, he will need to re-sign.

"I pretty much told my agent [to] call me when the contract is done and then I see what it is," Gustavsson said Monday at Xcel Energy Center, where the team held its exit meetings after getting eliminated from the playoffs.

Gustavsson joined the Wild last summer from Ottawa in the Cam Talbot trade, and the 24-year-old made an impressive debut.

After finishing the regular season with the second-best save percentage (.931) and goals-against average (2.10) in the NHL, Gustavsson set a franchise record with 51 saves in the Wild's Game 1 double-overtime victory against Dallas.

"First game was good," said Gustavsson, who went 22-9-7 leading up to the playoffs. "Thought I played pretty average for the rest of the games."

The Wild tabbed Marc-Andre Fleury for Game 2 but after Dallas won to even the series, Gustavsson started the remaining games before the Wild were bounced from contention with a 4-1 loss in Game 6 on Friday.

"I just wasn't a big difference-maker for the team that maybe we needed it sometimes," Gustavsson said. "We had trouble with the [penalty kill]. I let in a few bad goals on the PK."

During the offseason, the Wild want Gustavsson to work on his conditioning to handle more action.

"I wouldn't say it's hard for me to play the same way as I've been playing this year," said Gustavsson, who will be a restricted free agent eligible for arbitration when his two-year, $1.575 million contract expires this summer. "So, I don't know why it would change for next year if I play the same way."

Chasing history

Fleury isn't sure what his role will look like next season, but he said he will live with whatever decision the Wild make when it comes to their goaltending.

"I'm tired of moving," he said. "Not going anywhere."

The veteran netminder was also fine with Gustavsson starting most of the first round.

"He's been great all season long," Fleury said. "He had the second-best goalie stats in the league, right? It's all good to me. I try to support him and encourage him. I fully trust that he could get the job done."

Statistics: Fleury | Gustavsson

Still under contract for another year, Fleury said he will think about retiring after next season, but the 38-year-old acknowledged "that could be it." The future Hall of Famer and three-time Stanley Cup champion is eight victories away from passing Patrick Roy for the second-most all time among goaltenders; Fleury is at 544.

"Patrick was definitely one of my idols, a guy I grew up watching and [cheering] on," Fleury said. "I loved watching, tried to play like him. Just to be so close to him now is a little surreal."

What went wrong

Ryan Reaves felt the Wild were frustrated against the Stars and that they let the officials and their calls get to them.

"Discipline was a big part of this series," the forward said. "When I first got traded here, I think discipline was a problem, too. Not only are you killing off penalties and you're not 5-on-5, but you're taking your best players out of the game for extended periods of time."

Ryan Hartman pointed out a lack of execution as to what stung the Wild.

"I don't think we capitalized on our opportunities to extend leads, to get leads, to extend series leads," Hartman explained. "There's a lot of opportunities to score the first goal. In a couple games, we could have been up 2, 3-0 in the first period, and we failed to do that."

Looking ahead

Reaves, Gus Nyquist and Marcus Johansson said they would consider re-signing with the Wild.

All three are pending free agents.

"I was thrilled that [General Manager Bill Guerin] took a chance on me and traded for me there at the deadline and gave me a chance to play again playoff hockey," Nyquist said.

"Great group of guys. Great team. I have nothing but good things to say about this place, and I had a great experience here."

A factor for Reaves is stability for his family after moving around the past few seasons; he'd like to sign a contract for more than a year.

"I want to be around a good group of guys, and that's what this team has," Reaves said. "So that's a no-brainer. I want to win. This team has what it takes to win; it's just whenever they get over the hump. My last couple years, I'd like to squeeze out every dollar I can, too."

Offseason focus

Rookie Brock Faber believes he's ready to be a full-time NHLer after playing eight games with the Wild since leaving the Gophers to turn pro.

"Winning is the No. 1 thing, and I've lost a lot recently," Faber said. "But I'm going to try and not let it happen again. I'll do anything I can to help this team be better."

Faber suited up for only two regular-season games after the Gophers dropped the national championship game to Quinnipiac but was a mainstay on the Wild blue line in the playoffs, appearing in all six games while averaging 14 minutes, 33 seconds of ice time.

He called the summer "probably the most important offseason" he'll have.

"It's a whole different level, and 82 games is something you're not used to in college," the Maple Grove native said. "So, learning from the guys, trying to train like a pro and do anything I can, sleep, food, all of the little things that these guys have. They're pros, so again trying to learn from them and come back as prepared as I can."