Anaheim Ducks starting goaltender John Gibson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will be out for an extended period of time after having an appendectomy on Wednesday according to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. Gibson is projected to miss the first two to five weeks of the 2024 National Hockey League regular season.
How did Gibson get injured?
Gibson made an awkward save during practice according to Derek Lee of The Hockey News. He then missed the remainder of practice on Wednesday.
Who will be the Ducks goaltender with Gibson out?
The Ducks’s number one goaltender with Gibson out will be Lukas Dostal of Brno, Czech Republic. It is expected that Oscar Dansk of Stockholm, Sweden or Calle Clang of Olofstrom, Sweden will be the temporary backup. One concern however is the fact that Dansk and Clang do not have any NHL experience.
Gibson’s 2023-24 NHL Statistics
Gibson had a record this past season of 13 wins, 27 regulation losses, and two losses in extra time, with a goals against average of 3.54 and a save percentage of .888. Among goalies that played 20 or more games, the only three goaltenders with a worse goals against average than Gibson were Calgary Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar of Prague, Czech Republic (3.62), New Jersey Devils goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen of Helsinki, Finland (3.64), and Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom of Gothenburg, Sweden (3.92). Kahkonen is now with the Winnipeg Jets.
Struggled in recent years
Gibson had an outstanding start to his NHL career. After being the Ducks’s second round pick, 39th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, he had a goals against average of 1.33 after three starts in 2013-14, a 2.07 goals against average and a William M. Jennings Award in 2015-16, and six shutouts and a goals against average of 2.22 in 2016-17. However, in 2019-20, Gibson led the NHL with 26 losses. In 2020-21, he led the NHL with 19 losses. Then in 2022-23, Gibson led the NHL with 31 losses and 200 goals against.
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