Remember when 20-year old John Gibson took the NHL world by storm in last year’s postseason, including a 28-save shutout in his first game against the Kings?
There’s been a bit of a 180 since then.
After surrendering six goals on 39 shots in the Ducks season-opening loss in Pittsburgh, Gibson had been glued to the bench in favor of Frederik Andersen, with the latter playing in three straight games, all Ducks victories. Wednesday Gibson was sent down to the AHL, though the Ducks say it’s just for two games.
#NHLDucks Gibson will play two games with Norfolk this weekend and will return to Anaheim.
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 15, 2014
Longtime NHL backup Jason LaBarbera has been recalled to take his place.
This certainly isn’t the end of the road for Gibson, especially with the news he’ll be back in a couple of games. But should the Ducks even be in a rush to bring him back at all?
It’s not a knock on his ability. Still just 21, would Gibson’s development be better served by leaving him at the AHL so he could get as many games as possible? If Andersen is indeed the starter, and is going to get most of the action, LaBarbera is a perfectly capable backup.
Should Andersen falter, and the team was prepared to give Gibson an extended run, it would be bringing up a goalie who has been seeing game action — albeit at the AHL level — like Gibson was last year after playing 45 games with the Norfolk Admirals and posting a .919 save percentage and 2.34 GAA over that span.
In any case, consider this no more than a minor bump in the road for Gibson. He’ll get another chance at a full-time gig soon enough.