Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right?
We may not be in full-scale smoke mode, maybe this talk about the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson is in a light smoulder.
To summarize: a report earlier this season suggested Gibson would consider waiving his no-trade clause to join the Oilers. It was around late November when Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard were struggling. Gibson talked quieted down, but with the NHL’s trade deadline looming a month away and goaltending being an identifiable weak point in the roster, things have seemingly picked up again.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman backed his goalies last week, only for them to put on a stinker a night later against the Colorado Avalanche. But now, another report has surfaced about Gibson and the Oilers, this time from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
He reported on the latest edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast that he dove more into it, talking about how Gibson’s interest is in being a No. 1 goaltender wherever he winds up next, and that both Edmonton and the Carolina Hurricanes are believed to be his preferred destinations.
When I mentioned Edmonton and (Ryan) Donato on Saturday night, you know, someone said to me, you know, have you done any research on Gibson and Edmonton? And you know, one of the things I’d heard during the season was that Gibson’s preferences were Edmonton and Carolina. I mean Carolina has, as we’ve talked about, that dance with Gibson has been on and off. They’re like two kids at the prom eyeing each other from the opposite side of the room. And they don’t ever get together to dance three times in a row. They just haven’t been able to to make the deal. You know, the Edmonton thing is, is really interesting ’cause I don’t know where it came from last week. I didn’t see it, but someone told me there was some talk about the Oilers and Gibson.And the one thing I kind of heard is that, you know, Gibson wants a situation where he’s gonna be like the, the number one and it’s, it’s sort of gonna be his job. He wants to be the guy and, you know, so I don’t know if a Gibson – Skinner duo is gonna work for him. And so that’s one of the things that, ’cause right now it’s sort of Gibson – Dostal and they’re a combo and that Dostal kid, I mean he is a hell of a goalie. He, that kid is gonna be a stud and Anaheim’s got a great one there.I think Gibson wants the chance to, to go on a run and prove he can be the guy on a top team. So if it’s the Gibson – Skinner combo, I’m not sure that that’s gonna appeal to him.
As Friedman alluded to, Gibson’s desire to be the No. 1 guy gets complicated in Edmonton, given Stuart Skinner’s had the reins for the last two years. Skinner was a huge reason the Oilers got to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year, as from the time he returned in Game 6 against the Vancouver Canucks through the final game of the year, he posted a .914 save percentage and saved 10.33 goals above expected.
But if the organization is truly in a cup or bust season — as they should be — then any and all feelings need to be set aside. There’s reason to believe Gibson can be “The Guy” for another team, given a strong track record on some bad Ducks teams, like this year’s rendition. If that’s what Bowman and co. think about him, then they need to do what they can to swing that trade.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
