Why John Gibson Could Be Detroit's Best Goaltender Since Chris Osgood

Detroit's new goalie in John Gibson could finally be the answer to the franchise's long-standing goaltending issues.

The Red Wings this past week made possibly their most advantageous roster move since adding Alex DeBrincat when bringing all-star goaltender John Gibson. The move hopefully provides a long-term fix for Detroit's goaltending issues that have plagued the team for over a decade.

Detroit was forced to give up goaltender Petr Mrazek along with a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick, which wasn't bad considering the goaltender market was extremely dry this offseason with Gibson being one of the most highly sought-after players in the league. 

The 31-year-old noted in a press conference following the trade, that he first heard of the trade when on vacation with his family in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Gibson explained he is familiar with the Red Wings organization as he attended the U.S. National Development program for two years, located an hour outside of Detroit in Ann Arbor near the University of Michigan. 

Gibson commented on his built up relationships from over 13 seasons in Anaheim but did say that he and his family are excited for "the next chapter" and went on to say he feels like he has a lot left to prove. Gibson was vocal about his goal with Detroit next season being to make it back to the playoffs. 

"I'm super excited, like I was saying earlier, I think it's a new chapter and a fresh start going in and excited to prove myself I think it's just an exciting opportunity with a team and an organization that really wants to get back to playoff hockey," Gibson said to media "It's a really exciting time and I'm very privileged and honored to be coming in and being apart of it all."

The Pittsburgh native noted that he already spoke with Detroit's current goaltender in Cam Talbot and commented that the two have built up a relationship early on with the singular goal in playing well enough to get the Red Wings back to the postseason. 

"Respect from playing against him for quite a few years now," Gibson explained "I didn't really know him but I chatted with him for a little bit when getting traded here and we are both on the same page, we wanna do whatever we can to carry this team to the playoffs." 

Gibson was on Todd McLellan's Team North America during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and spoke to his coaching style creating teams that were "well-coached, well-structured and very disciplined" when Gibson would face off against McLellan's past LA Kings and San Jose Sharks teams. 

Teams like the Oilers, Mammoth, Sharks and Flyers all reportedly attempted to acquire Gibson but the Red Wings came out with the former the William M. Jennings award winner. 

Anaheim's longtime steady goaltender has proven to be truly elite at times with an epic run from 2015 to 2018 when he put up numbers like a 77-47-20 record with a 2.26 goals against average and .924 save percentage through 152 appearances.

Gibson is coming off a solid season with a 2.77 goals against average and the seventh-best save percentage at .912 but the Ducks poor overall play resulted in a 11–11–2 record through 29 appearances. 

Detroit’s struggles in net have been evident since the retirement of Stanley Cup winner Chris Osgood in 2011, with the team recording the fifth-worst goals-against average in the league at 3.05 over that span.

Last season, the Red Wings continued to struggle keeping the puck out of their net with a 3.16 goals against average, that placed bottom 12 in the NHL.  

Gibson appears to be the best solution yet to this problem and works as a perfect bridge goaltender for the Red Wings as the organization continues to develop its top goalie prospects, Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine.