A bunch of teams want Jake Allen.
That’s what happens when a solid goalie is a free agent in a class with essentially no alternatives at his level.
But for goalie-needy teams, there might be an alternative.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Ducks goalie John Gibson might finally be on the move.
Here’s what LeBrun wrote:
Stop me if you’ve read this before (guilty as charged), but this might finally be the summer that John Gibson gets moved. It’s my understanding that several teams have inquired of late on Gibson, 31, who had a better season after a few injury-plagued ones and whose contract is down to two years left on it at a $6.4 million cap hit.
It’s not a surprise that teams are calling as the UFA crop after Jake Allen isn’t very sexy. Gibson has a modified no-trade but is very open to a move. So Ducks GM Pat Verbeek and veteran agent Kurt Overhardt are working together on it.
There’s a sense that it’s finally going to happen, but I will also add that Verbeek isn’t overly interested in retaining salary on the trade unless he’s incentivized to do so. He would take a contract back in a deal, though. And that contract could be another goalie.
Again, I know we’ve all heard this before, but it feels more real than ever. Just don’t hold me to it!
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The Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers are two teams that have been linked to Allen. If that falls through, maybe they get involved in the Gibson chase.
The Flyers would be looking to replace Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov, neither of whom came close to a 90% save percentage in 2024-25.
The Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard were exposed as flawed netminders.
Gibson played in 27 games in 2024-25 with an 11-11-2 record, a 2.77 GAA and a 91.1 save percentage. Those are almost exactly in line with his career numbers.
He’ll turn 32 on July 14, and after a dozen years with the Ducks, maybe Gibson will soon have a new home.
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