To me, it actually has not THAT much to do with the disparity in ability/talent between the two. The issue is the contract situation. The Wild are on the hook with Gus for the next 5 years at $6.8M/yr
Wallstedt has one more year at $2.2M and then he's still a Restricted FA.
Sure, if the numbers were the same, you keep Wallstedt and try to trade Gus. But finding a willing taker for that Gus contract may not be easy. A willing taker for Wallstedt would be easy and you could expect a decent return.
I'll throw out a question for the most ardent of Wild fans (because I haven't watched enough to REALLY know) but is the gap between Gus and Wallstedt REALLY very much? What I'm getting at is, are they really a lesser caliber team if they moved Wallstedt for assets and kept Gus than they would be Paying someone to take Gus just to keep Wallstedt?
I've said it before and I'll repeat it; I think the Wild situation with Gus is virtually identical to the VGK situation with Adin Hill. There have been times both goalies played at or above the long term contract they signed (Hill has an almost identical $6.X/yr number) but both teams appear to have better options in house. Adin Hill carried the VGK to the Stanley Cup in 2023, and that's not nothing.
At the end of the day, I think the VGK will be MUCH more desperate to move Adin Hill this summer than the Wild will be to move Gus