NHL Rumors: Could Ducks trade John Gibson, plus a Jets rebuild looming?
Anthony Scultore
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In all the the hype of NHL Rumors around the trade deadline concerning the Anaheim Ducks, talks of possibly moving goalie John Gibson flew under the radar.
After trading pending UFAs Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm, and Rickard Rakell, it’s crystal clear that this is a franchise that will be building with youth.
NHL Rumors: trading John Gibson
Gibson, 28, has been rock solid for the Ducks this year. His record stands at 17-23-10, with a GAA of 3.04 and a SV% of .904. Extremely respectable when you look at the struggles Anaheim has had defensively in the last few months.
Sources told The Fourth Period that teams were at least interested in Gibson at the deadline. And why wouldn’t they be?
For his career, Gibson is 165-145-50-23 and has an excellent .915 SV% to go with a 2.66 GAA.
Gibson has 5 seasons remaining on his contract with an AAV of $6.4 Million. The obvious question is what will it take to get him out of Anaheim?
I don’t think it’s as much as many suspect. It will likely be a first rounder, and maybe even a top goalie prospect if a team has one. Sending back another goalie the other way could help too.
There are also three or four teams that I could see being in on him. Keep your eyes on the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Winnipeg Jets rebuild?
There’s a lot of talk surrounding changes in Winnipeg. The Jets are out of the playoff picture and unlikely to get in. Currently, they’re 6 points out of the final wild card spot with the Dallas Stars ahead of them, so it doesn’t look good.
Regardless, unless they went on a Cinderella-run to the Stanley Cup Final, many believe change is inevitable and likely to start with GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
It also appears the Jets are heading in that direction with the trade of pending UFA Andrew Copp to the New York Rangers at the deadline.
One candidate that many believe will be the springboard for a rebuild is center Mark Scheifele.
The big and skilled 29 year-old center has two years of cost certainty at $6.125M AAV which many teams would jump at, including the New York Rangers. This season, he has registered 65 points in 64 games.