Minnesota Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt had a surprise waiting for him in the final game of the regular season.
On Tuesday night, Wallstedt took the net in a misspelled “Wallstead” jersey, wearing the erroneous sweater through warmups and the first period against the Anaheim Ducks. He didn’t notice anything unusual until after he’d allowed a goal, when he looked up to review the play on the scoreboard.
“I looked on the Jumbotron, trying to see what went wrong in the play,” he said postgame. “Thought something just looked a little weird on my upper back, and saw that the ‘T’ was gone, and there was an ‘A’ there instead that probably shouldn’t be there.”
Wallstedt immediately suspected the error wasn’t just an innocent equipment mistake: something was afoot.
“I think it was an April Fool’s joke, but a little late,” he said. “I don’t know exactly who it is, but obviously I have a feeling of who it could be,” he said. “I heard something about it a couple of games ago, that my name was misspelled. I never really picked up on it…It was fun, all good.”
Speaking to Fan Duel Sports Network’s Kevin Gorg immediately after the game, Wallstedt pointed the finger at goalie partner Filip Gustavsson.
“I’m assuming it was Gus,” Wallstedt said.
Another potential suspect could be former Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. One of the NHL’s most infamous pranksters in recent memory, Fleury retired after the 2024-25 season but has remained around the team in Minnesota, even occasionally hopping on the ice as a practice goalie.
“Oh, I didn’t even think that Flower could be involved,” Wallstedt told reporters when asked about the possibility. “That’s true, too. Then I definitely think it’s a team job. And well done for them.”
Wallstedt recalled one of Fleury’s most iconic pranks during his time with the Wild: he planted a bed of flowers on former teammate Brandon Duhaime’s car, removing and chaining up his tires and putting a “For Sale” sign on the hood. In comparison, Wallstedt figured he got off lightly.
“I’d rather take it that way than having my car on cinder blocks or something,” Wallstedt said. “So I’d rather have my name a little misspelled.”
Fleury, however, denied any involvement, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. He even had an alibi, telling Russo via text that he was in Las Vegas at the time.
Minnesota equipment staff had fixed Wallstedt’s jersey by the second period, with Russo reporting they had received a new nameplate from the in-arena warehouse that usually makes custom fan jerseys.
Wild head coach John Hynes didn’t hear about the shenanigans until after the game.
“It’s funny, because I did see them re-steaming a name tag on the jersey, but I didn’t think anything of it until they started telling me afterwards,” Hynes said.
Wallstedt went on to make 35 saves in the 3-2 Minnesota win, earning First Star of the Game honors. But as for what happened to one-of-a-kind misprint, he still isn’t sure.
“I don’t know,” he said with a grin. “I hope they threw that nameplate away.”
