John Chayka could land a multiple Stanley Cup winner in a blockbuster trade

The Maple Leafs are being connected to Sergei Bobrovsky this morning, with Elliotte Friedman floating the name publicly in his latest 32 Thoughts column dated June 21.

Friedman's angle goes deeper than just a goalie rumour.

He noted that Anthony Stolarz won a Stanley Cup with the Panthers backing up Bobrovsky, and that Steven Lorentz was, in Friedman's words, Bobrovsky's shooter on faceoffs in Florida.

Both Stolarz and Lorentz are now in Toronto.

Elliotte Friedman: Re Maple Leafs: Sergei Bobrovsky, don't forget, Anthony Stolarz won a Stanley Cup backing up Bobrovsky; Steven Lorentz was Bobrovsky's shooter; wouldn't shock me if he ended up being their guy potentially

The implication is clear: there's already familiarity in that locker room.

Whether that matters in a goaltending acquisition is debatable. But Friedman said it wouldn't shock him if Bobrovsky ended up being the Leafs' guy.

Bobrovsky's $10M cap hit meets the worst-ranked crease in hockey

That's the part that should give Toronto pause.

Bobrovsky carries a $10 million cap hit and posted a .876 save percentage in 52 games this season for Florida. He won 20 of those starts.

For context, Stolarz put up a .893 mark in his 26 appearances with the Leafs.

So the question isn't whether Bobrovsky has a name. He clearly does. It's whether the Leafs would be paying top-five goalie money for a 37-year-old whose numbers trended in the wrong direction.

Toronto allowed 299 goals against this season, worst in their division, and ranked 28th overall in the league. Fixing that crease is not optional.

Dennis Hildeby, buried in Toronto's depth chart, posted a .912 save percentage in 20 games. That number deserves a longer conversation before the front office spends on Bobrovsky.

Lorentz, for his part, finished the season with 7 goals and 2 shorthanded goals in 71 games. Useful bottom-six player. Not exactly a selling point to get a deal done.

The head-to-head results between these two clubs this season were split two games apiece, with Florida winning the final matchup 6-2 on April 11.

If GM Brad Treliving goes down this road, he better be certain this is the move. Because a $10M goalie who can't carry a team past .500 is not the answer to what went wrong in Toronto this year.