John Gibson Recalled From San Diego, Will Anaheim Ducks GM Murray Consider Moving Him?

By Griffin Foster | Nov 24, 2015

The Anaheim Ducks have recalled goaltender John Gibson, would Ducks general manager Bob Murray considering moving him?

The Anaheim Ducks announced early Tuesday morning that goaltender John Gibson has been recalled from AHL San Diego. The Ducks also reassigned Michael Sgarbossa and Shane O’Brien to the AHL, neither appeared in a game with the Ducks during their recall. Forward Chris Mueller has also been recalled from San Diego.

Freddie Andersen is said to be experiencing flu like symptoms, the same reason Josh Manson missed time during the road trip, and that is what has led to Gibson’s recall.

Gibson’s recall may entirely be injury related if Andersen cannot play or serve as the backup tomorrow in Arizona, but should Ducks general manager Bob Murray be planning his next move?

Buffalo Sabres NHL.com correspondent Joe Yerdon reports that a number of high level scouts from the Anaheim Ducks organization have been taking in a lot of Buffalo Sabres games this season. Yerdon also reported that Ducks GM Bob Murray was in Buffalo Tuesday to watch the Sabres-Stars game, a 3-1 win for Dallas.

If you’ve been following Buffalo the past few seasons, you know that their goaltending situation is far below mediocre and the future of Buffalo’s crease is also in question.

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Goaltender Robin Lehner was acquired in the offseason from Ottawa but he has been out since early October with an ankle injury. Goaltender Chad Johnson was acquired from the Islanders during the offseason as well but he has been subpar, posting a 2.70 GAA and a .901% save percentage in 12 games thus far.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark has stepped up to appear in 9 games during Lehner’s injury.

Lehner is 24 years of age, Johnson 29 and Ullmark may be the Sabres most talented goaltending prospect at 22 years of age, but none have the upside of 22 year old John Gibson.

Sabres general manager Tim Murray has been persistent in trying to acquire Gibson for some time now but Bob Murray has been quick to shut down rumors. At the draft, Bob Murray stated that John Gibson is not going anywhere and he told reporters to “put that sh** out there.”

But could the Ducks slow start this season have changed that quick trigger of Murray, could he now consider a Gibson trade?

There’s no denying the fact that Buffalo is still interested in Gibson. Their goaltending has not been horrendous but there is no future set, Lehner and Johnson might not be the long term answer for a team building around one of the games most exciting young forwards, Jack Eichel.

Buffalo has only drafted 1 goaltender before the the fifth round since 2006 when they took Jonas Enroth in the second round. Enroth is now playing for the Kings.

Goaltending is one of the remaining unfound pieces to the puzzle for the long term plans of Buffalo and it could force them to give up quite a bit in order to find a young promising goaltender such as Gibson.

For the Ducks, giving up Gibson would not come easy. His ceiling is high and he could very well end up as an incredible number one goaltender some day.

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However, Freddie Andersen has already proven he can be the Ducks number one goaltender of the future. The Ducks would be sitting with their thumbs in their mouth right about now if it hadn’t of been for the strong play of Andersen early on.

I don’t think anyone expected Anton Khudobin to play as well as he has at times either. He’s had some hiccups, but he is proving that he can be the backup goaltender the Ducks have been searching for.

Gibson’s NHL numbers are solid but his consistency with the Ducks and in the AHL have been an issue.

Last season in Anaheim, Gibson gave up 3 or more goals 10 times in 23 games. So far this season in San Diego he has given up 3 or more goals 5 times in 13 starts. Of goaltenders that have played in more than 5 AHL games this season, Gibson ranks 25th in goals against average, 19th in save percentage and 9th in wins.

Gibson has been far from dominant thus far in the AHL.

So, what could a Gibson deal do for the Ducks?

Well that’s an interesting question because it depends on what Bob Murray feels his team needs. Tyler Ennis is a name that continues to pop up in Buffalo and he could be a top 6 forward playing left wing for the Ducks but his salary cap hit is heavy at $4.6 million.

Gibson could also be part of a bigger move, one to acquire Islanders trade requesting defensemen Travis Hamonic.

Yesterday I wrote about Hamonic and Bob Murray’s interest in bringing him to Anaheim. I made a proposal of sending Sami Vatanen to Brooklyn in return for Hamonic, but could Gibson be part of this deal?

Islanders general manager Garth Snow wants NHL level talent in return, most likely defensemen to replace Hamonic. So is a three team deal between Buffalo, Anaheim and the Islanders possible? Sportsnet’s Elliote Friedman and Damien Cox believe that the difficulty of a Hamonic deal may require a third team to step in.

Sending Gibson and possibly a guy like Pat Maroon or Korbinian Holzer to Buffalo could allow the Ducks to then send solely Sami Vatanen to the Islanders, who would then send Hamonic to Anaheim. Buffalo could then send one of it’s defensemen to the Islanders as part of the deal which would likely intrigue Garth Snow.

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This allows the Ducks to hold onto guys like Cam Fowler or a Manson, Cogliano or Silfverberg who might have to be part of a deal between just Anaheim and the Islanders. Adding Buffalo to the mix is an interesting thought as they have some defensemen that they could be willing to move, helping the Islanders replace Hamonic and creating a more logical trade.

This is just an idea, but it’s something that doesn’t appear too far fetched.

The Ducks are going to make a move at some point, Bob Murray will not sit patient much longer if his team does not begin to go on a solid run. Giving up Gibson is a risk, but if the return is Hamonic or other notable pieces, that risk might be outweighed by reward.

It’s something Murray should consider.

Gibson doesn’t appear to be in action tonight against Calgary, Khudobin was first off the ice in the morning skate. Could Gibson play tomorrow in Arizona if Andersen is not healthy? Could it be a showcase for Gibson, one that offers Tim Murray and the Buffalo Sabres a look at the man they have so desperately been trying to acquire?

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