{"id":22450,"date":"2025-06-28T18:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T18:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/22450\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T18:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T18:18:11","slug":"red-wings-trade-for-john-gibson-from-ducks-why-now-and-why-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/22450\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Wings trade for John Gibson from Ducks: Why now, and why Detroit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL Draft.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Detroit Red Wings have made their first potential upgrade of the 2025 offseason \u2014 and it\u2019s in the crease.<\/p>\n

After years of looking for stability in goal, Detroit traded for Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson on Saturday, sending a 2026 fourth-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and veteran goaltender Petr Mr\u00e1zek back to the Ducks.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old Gibson, who was the Ducks\u2019\u00a0longest-serving player, is a respected veteran who has twice finished top 10 in Vezina Trophy voting, but his numbers have slipped in recent seasons as the Ducks entered a painful rebuild. After consecutive seasons with a save percentage below .900 in 2022-23 and 2023-24, he posted a .911 save percentage this past season, albeit in a reduced role of 29 games. His 11.71 goals saved above expected (GSAx) ranked 21st in the NHL, a few spots above Detroit\u2019s incumbent starter, Cam Talbot.<\/p>\n

If Gibson can maintain that level in a slightly larger workload, he has the talent to elevate the position for the Red Wings, who have seen a revolving door in net over the last several seasons.<\/p>\n

Detroit has taken chances on Alex Nedeljkovic, Ville Husso, Thomas Greiss, Alex Lyon and Talbot, and found varying degrees of success for stretches, but has yet to find real stability.<\/p>\n

Of course, it remains to be seen if Gibson \u2014 who has a $6.4 million cap hit for the next two seasons \u2014 can be that stabilizer, after playing in a reduced role behind Luk\u00e1\u0161 Dost\u00e1l this past season. But the upside he brings as a former Jennings Trophy winner is real, and represents the first major move of the Red Wings\u2019 offseason.<\/p>\n

Gibson spent his entire 12-year NHL career with the Ducks after they drafted him in the second round (No. 39 overall) in 2011. Gibson won 204 games while recording a .910 save percentage, 2.89 goals-against average and 24 shutouts. The trade prevented him from passing Jean-S\u00e9bastien Gigu\u00e8re\u2019s franchise mark of 206 wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to thank John for his time with our organization and being an integral part of the Ducks for more than a decade,\u201d said Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek. \u201cIt became clear John wanted a new opportunity, and after many discussions with him we felt now was the right time to make this move. John and his family became a major part of the community and their dedication to Orange County will leave a lasting impact. We wish John and his family all the best in their next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibson\u2019s first NHL game on April 7, 2014, in Vancouver was an 18-save shutout. Weeks later, he was called upon in the second round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings and got another shutout in his first postseason game while also starting Game 7 as a 20-year-old.<\/p>\n

From there, Gibson\u2019s run with the Ducks was almost divided into two parts. He had years of early success, when he shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with Frederik Andersen, then twice earned Vezina Trophy votes and had multiple All-Star Game appearances. Then came a five-year stretch of losing as his numbers suffered under the weight of carrying a poor Anaheim team invested in a rebuild.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one reason why he also has 217 regulation losses, including three seasons in which he led all goalies in that category. Trade speculation surfaced in recent years, but Gibson\u2019s $6.4 million cap number \u2014 from the eight-year extension he signed in 2018 \u2014 was a hindrance to deal-making.<\/p>\n

But with just two years left on the contract, and given Gibson\u2019s resurgence last season in a lesser role with the younger Luk\u00e1\u0161 Dost\u00e1l becoming Anaheim\u2019s No. 1, the veteran became more appealing for teams seeking a better or different option in net. Gibson went 11-11-2 while making 28 starts in a 2024-25 season interrupted at times by injury. His .911 save percentage and 2.77 GAA were his best in years. MoneyPuck had him with an impressive 15.3 more saves made that expected from the average goalie.<\/p>\n

It is the third notable trade Verbeek has made this offseason. Verbeek dealt Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers for center Ryan Poehling and two draft picks. Before that, Verbeek acquired power forward Chris Kreider from the New York Rangers for prospect Carey Terrance. The two teams also swapped picks in the deal.<\/p>\n

