According to a new release on X the Anaheim Ducks have confirmed that John Gibson had emergency surgery due to a burst Appendix. Due to the appendectomy surgery, John Gibson is now expected to miss 3-6 weeks.
John Gibson is universally considered one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. At his best, he is a Vezina Trophy contender. Over the last 2 seasons, John Gibson has struggled to perform with a goals-against average well above 3. This has often been placed on the lack of talent around him especially on defense.
This season that was all supposed to change several young players on defense are finally taking big steps and Radko Gudas was named the team's captain. Unfortunately, now John Gibson will have to wait a while to be a part of that new crew.
With John Gibson out the Anaheim Ducks and head coach Greg Cronin will have to turn to young goaltender Lukas Dostal to backstop the team. In the past Lukas Dostal has been looked at as a promising prospect but not quite ready to take over. In total Lukas Dostal has just 67 NHL appearances with a 3.45 goals against average and a 0.902 save percentage. However, at age 24 he will now finally get his opportunity to take the reigns and start for the first month or so of the NHL season.
As of now, it has not been confirmed if the Anaheim Ducks are making a move to bring in a goaltender or will handle John Gibson's absence internally. As more information is provided on the injury to John Gibson we will pass it along to you.
POLL | ||
Will the Anaheim Ducks be able to succeed without John Gibson after his emergency surgery? | ||
Yes | 31 | 46.3 % |
No | 36 | 53.7 % |
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