The leafs dont need expensive bottom pairing defenders

Ideally i'd like to have Henrique at 3C on the pens, but they don't have the cap space, even in this scenario.

With the way Gibson has performed in 4 out of the last 5 seasons, and that in 3 of those 4 seasons he’s been outperformed by other goalies in the Ducks organization, I find less than zero reason to give anything more than a mid rd pick at 50% salary-retention for him at this point in time. To say nothing of trading Holtz and a 1st rd pick for him haha lmao get outta here

I don’t understand how you say $1,350,000 is ‘expensive’ every single time

Because the cost of a bad bottom pairing d is 800k and a 6th to trade for them.

Read it and weep bud, Gibsons an elite goalie, he just needs hope that the team in front of him will do anything. He's top 3 in the league for GSAX and your goalies are costing you a playoff spot.

But keep up with the tired old "hE's NoT wOrTh HiS cOnTrAcT" quips as you lot play yourselves out of a playoff berth.

Buying 26 million dollars based on half a season of good play would be disastrous

I will not deny that Gibson is having a pretty good season so far, maybe a great one even. But please, for fans of teams you're suggesting to trade for him a lot of what we (or I, rather) see is an aging goalie playing up to his billing for the 1st time since his current contract kicked in, and that there's a MASSIVE risk associated with that.

Also:
1. GSAx/60 is the better stat to use here as rates are inherently more interesting than cumulatives.
2. You do realize that public expected modelling doesn't do a good job at accounting for 5v5 vs PK/PP gamestates? Whether going by EH or Moneypuck, xG should always be rinsed for non-5v5 games states (and when you do you'll see that Gibson's season isn't quite as impressive as you believe it to be).
3. You still have yet to clarify why we didn't see this John Gibson during the early years of the Ducks rebuild. Why couldn't Gibson be playing the way he is now during the 1st half of his mega extension when someone like Cory Schneider put up fantastic numbers behind some very poor Devils teams (see 2014 - 2016)?

It's so weird to me that you and others in the CF / hockey community have yet to adjust Gibson's hype, rep and expected trade returns after FOUR STRAIGHT SEASONS OF NOT BEING CLOSE TO LIVE UP TO A TOP 3 NHL GOALIE CAP HIT???
I mean come on, 20-25 real good games for 23-24 season does in no way erase 4 straight years of falling waaaaay below any reasonable expectations of a goalie of his billing.

Please explain, give me your strongest arguments cus the cognitive dissonance on display here might honestly be the end of me.
And while you're at it, would you please explain why the Devils should just toss a 3rd or 4th on goalies like Lankinen, Allen, Nedeljkovic or Mrazek when their performances over the last 4 years blow Gibson's out of the water?

PS. Despite this Gibson business I think that you and a few other of the Ducks regulars are fairly reasonable and enjoyable to talk to on here most of the time, like genuinely.
Have a happy new year, your team is on the rise and if Gibson stays a duck and keeps this level of play up Anaheim should find themselves back in the playoffs no later than 2025.

It's real freaking simple, there's way more demand than there is availability for good goalies, add price adjustments for desired retention and eating Vanaceks contract/buyout. That makes the acquisition cost sky high, because there's desperation afloat league wide. Devils playoff window is open, they've got no starter and two rookie/prospect goalies, the core is otherwise set for the future, the 2025 1st doesn't become a roster player until 2028, and you can replace Holtz on your third line with your favorite RHD prospect with no roster spot Seamus Casey, whom has played forward before, and will probably have to anyway to get into the main roster in NJ due to the depth on the right side. Gibson put on an absolute show in NJ two weeks ago, you got to see first hand the difference between him and whatever you're wheeling out in net on any given night. Why not guys like Ned, Lainkenen, Allen, etc? Because they're not starters, they can't handle the workload. You need someone who can take 75% of the starts the rest of the way to the playoffs and still play at a high level, and none of the guys you mentioned can do that. The reason so many on here have high expectations of his value is that we know the kind of goalie he is, he's the kind that steals games and gives his defense confidence.

Or, you guys can saw "aw shucks, I guess we're going to miss the playoffs this year". Your call.