How much better does this make Detroit?<\/p>\n

That depends on how much of last year\u2019s bounce-back Gibson can repeat, but from 2014 to 2019, Gibson had a sterling .921 save percentage. That figure dipped significantly as the Ducks entered their rebuild, but the uptick last year was a reminder that Gibson (who will turn 32 later this month) still has more in the tank. The question, after serving in a No. 2 role last year, might be what kind of workload he can manage, while still sustaining that improved play.<\/p>\n

The $6.4 million cap hit isn\u2019t cheap, but much of it is offset by sending Mr\u00e1zek (who was set to make $4.25 million next year) back to Anaheim. That still leaves the Red Wings plenty of room to work as they seek to snap a nine-year playoff drought. So while Gibson\u2019s true level at this stage of his career remains to be seen, this is a fairly inexpensive bet for the Red Wings, and Gibson\u2019s upside is that of a legit starter. \u2014 Max Bultman, Red Wings beat reporter<\/p>\n

What does this mean for Sebastian Cossa?<\/p>\n

Cossa, Detroit\u2019s top goalie prospect after being selected 15th in 2021, made his NHL debut last season but played only part of one game. He has spent the last two years in AHL Grand Rapids, and after a rocky finish in 2025, looks poised to start there again next season.<\/p>\n

But for a Red Wings team looking to improve, banking on Talbot and Mr\u00e1zek \u2014 two aging veterans \u2014 would have been a dicey option, and Cossa could still very well see time in Detroit this year. With Talbot set to be a free agent in 2026, there\u2019s also a clear path to him sharing time with Gibson in a full-time capacity a year from now.<\/p>\n

So while the move does add a short-term obstacle in Cossa\u2019s short-term path to the NHL, it also helps solidify the succession plan in Detroit, with 2023 second-rounder Trey Augustine (another top goalie prospect in the Red Wings system) also on the way. \u2014 Bultman<\/p>\n

What does this mean for the Ducks?<\/b><\/p>\n

The Ducks accomplished two things in moving Gibson, a trade that had long been speculated and worked on at different times in recent years. Verbeek worked with Gibson\u2019s agent, Kurt Overhardt, to finally resolve the issue. While the Ducks are taking back Mrazek\u2019s salary and cap hit ($4.25 million) in the deal, they\u2019re only committed to him for one year as opposed to the two years remaining on Gibson\u2019s contract, and they are gaining $2.15 million of cap space. Mrazek is owed $3.65 million ($1 million in a signing bonus) in actual salary, a lower amount than his cap number, a distinction Anaheim ownership appreciates.<\/p>\n

It gives the Ducks even more cap space to make a huge splash in free agency. PuckPedia now has them with an estimated total of $38.8 million available. They\u2019re expected to make a play for Mitch Marner but could look at other scoring forwards who will cost less. Meanwhile, Mrazek can provide support for Dost\u00e1l. \u2014 Eric Stephens, Ducks beat reporter<\/p>\n

What does this mean for Gibson?<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a chance for Gibson to reassert himself as a No. 1 goalie and help Detroit end its drought. Gibson knows what it\u2019s like to miss the playoffs and help carry a team during a long rebuild. At times, the years of losing and getting shelled behind a struggling Ducks defense appeared to wear on him. But while his numbers took a major hit, Gibson\u2019s talent remained clear. He often was required to make more 10-bell saves than any starting goalie should be asked to, just to keep his teams in games.<\/p>\n

It is the freshest of starts for Gibson. Last season was a rebound year, one he needed in order to show the league that he still had plenty of game. The Red Wings will be cognizant of Gibson\u2019s occasional injury issues, some of which reappeared last season \u2013 he started last year recovering from an emergency appendectomy \u2013 as Dostal grabbed hold of the Anaheim net. But Gibson likes to work a lot and, if he\u2019s healthy, he could win a few games that some of Detroit\u2019s other netminders lost, while being a strong bridge to Cossa and Augustine. \u2014 Stephens<\/p>\n

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NHL Draft. The Detroit Red Wings have made their first…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3115,2993,51,50,293,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-22450","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-detroit-red-wings","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114762370804442984","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}