Andersen vs. Gibson Round 2?

Two seasons ago the Anaheim Ducks were facing one main question from all the hockey prognosticators: how will this team with Stanley Cup chances fair with two young and unproven goalies? It was a fair question; the Ducks had moved on from Jonas Hiller allowing him to go to free agency and ultimately sign with the Calgary Flames. And they seemed poised to begin the season with the young duo of Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. The duo who at this point, had just 31 combined NHL games between them (add an extra 11 games for playoffs). And while they both had great numbers in those games, Andersen 20-5 and Gibson 3-0 to the hockey world outside Anaheim it was a risky endeavor for the Ducks to roll with.

Fast forward a year and while one question has been answered another one has risen. While it’s clear both goalies are ready to handle an NHL work-load and no one is looking at the Ducks with question marks in goal they do have a problem that needs to be worked out. You only get to play one goalie and there will come a time when the Ducks need to decide who their goalie of the future is. And to add even more drama to the question there seems to be a clock on the problem as both Andersen and Gibson are set to become RFA’s at the end of the 15-16’season. So what do the Ducks do? Here are the pros and cons for each.

Frederik Andersen

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Andersen made sure to show his great though limited NHL action in 13-14’ wasn’t a fluke. He roared into the season and posted phenomenal numbers. 35-12-5, 2.38 GAA, .914 SV%, and 3 shut-outs. He was a warrior for the Ducks all season keeping them in games when the defensive zone play looked sketchy at best, and giving them an All-Star like performance night in and night out. You could make the case that a handful of wins this season were a product of Andersen stealing the game. He’s a big goalie standing at 6’3” 236lbs. and he uses every bit of it to fill up the net. His best attribute is his poise and control in the net. He doesn’t seem to rattle easily, and his rebound control is great. When he gives them up he puts them in low danger spots and he is able to get right back in position from making a save. He doesn’t over-slide and his body control is beyond great. That style of play and big saves exudes confidence to the rest of the team and you can tell numerous times this season that happened.

Now there were also some not so great moments. As well as Andersen played for a majority of the season he did have some games this season where he was yanked due to giving up poor goals, and as much as he made strides in this post-season as opposed to last it showed that when crunch time came he faltered a bit. The Andersen we saw in Games 5-7 vs. Chicago was not the same Andersen we saw all the other post-season games. He had his problems in his first post-season playing under the “big lights” and although better when the lights were brightest he seemed to falter a bit. Andersen will turn 26 just as this upcoming NHL season begins which is far from old but Gibson will only be 22 so age could play a role in which direction the Ducks go. Andersen also benefited from Gibson not being able to stay healthy this season but certainly ceased the opportunity that was given to him.

John Gibson

Gibson was and is the uber prospect for the Ducks and fans can’t seem to wait for him to arrive. Gibson has been a winner everywhere he’s been which includes his limited action in the NHL. In 13-14’ he won all three regular season games he played in and went 2-2 when he was thrust into the West Semi-Finals against the Kings. This season he was given the nod as the opening night starter suggesting the coaching staff felt he was the man for the number 1 job. While that game wasn’t his best he was able to post good final numbers.  13-8-1, 2.60 GAA, .914 SV%, and 1 shut-out. Significantly less games than Andersen but numbers that are too far off. Gibson is unbelievably calm in net almost to the point where you wonder about him. He doesn’t rattle, plays solid, and can make unbelievable saves. On top of that he just turned 22 the other day! He has accomplished great numbers in the NHL as a 20 and 21 year old. That’s crazy that he can be that good at such a young age. Sometimes young net-minders have hot heads or get rattled by giving up goals. Gibson doesn’t and no matter the situation always looks calm and composed between the pipes. He always stays in the moment and focuses on nothing but making the next save. That’s hard to find and the Ducks have a goalie that some believe could be the man in Anaheim for the next decade or more.

Unfortunately Gibson couldn’t stay healthy this season and it didn’t give the Ducks a chance to see what they had. Only appearing in 23 games total as he didn’t play in the AHL and with Andersen playing as well as he did Gibson didn’t see any post-season time. That’s an extremely small amount of games and put Andersen ahead in the race for who the Ducks will put in net. The addition of Anton Khudobin at the draft seemed to start rumors that Gibson may be on his way out but GM Bob Murray basically laughed at the mere thought of trading Gibson. What Gibson may have working for him is that front office seems to want him to be the man between the pipes and is giving him every opportunity to take the blue paint as his own.

So what do the Ducks do? Both present amazing upside and both have some concerns that will need to be worked out. This was a great problem to have a season ago and it’s becoming tougher and tougher as the days pass. Both of these goalies can handle being an NHL number one and the work-load that comes with it. And both of them want to be starters in the NHL. The issue is only one of them can be the Ducks starter. It looks like this season will be once again a battle between the two with the loser not being given a back-up role, but a trade out of Anaheim. Fandom seems split on who they want so let’s hear from you! Who do you want to see manning the Ducks net for the next decade or more? The Anders-Mountain or John “American Hero” Gibson?

Vote, sound off in the comments, and Tweet/Facebook us your answers and why!

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