3 reasons the Red Wings must trade for Filip Gustavsson
Gustavsson has shown potential to be an elite netminder
No, Filip Gustavsson did not enjoy a good season with the Wild, where he failed to improve on his 2022-23 performance. Overall, he started 43 games and won 20 of them, with a 3.06 GAA, an 0.899 save percentage, nine ‘really bad starts,’ and a meager 0.419 quality starts percentage.
But let’s not judge Gustavsson because he took a step back in 2023-24, as his 2022-23 numbers were epic. That season, he started 37 games, won 22, posted a 0.931 save percentage, a 2.10 GAA, four ‘really bad starts,’ and a 0.730 quality starts percentage. The only commonality he had between his 2022-23 and 2023-24 numbers was that he posted three shutouts in each season.
Yes, the 2022-23 Wild were a good team, but they also weren’t good offensively, finishing 22nd in the league with 246 goals for. At 5-on-5, they finished the year with a 7.3 shooting percentage, a 49.6 Corsi, 49.8 percent scoring chances for, an xGF of 163.6, and a modest 50.4 percent high-danger chances for.
That said, Gustavsson helped keep this team in games, serving in a true 1B role behind Marc-Andre Fleury. It shows that when the pressure isn’t fully on Gustavsson he can be a great goaltender, and luckily, the Red Wings have a player in Alex Lyon, with whom he can team up.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)