Rumour: Leafs and Ducks may have been working on a blockbuster before the deadline
The Toronto Maple Leafs were rumoured to be in the market for a goaltender ahead of the NHL's March 21st trade deadline. Obviously, the right deal never materialized, and the Leafs decided to stand pat with Jack Campbell, Petr Mrazek and rookie Erik Kallgren.
One interesting name that had been floating around prior to the deadline was Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson. Commonly acknowledged as one of the best netminders in the league, Gibson would have certainly provided some stability between the pipes for a team like the Leafs who have been receiving below average goaltending for much of the year.
While there was never actually any legitimate talk of Gibson being on Toronto's radar, could he have been someone who the Leafs were considering? The fact that Gibson had a 10-team no-trade list in his contract would have allowed him to block a trade to the Leafs if they were on his list, and his $6.4M cap hit through 2026-27 may have also been prohibitive for the Leafs.
According to Hockey 24/7, the Kyle Dubas and Pat Verbeek may have actually discussed a swap that was centered around Gibson and Leafs winger William Nylander. Now, take that with a grain of salt, because I've yet to see a reputable source or an NHL Insider report on that, but nevertheless, the rumour is out there.
Could the Leafs and Ducks actually come together in the offseason on a deal involving Gibson? If they don't have faith in their goaltending, Gibson could solve a lot of problems for the Leafs. There are some health concerns there, but I don't think you'll find anyone that would say that Gibson is not an improvement over Mrazek or Kallgren at this point.
Campbell is a wild card here. If he comes back from his injury and plays like early season Vezina candidate Jack Campbell, the Leafs may have no need to pursue a trade for a guy like Gibson. If Campbell comes back from his injury and continues to post below average numbers however.. Houston, we have a problem.
| POLL | ||
MARS 28 | 506 ANSWERS Rumour: Leafs and Ducks may have been working on a blockbuster before the deadline Would you like to see John Gibson in a Leafs jersey? | ||
| I'm good, thanks | 105 | 20.8 % |
| Absolutely | 195 | 38.5 % |
| Not if it means trading Nylander | 133 | 26.3 % |
| Don't care! Just win, baby! | 73 | 14.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
