Quoting: GiggywithGibby
The amount of promotional material that he is on would beg to differ about him being the face of the franchise. His time in that spotlight may be limited as Zegras, Terry, and McTavish continue to develop, but for right now, he is still our biggest name.
I'm also of the opinion that Gibson will be one of the goalies that stays good deep into his 30s based on his durability and style of play. He works in a lot of non butterfly saves into his game which is reducing wear and tear on his hips and knees. The guy I would track his trajectory to is Marc Andre Fleury, who is still a great goalie at 37, and won a Vezina at 35.
Its true, he hasn't been the world beater the last couple of seasons that he used to be, but I think that comes down to frustration that the team just isn't competitive. We've been shelling the guy for four seasons in a row now, giving him next to no goal support. Last year was the first season we had put up over a 200 GF pace since 17-18 when we put up 235, but we gutted the defense in front of him. You can't ask a guy to give it his all night in and night out when he knows the team can't provide the support needed to win. The world beater is still in him, he just needs the team to be there with him, and I think we are starting to turn that corner.
Zegras is one of the bigger names in the NHL now, let alone ANA. People don’t talk about Gibson. But agree to disagree. This disagreement is pretty beside the point so I’ll let it go.
I love your confidence in Gibby’s durability, but he constantly gets injured (15 injuries announced since 2017). Luckily they haven’t kept him out for long stretches for the most part, but he also declines significantly as the season rolls on most years. Both are red flags for durability as he gets older, especially the former. He won’t recover as well/quick as he ages.
Your last point I 100% agree with. I don’t doubt his ability, I do think a vast majority of his stats struggles are due to the team around him, and that he’s totally a debatable top 10 guy. But the lack of consistent stats will of course give other teams pause, which factors into value.
The main thing for me is the likelihood of him performing at all-star level in 2-3 years when the ducks are pushing feels questionable. And we have 2 very promising young guys to replace him in Dostal and Clang to rely on, with Stolarz to bridge between. Considering we can get pieces that can help us in our window (even if it’s a raw prospect that we move for a key piece later), that’s 100% worth it to me. Plus it gives him a chance to go fight for the cup in his prime years