NHL Insider reveals that the stars may finally be aligning for the Leafs and John Gibson
There are going to be changes in Leafs Nation this summer, and I think we all know that coming into this offseason. The extent of those changes, however, is a different story. There are a number of ways that the Leafs can go here, but I think the starting point is what happens with Jack Campbell. If the Leafs get a sense that the Campbell camp is looking for too much money, too long of a term, or both, their big offseason change will be in goal.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was a guest on NHL Now this week and made some very interesting comments surrounding the Leafs and a goaltender that they have been rumoured to have had interest in for quite some time in Anaheim's John Gibson.
"I do think the Maple Leafs are going to consider a bold move or two this offseason, probably one. Whenever they say publicly they realize they can't run it back the exact same way.. I do think if they don't sign Jack Campbell, a goaltender is going to be on their radar, an upgrade, and I do think John Gibson fits that bill. I also think that Anaheim sees with its timeline, that John Gibson might not make sense for them. And if there is interest, they will seriously look at it."
Friedge also touched on another big question on everyone's minds, being "what is Jack Campbell worth in this market?" He revealed that the Leafs had already offered Soupy an extension at the start of this year, though the two sides were quite far apart.
Friedman mentioned that the Leafs had tabled an offer to Campbell at the beginning of this year for a 3-year contract extension with a $2.75M AAV. He also mentioned that the Campbell camp came back with a significantly higher number and that now it's more about whether or not the two sides can close the gap. Friedman believes that's been a challenge so far.
With this in mind, it does make some sense for the Leafs to call the Ducks about Gibson, but the salary is going to be an issue for them, unless they can find a way to free up some cap space to accommodate Gibson's $6.4M for the next 5 seasons.
| POLL | ||
MAI 22 | 699 ANSWERS NHL Insider reveals that the stars may finally be aligning for the Leafs and John Gibson Should the Leafs trade for John Gibson this summer? | ||
| Definitely | 317 | 45.4 % |
| Not worth it | 79 | 11.3 % |
| There are better options out there than Gibson | 123 | 17.6 % |
| Re-sign Campbell | 180 | 25.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
