Detroit — There was a growing number of people in hockey who felt goaltender John Gibson was on the downslide in his career. Injuries were possibly becoming a factor, not to mention a lot of games and years in the rearview mirror, and possibly all that work was beginning to get to Gibson.
The Anaheim Ducks trading Gibson last summer to the Red Wings, after 12 seasons in Anaheim, was an indication it preferred the younger Lukas Dostal, to Gibson.
But Gibson, 32, showed this season he is still one of the better goaltenders in the NHL. Gibson was 29-22-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average and .901 save percentage and four shutouts. Gibson appeared in 57 games, the most he’s played since 2018-19 in Anaheim.
Was there a little bit of a chip on Gibson’s shoulder this season, attempting to prove any doubters wrong?
“Maybe a little bit, but at the same time I was just looking for a fresh start, a new opportunity,” said Gibson, who provided the Wings a legitimate, proven No. 1 goaltender they had been lacking. “That’s what I got (opportunity) here. I had a lot of fun. Obviously, the last four weeks wasn’t what we hoped they would be, but in general, there’s a good group of guys here and I had a lot of fun playing a lot of games, and that was what I wanted to do.”
The season certainly didn’t start off well for Gibson, who was pulled opening night against Montreal, and struggled to find any consistency. Gibson lost playing time to Cam Talbot, and there was a growing sense of concern as the season reached Thanksgiving on the calendar.
But Gibson’s season basically turned around that weekend. Gibson went on a 9-1-2 run in December, with a blistering .925 save percentage. Gibson essentially pulled the Wings into the playoff race.
“It was a slow start for me personally,” Gibson said. “But after that, I kind of got back to my game and just did what I do. I try to keep it simple, stop the puck, and give the team a chance to win.
“I felt I was able to do that the second half of the year.”
Doing what he can to make sure the start is better next season is something Gibson is already concentrating on.
“For whatever reason it took a little longer to kind of find my game,” Gibson said. “(I need to) make sure next year to put more emphasis on getting off to a hot start. I’ve kind of taken pride in that throughout my career. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this year.”
As Gibson became increasingly comfortable and steady, coach Todd McLellan leaned on the veteran goaltender heavily. The Wings’ lineup seemed to respond favorably to Gibson’s confidence.
“I don’t know if you could put a number on how big it is, but you can just feel it, Gibby does have that swagger,” McLellan said. “When he comes to the bench during the timeouts, and he’s in total control and command of the game, and he sees things that the forwards and (defensemen) need as reminders, he’s barking and they’re listening.”
“Once that started, his game really started to go.”
Captain Dylan Larkin noted through the season how Gibson’s calmness in net was a factor.
“His record and demeanor speak for it,” Larkin said. “He’s calm. Even when things weren’t going well, he felt like it was going to turn, and good on him. He’s a veteran guy who doesn’t get too high or too low, stuck with it, and believed in himself.”
Gibson earned the majority of starts once he got on a roll and played extensively the final two months. Gibson’s performance slid a bit near the end, but Gibson didn’t attribute it to the heavy workload.
“Honestly I felt pretty good,” Gibson said. “If you look in general, a year like this with the Olympics, it’s a harder year than normal with everything kind of scrunched up and not much practice time. But I handled the workload well and felt good. A couple minor things here or there, but nothing serious, and I was able to be out there most of the season.”
Gibson talked often after being acquired about wanting to help get the Wings back into the playoffs. As the season progressed, that appeared to be a possibility as the Wings hovered near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
But the Wings collapsed the final six weeks of the regular season, missing the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season.
“No matter where you play, you’re going to hear the outside noise, and in a big market like this that is dying to get back into the playoffs, it’s kind of expected,” Gibson said. “You just have to play. We put ourselves in the spot. There’s really nobody to blame or be mad at other than ourselves.
“It’s a learning lesson, and hopefully we can use it next year as motivation.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Red Wings’ John Gibson quiets doubters with busy, successful season
Reporting by Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
