John Gibson's agent addresses Toronto rumours about as bluntly as possible
With the Leafs in the market for a starting goaltender and the likelihood of a Jack Campbell return shrinking by the day, rumours are swirling around goaltenders from all over the league. One of the prime candidates is Anaheim's John Gibson, widely viewed as one of the best goalies in the league, but stuck with a bad Ducks team. Gibson, if brought to the Leafs, could be a long term solution for their problems in goal.
The 28 year old has never had a season below a .903 sv% and his career average is .915. His last 3 seasons though, have been his weakest in the NHL. His contract is a hefty one, paying him 6.4 million dollars per season through the 2026-27 season. Any team trading for Gibson has to assume that his dip in sv% over the past 3 seasons is due to a poor defense in Anaheim, and not regression in Gibson's game.
The Ducks also have a potential stud waiting in the wings in Lukas Dostal, so trading Gibson could make sense to make room for their goalie of the future. If they were to trade Gibson, however, the ask would be sky high. Some have even suggested that the cost to acquire Gibson's services would be William Nylander, although I think that is just the latest case of the Toronto media's continued obsession with trading Willy. I don't believe Dubas would give up one of his best wingers to bring in a goalie whose numbers have sagged over the past 3 seasons.
It has been reported in the past that Toronto is on Gibson's No-Trade list. His agent, Kurt Overhart, was asked if the Ducks netminder would be willing to waive his no trade for the Leafs. This was his response:
We all know the Leafs need to find someone to guard the cage before the puck drops in October, but based on this quote, Gibson isn't the guy. The worst player to have on your team is the guy that doesn't want to be there. Goaltending is such a mental game that you simply can't have a guy in that net who doesn't want to be there. You'll never get their full potential that way. Kyle Dubas would be smart to look elsewhere in this case, and find a goaltender who both wants to be here and doesn't cost one of your best players to acquire.
