The Leafs have a legit chance to pull off a heist to upgrade in net

Per The Fourth Period, the Minnesota Wild are interested to see what the market has to offer in exchange for 25-year-old goaltender Filip Gustavsson.

The young goaltender had a tough season with the Wild this year, posting a 20-17-5 record to go along with a 3.06 GAA and a .899 SV%. Even with a less-than-stellar 2023-24 campaign, we should not be quick to forget his meteoric rise in 2022-23, when he posted a 22-9-7 record, accompanied by a miniscule 2.10 GAA and a sparkling .931 SV%.

A former 2nd round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2016, Gustavsson never actually suited up in the Pens organization. He was dealt to the Ottawa Senators in a 3-way trade with Pittsburgh and Vegas ahead of the trade deadline in 2018. Funny enough, this was the trade that sent current Leaf Ryan Reaves from Pittsburgh to Vegas.

After spending a few seasons with the Senators, Gustavsson was dealt to the Wild in exchange for veteran netminder Cam Talbot.

The Wild have already re-signed Marc-Andre Fleury to an extension, and with young netminder Jesper Wallstedt waiting in the wings, the Wild would be wise to try to bring in some assets for one of their top young pieces.

Gustavsson's struggles this season, combined with his $3.75M cap hit through 2025-26 make him an asset they can afford to move.

With the absence of a clear upgrade over Ilya Samsonov available in free agency, it would make a lot of sense for the Leafs to take a flyer on Gustavsson via trade, with the favourable chance that he returns to form and becomes the highly-skilled NHL goaltender that he appeared to be last season. The move makes even more sense if the Leafs believe Joseph Woll could be a bona-fide 1A tandem goalie. It would make the risk lower on Gustavsson, who had shown in 2022-23 that he can excel at the highest level.

The Leafs have a chance to pull off a heist here. This is the kind of move that they've hesitated to make in the past, but this is a golden opportunity to address one of the team's greatest areas of need and they shouldn't take this opportunity for granted.