Besides the obvious need for a top 6 center, Guerin also needs to figure out the goalie situation. He was complimentary of Stalock, so I don't think he's going anywhere and really he probably should be brought back. The way I see it, he has a few options:
- Give Dubnyk a chance to rebound and let him compete with Stalock for starts
- Give Kahkonen a chance and let him compete with Stalock for starts
- Buyout Dubnyk and sign a UFA goalie (either short term or long term)
- Buyout Dubnyk and trade for a goalie
- If all else fails, go with Nordy and Stalock. I was an advocate for giving Nordy a chance when they were struggling through Kuemper and Backstrom before Dubnyk was acquired. lol

Personally I don't want them to rush Kahkonen and think he really could use a solid AHL playoff run to give him some big game experience. I'm ok with them signing someone like Lehner to a 3 year deal at most, but the contract can't have a NMC that forces them to expose Kahkonen to Seattle so going with a 1 year UFA like Khudobin might make more sense. As for trades, I think the only trade that makes much sense is getting Raanta from Arizona. His save % was fine last year in 33 starts and his deal expires after next season so no need to worry about the expansion draft. With Arizona needing to shed cap, they could probably acquire him cheap enough too. Thoughts?

I've been thinking about this for a while now. At first, I really wanted to go after Markstrom. I think he would be a great fit here. However, at age 30 I'm not sure if he'd be the solution. I know goalies typically last a lot longer than other positions but that's still a risk considering where we are as a franchise. Markstrom would be perfect IF: 1.) We acquire a 1C who meshes perfectly 2.) Kaprizov is everything we hoped he would be 3.) We hit a home run on the 9OA. Only these 3 things would make Markstrom the perfect signing. Otherwise by the time the rest of the team catches up to him, he'll be on the decline.

However, since most of the options at goalie are older, I'm with you. Let's do a quick 1-2 year option and reassess either via trade/FA/Prospect pool what our options are. Say we sign Khudobin to 1-2 year deal and Kappo goes off...then we're not on the hook for much from Khudobin. Say Kappo doesn't go off, then Khudobin can be a stop gap until we see if Jones/Robson or an alternative option is best.

TL,DR; Khudobin to 1-2 is best option imo

I've definitely gotten tired of Dubnyk, so I wouldn't be opposed to trying to trade him or burying him and signing a guy like Greiss or Khubodin to a 2 year deal. Then we could have the new UFA and Stalock split like 72 or so of the starts and give Kahk maybe 5-10 starts here and there. If we find ourselves out of the playoff race, then they could maybe give Kahk a few more of the low pressure games to end the year.

The Wild already made their move for goaltending: they fired the goalie coach.

Do nothing and run with what they have:
-No buyout of Dub. Nobody is going to want him in a trade. Play him 20-30 games or send him through waivers. Don't re-sign him after next season.
-Don't trade for another goalie. None of the available goalies are better than what MN has.
-Don't sign a UFA goalie. The only ones worth going after are Lehner and Markstrom and they'll cost too much in cap.
-Make KK the backup and give him 20-30 games next season. He's done everything he can at the lower levels and the next level of his development is the NHL. He's 24 and it's time to see if he has what it takes to be a NHL goalie. He can always be sent back to Iowa if things aren't working out.
-Stalock is Stalock. He might turn back into a pumpkin next season or he might not. Play him 20-30 games and expose him in the expansion draft.
-When one of the goalies gets hot, ride them until they cool off.
-Make a trade in-season if all of the goalies are a flop.

I think this is exactly what the Wild should and will do. There are a couple teams with extra goalies (Penguins, Blue Jackets, Rangers) that it would be worth looking at, but in no case should the Wild move anything of real value and the only way I take Lundqvist is if the Rangers are paying Wild to take him.
Only reason I am not sold on KK is that I have read that most NHL scouts don't see him as a NHL #1. So I think Wild need to keep their mind open.

I don't think most scouts know much about goalies. Their game is more mental than physical. So it's a guessing game when it comes to the mental side. Scouts now have the "you need to be 6'6" to be a starting goalie" mindset.

Look at Kemps, he was always had more skill than Dub, just couldn't get the short memory part of the position down. He was great until the first goal in every game, then it was a roller coaster after that.

If goalies were easy to scout, there would be more taken in the 1st round. Even after they make it to the NHL, you never really know how a goalie will pan out long term. Such a fluky, streaky position.

The mental side of the game is what separates the goalies. All tools and no toolbox position players will get a bunch of chances to make mistakes figure things out. A goalie with all the tools might only get 1 or 2 chances because his mistakes all end up on the scoreboard.