His name has been involved in trade rumours for years, but it feels like this time Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson may finally be moved. The 31-year-old, once regarded as an elite NHL goaltender, has seen his stock drop off in dramatic fashion over the past four or five seasons. Thanks to his contract getting closer to its expiration date, paired with his strong 2024-25 campaign, however, there is plenty of speculation surrounding his future yet again.
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One team who has been heavily linked to Gibson is the Edmonton Oilers. Adding a goaltender has been the Oilers’ priority for some time as Stuart Skinner hasn’t done a very good job in proving he’s a clear-cut number one. Adding Gibson to compete with him for starts would be beneficial for the Oilers, and based on a new report, he wants to be a part of the Stanley-Cup-contending group.
“One of the things I’ve heard during the season [is] that Gibson’s preferences are Edmonton and Carolina … the Edmonton thing is really interesting, because I don’t know where it came from last week, I didn’t see it, but someone told me there was some talk about the Oilers and Gibson,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on his latest 32 Thoughts Podcast. “The one thing I heard is that Gibson wants a situation where he’s going to be a number one, and it’s going to be his job. He wants to be the guy.”
“I don’t know if a Gibson/Skinner duo is going to work for him … I think Gibson wants the chance to go on a run and prove he can be the guy on a top team,” Friedman continued. “If it’s the Gibson/Skinner combo, I’m not sure that’s going to appeal to him.”
Oilers Better off Sticking With Skinner
Based on Friedman’s comments, it sounds like if the Oilers wanted to acquire Gibson, who has a modified no-trade list, they would need to move on from Skinner. That’s certainly intriguing given Skinner’s struggles this season and Gibson’s past success, but doing so would be a huge risk that isn’t worth taking for the Oilers.
Skinner has already proven that, while far from perfect, he’s capable of carrying his team to great heights. After a bit of a bump in the second round last year, he went on to help lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final. Was he perfect? No, but he did the job well enough. There’s no guarantee Gibson is capable of doing that.
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