The Ducks may not be swinging for the fences at the trade deadline but they are expected to be active in the market amidst a 26-26-7 season.
NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest predicts a deal involving goalie John Gibson by this Friday – with a portion of his salary being paid for by Anaheim to free up playing time for Lukas Dostal.
“Gibson is in his 12th season in Anaheim and in the sixth of an eight-year contract with $6.4 million average annual value. The 31-year-old has a lifetime goals against average under 3.00 and save percentage above .910 in more than 500 games and would be a good option for a team looking to upgrade its goaltending heading into the playoffs. Gibson is on a rebuilding team in Anaheim and has not played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2017-18 season. He is sharing the workload this season with Lukas Dostal, who is 24 years old and the future of the franchise. The Ducks might be convinced to retain a portion of his salary if they can get assets back to help them in the future. Gibson would have to approve the trade with a modified no-trade clause in his contract,” Van Diest wrote.
As the old saying goes, if Pat Verbeek loves Gibson, he must set him free. In this case, it’d be from a losing situation that he’s not guaranteed a starting spot in for long.
The Ducks have missed six straight Stanley Cup Playoffs and are in danger of missing a seventh. Anaheim sits six points back of the second Western Conference wild card spot heading into Monday’s action.
The Ducks take on Edmonton and Vancouver ahead of the March 7 deadline and play St. Louis that night.