Yes, the Detroit Red Wings have plenty of goaltending depth. That said, they should still pursue a trade to acquire John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks.
Gibson is still a highly talented goalie, and would be Detroit’s clear-cut No. 1 if acquired. It’s a rare circumstance where the future value of a veteran player will likely exceed his present value. The Red Wings need to jump on this opportunity before another team does. Here’s why.
Gibson Would Provide Red Wings With Stability in Net
First and foremost, Gibson is signed through 2027. The Red Wings haven’t had a goalie play three consecutive seasons with the team since Jimmy Howard tended the crease.
Beyond contractual stability, Gibson has shown to be a reliable netminder. He started 63.8 percent of Anaheim’s games over the last five years – roughly 52 starts per 82-game season. This was the plan for Husso in 2023-24, but, as we all know, injuries got in the way.
With Gibson onboard and maintaining this workload, that will leave roughly 30 starts for Cam Talbot, which is the perfect amount for the journeyman goaltender. It’s also a reasonable amount of starts for Sebastian Cossa when/if he joins the Red Wings full-time in 2025-26.
The other aspect of stability and reliability is performance, and Gibson’s recent stats—i.e. save percentage, goals-against average, and goals-saved above expected—give pause. That said, goalie stats are also dependent on the players around him, so they don’t tell the whole story. Stats don’t always equal talent.
One noteworthy stat, though, is high-danger chances against (HDCA). Gibson faced 9.25 all-situations HDCA/60 in 2023-24, which was third-most in the NHL among goalies who played 600-plus minutes. Clearly, he didn’t get much help from the team in front of him.
The intriguing takeaway here is that Gibson’s save percentage on HDCA was .820 – the same as Juuse Saros and .005 better than Sergei Bobrovsky. Overall, Gibson ranks 26th among 71 qualifying goalies for high-danger save percentage.
The talent is there. Having a better defense in front of Gibson will illuminate this.
Gibson Could Mentor Red Wings’ Cossa
When Gibson entered the league in 2014, he was a top prospect for the Ducks. At 20, he started playoff games over entrenched starter Jonas Hiller and fellow rookie Frederik Anderson, who won 20 of his 28 games that year.
Gibson’s talent allowed the Ducks to eventually move on from Hiller and trade away Anderson. By the time he was 23, he was Anaheim’s clear-cut, franchise goalie.
It’s 2024 now. Gibson is 31. And he’s been sharing the crease with top prospect Lukas Dostal for the last two years.
At this stage of his career, Gibson is the perfect mentor for Sebastian Cossa. As a former “goalie-of-the-future” and high draft pick, Gibson knows how to handle the pressure that comes with the territory. In this scenario, he would have at least two years of overlap with Cossa in Detroit and could mentor the Red Wings’ top goalie prospect just like he has done with Dostal.
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Cossa will eventually become Detroit’s starter. Having someone like Gibson show him the ropes and how to be a professional will be an invaluable resource for the young netminder.
Final Word
The talent, stability, and mentorship Gibson can bring to the organization presents far too much value to pass up. Detroit should make it a priority to pursue the netminder before the 2024-25 season kicks off.
A package including Ville Husso (with a doctor’s note stating a full bill of health), a defensive prospect—one of William Wallinder, Albert Johansson, or Shai Buium—plus a 2025 second-round pick should get the job done. This is a reasonable amount to offer for Gibson and a calculated risk on Detroit’s part.
(This plan would also entail trading Talbot or buying him out—$833,334 for two seasons—after the 2024-25 season to clear room for Cossa.)
With Gibson, the Red Wings’ goaltending depth would be a strength, not a weakness, as it has been in recent years. He could also be the final puzzle piece in constructing a roster bound for the postseason.
Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.