Ducks' John Gibson gets crucial injury update

09/26/2024 07:21 PM

With the NHL preseason underway, the Anaheim Ducks received an unfortunate injury update on Thursday.

Netminder John Gibson had to undergo an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday evening and will miss 3-6 weeks as a result, the team announced. This is a tough blow for the Ducks considering Gibson’s importance. The 31-year-old is the franchise leader in games played as a goaltender and also sits first all-time in saves.

Gibson has been competing for the starter job with Lukas Dostal. The two both shared the netminder duties in the 2023-24 season. Gibson has yet to play in a preseason contest but he was practicing in training camp.

Last season, Gibson went 13-27-2 with a 3.54 GAA and a .888 save percentage in 44 contests played. This latest setback for him will likely give Dostal the upper hand in the goaltender battle, with the season opener on October 12. The Brno, Czechia native is heading into his third NHL campaign and did perform well last season. He appears to be developing into a player who deserves to start at this level.

As for Gibson, he has three years left on his current deal with the Ducks. The team’s atrocious blue line definitely hurt him in ’23-24. His save percentage was the worst of his career. Anaheim is looking to bounce back from a 27-50-5 record last year, which put them second-last in the Pacific Division. It’s difficult for both goaltenders to perform when their defense is such a mess.

The Ducks are still in a rebuild and aren’t expected to be much better in 2024-25. Gibson is heading into his 12th NHL season after Anaheim drafted him in the second round in 2011. He owns a career .910 save percentage. Gibson won the Jennings Trophy in 2015-16 and has appeared on the Vezina Trophy ballot twice.

We’ll see how long it takes him to return to the ice. The Ducks home opener is on October 16.

The post Ducks’ John Gibson gets crucial injury update appeared first on ClutchPoints.