Could Ducks' goalie saga finally be ending?

Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson.

Former Jennings Trophy winner John Gibson has been in trade talks on an annual basis for the past few summers, but the years-long saga may finally reach its conclusion in the coming days. The Ducks are ramping up their efforts to move the 30-year-old and have engaged in talks with the Red Wings and another unnamed team, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. Detroit is the first team to be firmly connected to Gibson this summer after Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek acknowledged he was still drawing interest.

Gibson’s 2023-24 season was the worst of his career, continuing a long run of below-average play behind the rest of the Ducks’ rebuilding roster. He made 44 starts and two relief appearances without being significantly hampered by injuries, posting a .888 SV% and allowing 21.2 goals above average, per Hockey Reference.

He’s still carried the reputation of being one of the best up-and-coming netminders in the league in the mid-2010s, and many out there believe he can get back to that level of play. Playing behind one of the most porous defenses in the league over the past five years certainly hasn’t helped his numbers. Even when accounting for the quality chances he’s faced, the stats aren’t promising. He hasn’t saved more goals than expected since the 2018-19 campaign, according to data from MoneyPuck.

For Anaheim, he’s been made expendable by the emergence of 24-year-old Lukáš Dostál. The 2018 third-round pick outplayed Gibson by every metric this season, posting a .902 SV% and 3.33 GAA with one shutout while making 38 starts and six relief appearances. He allowed 5.3 goals above expected compared to Gibson’s 9.6 over similar workloads, per MoneyPuck.

It’s not like Gibson would be arriving to a team known for its defensive responsibility in Detroit, either. While they had a competitive roster, losing out on their first playoff appearance since 2016 thanks to a regulation win tiebreaker with the Capitals, they were one of the worst teams in the league at controlling play at 5-on-5. They controlled only 46.5% of shot attempts, 45.2% of scoring chances and 43.0% of high-danger chances, according to Hockey Reference.

Goaltending is an area of need for the Wings, though. While Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa are promising long-term prospects, they lack stability at the position entering next season. Gibson would give them a more established name to compete for starts with Ville Husso and Alex Lyon, who are both entering the final season of their contracts. But based on this year’s results, he wouldn’t be a significant upgrade. Lyon was quite serviceable, especially for his $900K cap hit, giving Detroit a solid .904 SV% through 44 appearances.

Any team acquiring Gibson is banking on a return to his 2015-19 form, but he’ll likely need a strong defensive environment in front of him to make that a reality. If Detroit intends to change their crease next season, one of the less-established but lower-risk netminders available in free agency is a better bet. Adding three years of an uncertain Gibson at a $6.4M cap hit is questionable for a team on the cusp of playoff contention.

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