Red Wings Trade: John Gibson

Can Gibson solve Detroit's long-standing problem in goal?

Credit: Marqueur.com

Steve Yzerman has been on a mission to get quality goaltending in Detroit ever since he returned to the franchise from Tampa Bay. While there has been precious little quality - let alone depth - across the franchise, the goaltender position has been particularly vexing. I imagine Steve Yzerman pondering his goaltending sitch while driving to Little Caesar’s Arena, being like:

But two things Steve Yzeman apparently has in abundance are 1) an underlying sense of whether or not something is truly working, and 2) the patience to get anything that isn’t working sorted. It feels like Yzerman has finally landed on terra firma, first with the acquisition of Cam Talbot, and then following that up with the trade to acquire John Gibson.

Gibson has wanted out of Anaheim for a few years now, and Yzerman was able to eventually secure the veteran netminder from the Ducks for a very reasonable price. Gibson has something to prove after losing the starting goaltender spot to Lukáš Dostál last season, but he’s still young enough to provide quality play, with the potential to be the bridge to allow Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine the necessary time for morph into NHL caliber starting netminders over the next few seasons.

Let’s take a look at Gibson’s career to date in Anaheim and try to gauge what the future holds for him in Detroit.